Rickel

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Rickel was a home improvement store chain, but also featured diverse items such as discount clothing, electronics, and patio furniture.

Rickel's main base of operation was the northeastern United States, with a heavy concentration in New Jersey.

Rickel was originally owned by Supermarkets General, the parent company of Pathmark. The company sold off the Rickel stores in the mid 1990s.

Around the time that Rickel was sold, the company merged with Channel Home Centers, a competing home improvement chain, and converted all the Channel stores to Rickel, except in areas where a Channel and a Rickel were in close vicinity to each other.

Rickel began to lose money in 1995, after the merger with Channel, due to an increasing market share for Home Depot in the areas where Rickel had long done business.

Unable to emerge from its financial slump, Rickel began to close some stores in 1997. Eventually, Rickel shut down all of its remaining stores, and went out of business towards the end of 1997.

[edit] Former locations

Wayne, New Jersey: One of the last Rickels to close, this store lay vacant for several years until eventually being remodeled as a Stop & Shop supermarket.
Totowa, New Jersey: Formerly the Ice World Arena (famous for having a few nationally televised boxing cards held at it), was changed to an Aisle 3 clothing store, is now a Forman Mills clothing store and a Value Warehouse mattress retailer.
Clifton, New Jersey: A former Channel store, was divided after closing and is now occupied by a Drug Fair and a Dollar Tree.
Bloomfield, New Jersey: Now a Staples.
Lawnside, New Jersey
East Meadow, New York: Now a Marshalls.
Levittown, New York: Now a Lord and Taylor clearance center.
Jersey City, New Jersey: Now National Wholesale Liquidators.
Toms River, New Jersey: Originally located near US Route 9 and the Garden State Parkway, the first location (a Rickel "HOM" Center) closed and was replaced by a Home Depot. The Toms River Rickel then relocated to a Channel on NJ Route 37 east. It closed shortly after and was converted to a Stop N Shop.
Spring Valley, New York: Was part of a strip mall on Route 59, and has since had several new occupants.
Holbrook, New York: At the SunVet Mall. Now a Toys "R" Us.
Norwalk,Connecticut: Later Nobody Beats The Wiz, Now Best Buy
Broomall, Pennsylvania: Currently a Popeye's Chicken

[edit] Trivia

Some of Rickel's slogans included "Do it better with Rickel" and "Bringing it all closer to home," the latter of which came after the merger with Channel.
Bob Vila was a spokesman for the company at one time.