Mercantile Stores

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Mercantile Stores Company Inc.
Type	department stores
Founded	1914
Headquarters	Cincinnati, Ohio
Industry	Retail
Products	Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares.
Website	None

Mercantile Stores Company Inc. was a traditional department store retailer, founded in 1914, that operated 102 fashion apparel stores and 16 home fashion stores in 17 states. The stores were operated under 13 different trade names and varied in size, with the average store approximating 170,000 square feet (16,000 m²). Each store offered a wide selection of merchandise with special emphasis placed on fashion apparel, accessories and fashion home furnishings. The stores were aimed at middle and upper-middle income consumers. In addition to their department store operations, the company maintained a partnership position in five operating shopping center ventures. Each of these centers had a retail outlet of the company. In 1998 the company was acquired by Dillard's, Inc.. At the time Mercantile was the oldest department store company in the country.

[edit] Dillard's

Dillard's Inc., Little Rock, Ark., bought Mercantile Stores Co., Fairfield, Ohio, for $80 per share or approximately $2.9 billion in cash. Mercantile operated 103 predominantly fashion apparel stores and 16 home fashion stores in 17 states, primarily in the South, Southeast and Midwest. Operating under 13 different names and managed by five regional divisions, Mercantile's sales for fiscal year 1997 exceeded $3 billion. "The stores are a great fit for the Dillard's location strategy, ranging from urban to less populated areas. They have achieved the No. 1 market position in 70% of their markets," said William Dillard II, CEO. May Company got The Jones Store in Kansas City in order to alleviate anti-trust concerns.