Value City

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Value City
(Schottenstein's in the Columbus, OH market, Valley Fair in North Jersey)
Type Subsidiary
Founded 1917
Founder Ephraim Schottenstein
Headquarters Columbus, Ohio, United States
No. of locations 113 (2007)
Industry Retail
Products Clothing, jewelry, and home goods.
Parent Retail Ventures
Website www.valuecity.com

Value City is an American department store chain with 113 locations that is currently owned by Retail Ventures. It was founded in 1917 by Ephraim Schottenstein, a travelling salesman in central Ohio. The store is an off-price retailer that sells clothing, jewelry, and home goods below the manufacturer suggested retail price. The chain focuses on buyout and closeout merchandise, and occasionally irregular apparel and factory seconds. The stores were branded Schottenstein's in the Columbus, Ohio market and Valley Fair in the Northern New Jersey market (except for the Bergen Mall store, which was branded as Value City; today only the Little Ferry and Irvington stores are still open). The Schottenstein name was dropped in 2008 after the sale to Burlington.[1]

The first store was located in Columbus, Ohio off Parsons Ave. and has been closed for several years. It is the corporate sponsor of Value City Arena, home of the Ohio State University women and men's basketball programs. It was formerly affiliated with Value City Furniture, which has 130 stores and was founded in 1948.

Value City in the Tri-State mall in Claymont, Delaware, with the chain's former logo
Value City in the Tri-State mall in Claymont, Delaware, with the chain's former logo

Retail Ventures has been seeking to sell the Value City operation to focus on its more profitable brands. [2] The chain announced its intention in 2007 to close up to twenty-four stores, and to sell the remainder to Burlington Coat Factory. [3] However, the plans have since changed. On January 23, 2008, Retail Ventures announced it was selling an ownership stake in Value City to newly-formed VCHI Acquisition Company.

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