Elder-Beerman
|
Your Store, Your Style | |
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1883 in Dayton, Ohio |
| Headquarters | Dayton, Ohio, United States |
Number of locations | 37 (2015)[1] |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares. |
| Parent | The Bon-Ton (2003–present) |
| Website |
www |
Elder-Beerman is a U.S. chain of department stores founded in 1883 and owned by The Bon-Ton. The chain, based primarily in the Midwestern United States, comprises 42 stores in eight states.
History
In 1883, Elder-Beerman history began when Boston Dry Goods Store opened in Dayton, Ohio, and was later incorporated under the name Elder & Johnston Company. In 1930, After a short career with Elder & Johnston, Arthur Beerman, founder of Elder-Beerman Stores Corp., branched out on his own and by 1945 Beerman Stores was incorporated. In 1953, Beerman formed a partnership with Max Gutmann and together they established the Bee Gee Shoe Corporation, which operated the El-Bee Shoe Outlets and Shoebilee! stores for many years before its sale. They also operated Margo's specialty clothing stores.[2][3]
In 1962, Beerman Stores merged with Elder & Johnston Company to form Elder-Beerman. For the next 20 years, the Elder-Beerman Stores Corp. grew to include furniture and home lines, and the company expanded with new stores throughout western Ohio and several surrounding states, competing with its Dayton rival, Rike Kumler. After Arthur Beerman's death in 1970, Max Gutmann was promoted to chairman and chief executive officer. In 1985, Herb Glaser was named president and CEO of the department store division. With Herb Glaser as president, Gutmann and Glaser developed the Elder-Beerman franchise through the 1980s and early 1990s. When the company was forced to file for Chapter 11 reorganization in 1995, Max Gutmann and Herb Glaser returned from retirement to turn the company around. During the bankruptcy, Frederick J. Mershad asked to replace Gutmann as chairman and chief executive officer. As a result of the bankruptcy, Elder-Beerman closed all of their Margo's LaMode stores in early 1996.[4]
Elder-Beerman has acquired three chains throughout its history: Cincinnati-based Mabley & Carew in 1978;[5] Terre Haute, Indiana-based Meis in 1989;[6][7] and Wheeling, West Virginia-based Stone & Thomas in 1998.[8][9]
1999 and 2003 prototypes
In late 1999, Elder-Beerman opened prototype stores in Jasper, Indiana; Warsaw, Indiana (now Carson Pirie Scott); and Frankfort, Kentucky. These stores included service centers, open-stock cosmetic and shoe departments, and courtesy telephones. Four years later, the chain opened smaller-scale prototypes in DeKalb, Illinois (now Carson Pirie Scott) and Muscatine, Iowa, the latter being their first Iowa location. These stores represented a new marketing strategy of operating smaller-format stores in mid-sized markets.
Today
Elder-Beerman was acquired by The Bon-Ton in 2003. At that point, Elder-Beerman had exited bankruptcy and was in discussions to go private when Bon-Ton stepped in offering more cash for outstanding stock.
In 2012, The Bon-Ton began re-branding several Elder-Beerman stores to some of its other nameplates. Several in Michigan and Indiana have been converted to Carson's or Younkers.[10] This re-branding has reduced the number of Elder-Beerman stores to 37.[11]
References
- ↑ 2011 Annual Report (PDF) (Report). The Bon-Ton Stores. January 28, 2012.
- ↑ "B-N El-Bee Store on Chain's Closing List". Bloomington Pantagraph. December 1, 1995. p. D1. (Subscription required (help)).
A judge Thursday gave Elder-Beerman Stores Corp. permission to close 102 stores, including one in Normal's College Hills Mall, as part of the company's reorganization. The company will close all 68 of its Margo's specialty apparel shops, 32 of its 106 El Bee Shoes stores and two outlet stores. The closings affect stores in 12 states.
- ↑ "Elder-Beerman can close stores: court". Park City Daily News. December 1, 1995. pp. 8A – via Google News.
- ↑ "Bankruptcy judge OKs closing of Margo's stores". San Antonio Express-News. December 2, 1995. (Subscription required (help)).
The judge said Elder-Beerman Stores Corp. could close 102 stores as part of its reorganization. In addition to those owned by its Dallas-based Margo's LaMode subsidiary, the stores include 32 of its 106 El-Bee Shoes stores in the Midwest and two outlet stores in Ohio. Elder-Beerman, a privately held company based in Dayton, filed for Chapter 11 protection last month.
- ↑ "Elder-Beerman Agrees To Acquire Four Stores Of Allied Stores Corp.". Wall Street Journal. March 21, 1978. p. 41. (Subscription required (help)).
Elder-Beerman Stores Corp. said it agreed in principle to acquire four stores of Allied Stores Corp.'s Mabley & Carew division in Cincinnati. Terms weren't disclosed.
Alternate Link via ProQuest. - ↑ "Brown Group Sells Department Stores". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 29, 1989. p. 13a. (Subscription required (help)).
Brown Group Inc. said Friday that as part of its restructuring effort it has sold its Meis department store unit to an Ohio retailing chain. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Meis, which is based in Terre Haute, Ind., operates 10 department stores in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. It has annual sales of about $75 million. Brown bought the chain in 1972. Meis' buyer, Elder-Beerman Stores Corp. of Dayton, Ohio, has 33 department stores, primarily in Ohio.
- ↑ The Elder-Beerman Stores Corp | Further Reading: International Directory of Company Histories
- ↑ "Ten Stone & Thomas stores to reopen as Elder-Beerman". Dayton Business Journal. October 19, 1998.
- ↑ "Elder-Beerman Buying Stone & Thomas". Daily News Record – via FindArticles.
- ↑ http://www.fwbusiness.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10955
- ↑ Jackson, Tarryl (September 10, 2012). "Elder-Beerman department store at Jackson's Westwood Mall is now Younkers". Booth Newspapers.