Arlan's

Arlan's

File:Arlans - 1967.svg
Industry	Retail
Founded	1945 (1945)
Founder	William Palestine Herbert Palestine Lester Palestine
Defunct	Template:End date and age
Fate	Bankruptcy
Headquarters	New Bedford, Massachusetts , United States
Area served	United States

Arlan's was a discount store chain operating in the United States.

The company was established in 1945 by William, Herbert, and Lester Palestine in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

In 1963, Arlan's management initiated merger discussions with King's based in Newton, Massachusetts. These negotiations were briefly revisited again in 1966.

By 1965, Arlan's had inaugurated its 50th outlet located in Cudahy, Wisconsin. At that time, the chain generated $174 million in revenue and maintained stores across 18 states ranging from Maine to Colorado. Additionally, Arlan's owned 18 Play World toy store branches. The retailer reached its peak size with 119 stores in 1970; however, it began to suffer significant operational losses around this period. These financial difficulties were partly ascribed to an overly broad geographic expansion strategy relative to the company's scale, resulting in inefficient distribution logistics. In 1971, although bankruptcy was considered, it was ultimately deemed premature. That same year, Arlan's divested 16 locations to Target.

Following the departure of co-founder Herbert Palestine two years earlier, Arlan's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 1973. At that point, the number of stores had decreased to 73. An ambitious but undisclosed turnaround effort during the 1973 holiday season—referred to internally as "Mission Impossible"—failed to improve the company’s financial position. Consequently, by January 1974, an additional 38 stores were shuttered. The Securities and Exchange Commission successfully petitioned for the bankruptcy case to be converted from Chapter 11 to Chapter 10. Under continued financial strain during bankruptcy proceedings, the chain rapidly contracted further and ultimately liquidated its remaining ten stores in early 1975 as ordered by the bankruptcy court. Later judicial findings revealed unethical conduct by Arlan's legal counsel concerning fee arrangements and a lack of full disclosure.