Boston Store (Wisconsin-based department store)

This article is about the Wisconsin-based department store chain. For the Southern California and Arizona chain (1934–1996), see Boston Stores. For the Los Angeles "Boston Store" (1883-1915), see J. W. Robinson's. For the Erie, PA location, see Boston Store (Erie, Pennsylvania).

Boston Store Inc

File:Nav store BTS.png
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Retail
Founded	1897 (1897)
Products	Apparel, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, cosmetics, housewares
Parent	Federated Department Stores (1948–1985) Maus Frères (1985–1991) Proffitts Inc. (1998–2005) The Bon-Ton (2006–2018) Private (2018-2021) BrandX (2021–present)
Website	http://www.bostonstore.com/

Boston Store operates as an e-commerce retailer today but was originally founded in 1897 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as a traditional department store.

1920s and 1930s

During the 1920s and into the 1930s, leadership of Boston Store was under Philip Irving Stone. His nephew, Irving Stone, held a managerial position and from 1927 was romantically involved with Broadway actress and future MGM star Jeanette MacDonald for a period.

In December 1933, a significant strike occurred when approximately 600 out of 1,000 employees staged a walkout as part of a notable White Collar union action.

Federated and Maus Freres S.A. Ownership

Control of Boston Store transferred from Julian Simon to Federated Department Stores in 1948. Under Federated's management, new branches were launched across several cities in Wisconsin, including Oshkosh, Sheboygan, and Manitowoc. In 1985 ownership shifted to the Bergner's chain based in Peoria, Illinois, which was itself owned by the Swiss retail conglomerate Maus Frères S.A., controlled by the Maus and Nordmann families. Following this acquisition, Bergner's headquarters were moved to Milwaukee.

Expansion through Acquisitions

When rival retailer Gimbels began closing operations in 1986, Boston Store expanded by acquiring three former Gimbels locations at Southgate Mall in Milwaukee, East Towne Mall in Madison, and Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa.

In 1989, P.A. Bergner acquired Chicago-based Carson Pirie Scott for over $450 million. Prior to this purchase, Carson Pirie Scott had itself acquired Minneapolis’s Donaldson's in November 1987. This series of acquisitions positioned Bergner's as a significant Midwestern retail operator with stores spanning five states—Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, and Iowa—operating under the Boston Store, Bergner's, and Carson Pirie Scott banners.

Bankruptcy and Acquisition by Proffitt's

In 1991, Bergner's initiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, resulting in Maus Freres S.A. losing its controlling interest amid a contentious dispute. By 1993, the company reemerged from bankruptcy protection under the name Carson Pirie Scott & Co, listed on the stock exchange with the ticker CPS. Later, in 1998, Proffitt's Inc.—which subsequently became Saks Incorporated—acquired Carson Pirie Scott, thereby strengthening Saks Incorporated’s footprint in the northern market.

Acquisition by The Bon-Ton

In July 2005, Saks finalized the divestiture of its Southern Department Store Group, which included Proffitt's and McRae's, selling them to Belk, Inc., headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. On October 31, 2005, Saks revealed plans to sell Boston Store along with other Northern Department Store Group entities—Carson Pirie Scott, Bergner's, Younkers, and Herberger's—to Bon-Ton Stores for $1.1 billion. This transaction reached completion on March 6, 2006. Subsequently, Younkers locations in the Milwaukee region were rebranded as Boston Stores to streamline marketing efforts under a unified Bon-Ton banner within each market.

Bon-Ton Bankruptcy

On April 17, 2018, two liquidation firms—Great American Group and Tiger Capital Group—secured ownership of Bon-Ton through an auction with a winning bid approximated at $775.5 million (adjusted for inflation). The company’s retail outlets were shuttered over a period of 10 to 12 weeks following the sale.

Revival

A message appeared on Bostonstore.com on September 14, 2018, proclaiming “We’re Back!”. This announcement followed an agreement made the previous week whereby CSC Generation Holdings acquired rights to operate Bon-Ton and its affiliated brands. On October 1, 2018, Boston Store officially relaunched as a digital-only retailer.