Clover (store)

Clover

Industry	Retail
Founded	1971
Defunct	1996
Fate	Liquidation
Headquarters	Cherry Hill, New Jersey, U.S.
Products	Apparel, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, cosmetics, and household goods.
Parent	Strawbridge & Clothier May Department Stores

Clover was a discount retail chain comprising 26 outlets managed by Strawbridge & Clothier across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. While the typical Clover store measured around 80,000 sq ft (7,400 m²), the initial five locations were larger, ranging from approximately 95,000 sq ft (8,800 m²) to 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m²).

History

The inaugural Clover store launched in 1971 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The concept for Clover was developed by the leadership at Strawbridge & Clothier, drawing inspiration from Dayton Hudson’s Target stores and the Gold Circle discount chain operated by Federated. The brand name originated from S&C’s recurring promotional events called Clover Days. Throughout its operation, Clover exhibited notable similarities to Target. Early store designs incorporated an adjacent grocery section known as Clovermarket. However, Strawbridge & Clothier soon ceased managing these food outlets, which were subsequently converted into either Acme or P.L.U.S., a no-frills grocery format under A&P.

In 1978, Strawbridge & Clothier collaborated with the Rouse Company to create two small shopping centers adjacent to their stores in Cinnaminson and Center Square. These centers were named Clover Square and housed a mix of regional and national retailers alongside independent shops. Each mall featured a food court positioned in a corner of the square-shaped walkway. These complexes were later renamed Outlet Square and have since been repurposed as supermarkets.

Following the acquisition of Strawbridge’s by May Department Stores in 1995, 23 Clover locations were sold to Kimco Realty Corporation for $35.5 million, leaving only three stores under Strawbridge’s control. Subsequently, Kohl's acquired five of these former Clover sites. Kimco proceeded to liquidate the Clover stores and disposed of the properties. Certain locations, such as those within Shore Mall in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey and Penrose Plaza in Southwest Philadelphia, could not be sold due to restrictive lease terms. To manage the liquidation process for the 23 stores sold and oversee operations at the remaining three until December 31, 1996, Gordon Brothers Partners, Inc., based in Boston, was engaged.

In 2006, Federated Department Stores (later known as Macy’s Inc.) acquired May Department Stores and phased out the Strawbridge’s brand in favor of the Macy’s nameplate.

Clover was a pioneer in retail technology innovation during its era. In the early 1970s, it implemented one of the first automated push-button customer assistance systems. Designed by longtime employee Thomas Atkinson, this system allowed shoppers to press a button in specific store areas to alert customer service. An alarm would sound at the Customer Service Desk, prompting an associate to broadcast a store-wide page requesting assistance at that location. If no associate responded after three alerts and system resets, the service desk would escalate by paging the store manager on duty to ensure customer support. Additionally, Clover was among the earliest non-food retailers to utilize full PLU lookup for both discounted and regular items along with handheld scanners. Just prior to closing operations, they adopted an advanced store management system for receiving and distribution that has since become a benchmark for major big-box retailers nationwide.

When Clover ceased operations, numerous former locations were acquired by Kohl's, marking Kohl’s initial significant expansion into eastern U.S. markets.