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Elder-Beerman

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The Elder-Beerman Stores Corp.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryRetail
Predecessor
  • Boston Dry Goods Store (1883–1896)
  • Elder & Johnston Company (1896–1945)
  • Beerman Stores (1945–1962)
Founded1883 (143 years ago) (1883) as Boston Dry Goods in Dayton, Ohio
1962 (64 years ago) (1962) as Elder-Beerman
FoundersArthur Beerman
Thomas Elder
William Hunter Jr.
Russell Johnston
DefunctTemplate:End date and age as physical retail locations, continuing solely as an online retailer
FateBankruptcy
HeadquartersDayton, Ohio, United States
Number of locations
Template:Plain
ProductsApparel, shoes, bedding, furniture, jewelry, cosmetics, and home goods
ParentThe Bon-Ton (2003–2018)

CSC Generation (2018-2021)

BrandX.com (2021-Present)
Websiteelder-beerman.com
File:Elder Beerman Centreville OH USA.JPG
Elder-Beerman retail location in Centerville, Ohio, pictured in 2006 before its closure. The site was demolished in 2011 to make way for a Kroger Marketplace.

The Elder-Beerman Stores Corp., widely known as Elder-Beerman, was a department store chain originating in the United States in 1883. The final physical stores ceased operations in 2018. Headquartered primarily in the Midwestern United States, the company operated 31 outlets across eight states at the time of its dissolution in 2018,[1] having reached its peak around 2003 with 68 stores and annual revenues of approximately $670 million.[2]Template:Failed verification

History

The origins of Elder-Beerman trace back to 1883 when Thomas Elder, William Hunter Jr., and Russell Johnston established the Boston Dry Goods Store on East Third Street in downtown Dayton, Ohio. Initially offering textiles, apparel, and groceries, the business relocated in 1896 to Dayton’s then-new Reibold Building—a prominent eleven-story skyscraper at Fourth and Main streets. Operating under the name Elder & Johnston Company, this location served as the company’s base for more than six decades.[3]

Throughout much of its later existence, the company’s headquarters were situated at 3155 El-Bee Road in Moraine, Ohio. From 1976 until its closure in 2015, Elder-Beerman operated a flagship six-level store located at Courthouse Plaza, 40 N. Ludlow Street in downtown Dayton.

Beerman and Gutmann

Arthur Beerman, after a brief tenure at Elder & Johnston in 1930, ventured independently and by 1945 had officially incorporated Beerman Stores. In 1950, he launched "Beermans for Bargains," a series of junior department stores located in the McCook Shopping Center in northern Dayton and the Northtown Shopping Center in Harrison Township, Montgomery County, just north of Dayton.[4]

By 1953, Beerman partnered with Max Gutmann to create the Bee Gee Shoe Corporation, which operated retail chains such as El-Bee Shoe Outlets and Shoebilee! for several decades. Their business interests also included Margo's specialty apparel outlets.[5][6]

File:Old Elderbeeman logo.png
Elder-Beerman's former logo used until 2006

In 1956, Beerman acquired the Home Store, a downtown Dayton department store. During the 1950s, Beerman and Gutmann steadily grew Beerman Stores across Dayton’s suburban areas. By 1961, Gutmann had taken on the roles of executive vice president and general manager of the company.

The year 1962 marked a significant development as Beerman Stores merged with Elder & Johnston Company, forming Elder-Beerman;[4] this merger led to the closure of Elder & Johnston's Reibold Building location, consolidating operations at the Home Store site. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Elder-Beerman Stores Corp. broadened its footprint across western Ohio and neighboring states, including standalone furniture outlets, positioning itself against Dayton-based competitor Rike's (now Macy’s).

Post-Beerman Era

Following Beerman's passing in 1970, Gutmann ascended to the roles of chairman and chief executive officer. By 1976, the flagship Dayton location was moved to a newly constructed five-story facility on Courthouse Square, which also included a basement level. In 1978, Elder-Beerman extended its reach into the Cincinnati market by acquiring four stores from Mabley & Carew—one situated in downtown Cincinnati and three located in suburban areas.

In 1985, Herb Glaser assumed the positions of president and CEO for the department store division. Under the leadership of Gutmann and Glaser, the Elder-Beerman brand experienced growth throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. When the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1995, both Gutmann and Glaser came out of retirement to steer the turnaround efforts. During this restructuring period, Frederick J. Mershad requested to succeed Gutmann as chairman and CEO. As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, Elder-Beerman discontinued all Margo's LaMode outlets in early 1996.

Throughout its history, Elder-Beerman expanded through acquiring three retail chains: Cincinnati-based Mabley & Carew in 1978; Meis, headquartered in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1989; and Stone & Thomas from Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1998.

Prototypes from 1999 and 2003

Towards the end of 1999, Elder-Beerman introduced prototype stores in Jasper, Indiana; Warsaw, Indiana; and Frankfort, Kentucky. These locations featured service centers, open-stock cosmetics and shoe departments, along with courtesy telephones. Four years later, the company launched smaller prototype stores in DeKalb, Illinois and Muscatine, Iowa, marking its initial entry into the Iowa market. These new formats reflected a strategic shift toward operating more compact stores in medium-sized communities.

Acquisition by The Bon-Ton and subsequent liquidation

In 2003, Elder-Beerman became part of The Bon-Ton following an acquisition. At that time, Elder-Beerman ranked as the ninth-largest independent department store chain. Having emerged from bankruptcy and engaged in talks to go private, the company was overtaken by Bon-Ton’s higher cash offer for outstanding shares. Post-merger, the Elder-Beerman brand remained active across its 68 locations spanning eight states. Additionally, Elder-Beerman’s CEO Bud Bergren assumed leadership of Bon-Ton in 2004.

By 2012, The Bon-Ton initiated a rebranding campaign converting several Elder-Beerman outlets in Michigan and Indiana to other Bon-Ton banners such as Carson's and Younkers. This effort reduced Elder-Beerman’s footprint to 37 stores, predominantly located in Ohio.

In March 2017, Elder-Beerman began incorporating "Close to Home" shops within its Dayton-area stores—including those at Dayton Mall, The Mall at Fairfield Commons, Huber Heights, and Kettering—offering locally sourced and themed merchandise. This concept was part of a broader rollout across Bon-Ton’s various brands. A month later, a similar "Close to Home" shop debuted at the Eclipse Center store in Beloit, Wisconsin.

On April 17, 2018, amidst The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc.'s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, ownership transferred to a consortium consisting of holders of the company's 8.0% Second Lien Secured Notes due 2021 alongside Great American Group, LLC and Tiger Capital Group, LLC. Their plan involved liquidating The Bon-Ton and all its subsidiaries—including Elder-Beerman—which had served customers for 135 years.

Within the Dayton region, Elder-Beerman locations in Kettering and at Miami Valley Centre Mall in Piqua, Ohio ceased operations on August 26, 2018. The remainder of the Elder-Beerman stores nationwide—along with all other Bon-Ton-owned department stores—closed their doors on August 29, 2018.

CSC Generation

On August 31, 2018, the websites for Elder-Beerman and all other retail brands owned by Bon-Ton were updated to display "stay tuned" messages, suggesting that these brands might return in some capacity. During this period, the company's intellectual property was announced to be up for sale by the liquidator.

About a week later, on September 6, it was revealed that CSC Generation had acquired Bon-Ton's trademarks, customer data, and websites. The plan was to transform the retailer into a leaner e-commerce entity primarily operating online, while also considering reopening select physical stores in states such as Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

By September 14, CSC Generation had reintroduced websites for all the department store brands it had purchased. These sites featured a range of products including apparel, home furnishings, televisions, and major kitchen appliances. Additionally, they implemented a lease-to-own option that allowed customers to make monthly payments covering part of the merchandise cost instead of paying in full upfront. At that point, there were no announcements regarding the reopening of any former Elder-Beerman retail locations.

Efforts to revive brick-and-mortar stores under any of the former Bon-Ton banners ultimately did not succeed. In November 2018, CSC Generation launched a Carson's store in Evergreen Park, Illinois, with intentions to open more outlets that never materialized. This single location eventually closed in October 2020. Throughout their brief tenure, CSC Generation did not manage to reopen any Elder-Beerman branded physical stores.

BrandX

In early 2021, BrandX discreetly purchased the Elder-Beerman trademark along with other Bon Ton intellectual property assets from CSC Generation for an undisclosed amount. By May 2022, BrandX revealed intentions to relaunch the associated websites and indicated the potential for reopening physical retail locations in the future. As of January 2025, the Elder-Beerman website remains largely unchanged and inactive since early 2022.

References

  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named 10K
  2. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ddn20180423
  5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named bp-1995dec01
  6. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named pcdn-1995dec01

External links

Template:Bon-Ton Stores Template:Department stores in the United States

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