Glosser Brothers/Gee Bee
 | |
| Formerly | Glosser Brothers |
|---|---|
| Company type | Discount department store |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1906 (originally Glosser Brothers) |
| Defunct | Template:End date and age |
| Fate | Liquidation |
Gee Bee Department Stores operated as a discount department store chain primarily located in western Pennsylvania. Founded in 1906 under the name Glosser Brothers, the business ceased operations in 1993.[1]
History
Originating as "Glosser Brothers" in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA, the enterprise began in 1906 when the Glosser siblings launched a modest single-room retail outlet within the Franklin Building. By the decade’s end, it had evolved into a comprehensive, upscale department store bearing the Glosser name. The Glosser family is also notable as the maternal lineage of presidential advisor Stephen Miller.[2][3] The company’s founder, Louis W. Glosser, passed away in 1927.[4]
During the 1960s, Glosser Brothers expanded by launching suburban Gee Bee discount stores. In the following decade, the 1970s, they introduced Gee Bee, Jr., a smaller-scale version of their discount outlets focusing mainly on affordable apparel and accessories. Certain larger locations also featured co-branded supermarkets situated adjacent to but distinctly separate from the department store area.
Most locations—including the original store maintaining the full Glosser Brothers name—remained operational into the early 1990s. At its zenith in the 1980s, the chain operated 23 stores spread across Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Facing intensified competition from an increasing number of discount retailers, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 1989,[5] continuing operations under GB Stores, Ltd. while under court supervision. This restructuring led to closure of its grocery division which was sold off to other supermarket operators. The company successfully emerged from bankruptcy by mid-1991.
Following its emergence from bankruptcy proceedings, Glosser Brothers was placed on the market and acquired by Value City in May 1992. Subsequently, numerous Gee Bee outlets were converted into Value City stores. The final Gee Bee Jr. location in Upper Yoder, a suburb near Johnstown, shut its doors in 1993. Many stores rebranded as Value City did not endure this transition and were ultimately closed before the decade’s end; Value City itself ceased operations in 2008.
The Franklin Building—long serving as corporate headquarters—underwent redevelopment during the mid-1990s. Completed in 1905, the Glosser Brothers Department Store building is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Downtown Johnstown Historic District.
Further reading
- Long Live Glosser's by Robert Jeschonek, published in 2014 by Pie Press, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, ISBN 9780996248075
References
- ↑ "Pottsville Republican from Pottsville, Pennsylvania on January 6, 1993 · 13".
- ↑ Eshman, Rob (August 10, 2016). "Stephen Miller, meet your immigrant great-grandfather". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
On his mother's side, Miller is a Glosser — and you could write a book on the Glossers.
- ↑ Abrams, Rachel; Gebeloff, Robert (July 5, 2017). "Small towns hit hard by e-commerce's rise". The Atlanta Constitution. p. A13 – via Newspapers.com.
But today, the area bears the marks of a struggling town. Its population has dwindled, and addiction treatment centers and Dollar Generals stand in place of corner grocers and department stores like Glosser Brothers, once owned by the family of Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump's speechwriter.
- ↑ "Member of Glosser Firm Dies". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 2, 1927. p. 10. Retrieved August 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Gee Bee owner files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy". Standard-Speaker. Hazleton, Pennsylvania. March 28, 1989. p. 5. Retrieved August 13, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.