Goody's (store)
| File:Goody's your town your store.png | |
| Goody's | |
| Company type | Department store |
| Industry | Clothing |
| Founded | 1953 (original), 2009 (revival) |
| Founder | M.D. Goodfriend |
| Defunct | 2009 (original), 2020 (revival) |
| Fate | Bankruptcy, Liquidated |
| Headquarters | Houston, Texas |
Area served | Southern United States Midwestern United States |
| Products | Apparel, accessories, cosmetics, footwear, and housewares |
| Parent | Stage Stores (2009-2020) BrandX.com (2022-present) |
| Website | Archived official website at the Wayback Machine (archive index) |
Goody's Family Clothing Inc. was a U.S.-based department store chain, owned by Stage Stores and headquartered in Houston, Texas. The retailer specialized in offering clothing, footwear, cosmetics, accessories, and household goods.
Initially headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, Goody's operated close to 500 outlets throughout the Southern and Midwestern regions of the United States, including states like Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. In 2010, the company expanded its footprint by opening 17 additional stores across the Southeast.
The company’s exclusive private-label collections featured brands such as Valerie Stevens, Signature Studio, Sun River, Rustic Blue, Rebecca Malone, and Wishful Park.
History
Established in 1953 in Athens, Tennessee by entrepreneur M. D. Goodfriend as an extension of his family’s retail enterprise dating back to 1913, Goody's originally concentrated on selling closeout merchandise. By 1970, it had grown to operate 20 locations.
In 1978, the brand adopted the name "Goody's" following a strategic shift led by Bob Goodfriend—M. D.’s son and president since 1979—who redirected the company's focus from outlet closeouts to high-quality, current brand-name apparel. This change spurred rapid growth; the launch of a private-label apparel line in 1993 helped the company achieve $1 billion in annual sales by 1998 and reach its 300th store by 2000. By 2004, Goody's had expanded to over 350 stores generating $1.3 billion in revenue.
In January 2006, Goody's returned to private ownership after being acquired by GMM Capital and Prentice Capital Management, with reported sales of $1.6 billion that year. Despite this success, financial difficulties led to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in 2008 and the closure of 69 stores. Although the company emerged from bankruptcy protection, it ultimately filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in early 2009.
In July 2009, Houston-based Specialty Retailers (which later became Stage Stores) purchased the Goody's brand with intentions to revive its operations. In September 2019, Stage Stores announced plans to convert all Goody's locations into off-price Gordmans stores by the end of 2020.
On May 10, 2020, Stage Stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and commenced liquidation of all Goody's and Gordmans outlets after failing to find a buyer.
In 2022, BrandX acquired the Goody's brand with plans for relaunching it, indicating potential future growth for this historic retailer.
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- Webarchive template wayback links
- United States clothing retailers
- United States department stores
- American firms founded in 1953
- Retailers founded in 1953
- Companies that pursued Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2008
- Companies that underwent Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2009
- Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020
- Entities that have declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy
- Tennessee-based defunct firms
- Companies that were reestablished
- Retail businesses closed in 2009
- Houston-based companies
- Midwestern United States economy
- Southeastern United States economy
- Mergers and acquisitions in 2009
- Retail businesses closed in 2020
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- American companies established in 1953
- Companies of the United States by year of establishment