Herberger's

For the arts college, see Herberger College of the Arts.

G. R. Herberger Inc.

File:Herberger's logo.svg
Trade name	Herberger's
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Retail
Founded	1927 (1927) (original); 2018 (2018) (revival)
Founder	G. R. Herberger
Defunct	Template:End date and age (original) Template:End date and age (revival)
Headquarters	St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States
Products	Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, housewares
Owner	Saks, Inc. (1997–2006) The Bon-Ton (2006–2018) CSC Generation (2018–2021) BrandX (2021–present)
Parent	BrandX (2021–present)
Website	herbergers.com

G. R. Herberger Inc. was a department store chain founded in 1927 in the Midwest region of the United States and ceased operations in 2018.

History

File:Herbergers rose logo.png

Herberger's former logo used until January 2004 prior to adopting the hexagonal circle emblem shared by Saks/Northern's affiliated brands.

The origins of Herberger's trace back to Osakis, Minnesota, where G.R. "Bob" Herberger launched his inaugural store in 1927. The company was formally incorporated in 1943 to facilitate the acquisition of additional outlets and expansion into new markets. By 1972, Herberger's had grown to encompass 11 stores across four states, with its headquarters situated in downtown St. Cloud, Minnesota. At that time an employee-owned enterprise, G. R. Herberger's, Inc. merged with Proffitt's Inc. in 1997 through a stock transaction valued at roughly $160 million (~$Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year).

As Proffitt's Inc. transformed into Saks Incorporated following its acquisition of Saks Fifth Avenue, Herberger's was integrated into the company's Northern Department Store Group—a collection of retail locations initially acquired by Proffitt's as part of Carson Pirie Scott & Company. On October 31, 2005, Saks announced the sale of Herberger's along with other Northern Department Store Group entities (Carson Pirie Scott, Bergner's, Boston Store, and Younkers) to Bon-Ton Stores in a $1.1 billion agreement; this deal was finalized on March 6, 2006.

File:Herberger's in Rapid City, South Dakota.jpg

File:Herberger's going out of business sale in Rapid City, South Dakota.jpg

A functioning Herberger's store in Rapid City, South Dakota alongside its liquidation sale several months later.

On April 17, 2018, Bon-Ton declared it would shutter all 267 stores and commence liquidation after auction winners Great American Group and Tiger Capital Group acquired the company for an estimated $775.5 million. This closure encompassed all remaining Herberger’s outlets after operating for 91 years. Retail analyst Mitch Nolen reported that store closures occurred within approximately 10 to 12 weeks.

Later that year, the Fargo Forum revealed that the Herberger’s website had been reactivated displaying the message "Herberger’s is coming back," coinciding with the final store closing on August 31, 2018. The report did not clarify details regarding funding or ownership of the brand revival nor address whether employee retirement benefits remained unresolved following asset transfers.

File:2009-0610-012-Roseville-Herbergers.jpg

A Herberger’s location in Roseville, Minnesota featuring the former logo.

Herberger’s experienced a relaunch after CSC Generations acquired Bon Ton, Inc., including its brands and customer databases. On October 1, 2018, announcements indicated plans for reopening multiple Herberger’s stores across Minnesota, with Rochester anticipated to host the initial reopening.

In or around 2021, CSC Generations transferred ownership of Herberger’s to BrandX and suggested imminent store openings; however, as of 2024 this revival has yet to come to fruition.

External links

• Archived official site
• Investor relations portal for The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc.