Jump to content

Interstate Department Stores

From Alfawiki
Interstate Department Stores, Inc.
Company typeHolding company
IndustryRetail
FoundedFebruary 14, 1928; 98 years ago (1928-02-14) in Delaware, United States
FounderLeo G. Federman
Defunct1978 (1978)
FateReorganized and renamed as Toys "R" Us Corporation
Headquarters
United States
Area served
United States
ProductsDepartment stores, discount stores, toy stores

Interstate Department Stores, Inc. was an American holding company established in Delaware in 1928, overseeing a network of small department stores.[1] The company experienced swift growth following the acquisitions of two discount store chains in 1959[2] and 1960[3], along with two toy store chains purchased in 1967 and 1969. Reflecting its evolving portfolio, the corporation rebranded itself as Interstate Stores, Inc. in 1970.[4] Facing intensified competition and shifting consumer preferences during the late 1960s and early 1970s, the company encountered declining revenues that culminated in a bankruptcy filing in 1974. After divesting underperforming segments, it emerged from bankruptcy in 1978 retaining its entire toy store division and a smaller portion of its department store operations. Upon reorganization, the company adopted the name Toys "R" Us.

History

Incorporated on February 14, 1928, in Delaware, Interstate Department Stores functioned as a holding entity managing twenty-three department stores across Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, New York, Ohio, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and West Virginia. These initial stores were consolidated from the Federman Department Stores and Stillman Department Stores groups. Despite this consolidation, individual store names and local management teams remained unchanged. Leo G. Federman was appointed as the inaugural president.[5][1] The oldest establishment within this group had been operating for two decades at that time. By August of the founding year, Interstate had expanded by acquiring or constructing four additional outlets, including the launch of Hill's Dry Goods Co. in Davenport, Iowa and The Evansville Dry Goods Co. in Evansville, Indiana.[6]

In October 1929, Interstate further expanded by acquiring Aurora Dry Goods Company located in Aurora, Illinois[7][8] as well as Waukegan Dry Goods Co. based in Waukegan, Illinois.[9]

By 1935, after opening two more stores that year, Interstate operated a total of 40 units.[10] In 1952, this number had increased to 47 department stores.[11]

By 1958, Interstate's portfolio included 48 stores across fifteen states offering merchandise at low to medium price points.

The company's entry into the discount department store sector occurred in 1959 with the acquisition of the Los Angeles-based two-store White Front chain for $1.6 million in April.[2] Concurrently, Interstate initiated its own discount chain by opening Family Fair stores in Toledo and Canton, Ohio during August and October respectively. At this juncture, Interstate's conventional department store count stood at 49.[12]

In 1960, Interstate expanded its discount operations by purchasing Topps Department Stores for $4 million. By 1963, White Front had grown to encompass eleven locations. The company actively managed these discount chains while continuing to open new outlets.

The rapid expansion of Topps stores across Eastern and Midwestern regions inadvertently led to closures of many traditional department stores within communities where Topps operated nearby.[13]

During the late 1960s, Interstate diversified by acquiring toy retail chains including Children's Supermart based in Washington DC in 1967,[14][15] followed by Children's Bargain Town from Chicago in 1969.[16]

By 1968, Interstate's holdings included 60 Topps stores, 28 White Front locations, 32 department stores, and eight toy superstores. Reflecting this shift in focus—where conventional department store revenue represented a diminishing share—the shareholders approved renaming the company Interstate Stores, Inc. in 1970.[4]

Throughout the early 1970s, declining sales prompted Interstate to shutter numerous stores. In 1974, an attempted acquisition of McCrory Stores' variety and discount chains was unsuccessful. Subsequently, Interstate filed for bankruptcy protection.[17] This period saw all White Front outlets close or convert to Two Guys. The only division maintaining profitability was Toys "R" Us. In 1978, Charles Lazarus—the founder of Toys "R" Us—assumed control and rebranded the company as Toys "R" Us Corporation. The firm was later acquired by Vornado Realty Trust in 2005; Vornado had previously owned Two Guys.

Family Fair

Family Fair was a discount retail chain established in the Midwest by Interstate in 1959, during a period when Interstate had no discount outlets located east of the Rocky Mountains. Within its inaugural year, stores launched in Toledo[18] and Canton, Ohio,[19] followed by an expansion into Louisville, Kentucky the subsequent year.[20] These initial stores featured large retail spaces, such as the Toledo location occupying 100,000 square feet across two levels.[21] Despite ambitious intentions to grow the Family Fair brand, these plans were abandoned shortly after Interstate's acquisition of Topps in 1960. From that point onward, all new discount outlets launched by Interstate in the Midwest operated under the Topps name rather than Family Fair.[22]

Topps

File:Topps Discount Store Final Logo.png

The Topps Discount Stores chain originated in Hartford, Connecticut, founded by Frank Beckerman[3] and Selwyn Lemchen.[23] The first Topps location, measuring 30,000 square feet, opened its doors in Hartford in 1956.[24] A larger second store, encompassing 60,000 square feet and including a supermarket section, was introduced the following year in New Haven, Connecticut.[25] By March 1960, the chain had expanded to nine stores with its initial Midwestern presence established in Niles, Illinois, featuring a unique shopping center design that integrated a supermarket, drug store, and Topps department store under one roof without internal partitions.[26][27][28] Shortly thereafter, another Topps location was inaugurated in Fairfield, Connecticut.[29]

By 1960, Topps operated ten stores across Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Some locations were branded as Topps Discount City, while others used Topps Discount Center. In that same year, Interstate acquired the ten-unit Connecticut-based Topps chain for an undisclosed sum.[30][3]

The swift expansion of Topps contributed to declines within Interstate’s traditional department store segment and led to closures of conventional department stores.[13] By 1968, the Topps chain had grown to 61 outlets primarily situated in the Midwest and Northeastern United States.[23]

All Topps stores ceased operations by 1974 when Interstate filed for bankruptcy.[17] At that time, Topps had nine locations it planned to keep open while closing eleven others after recently shutting down an additional forty-one stores.

A separate Canadian discount chain named Topp's Discount Department Stores, Ltd.—unrelated to Interstate’s Topps—operated in Winnipeg, Manitoba from 1962[31] until 1969.[32]

Subsidiaries

Sources

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1928feb15
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wsj-1959apr28
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1960sep12
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1970may28
  5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1928feb20
  6. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1928aug22
  7. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1929oct02
  8. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named lehman
  9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1929oct17
  10. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1935nov08
  11. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1952oct07
  12. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wsj-1959may13
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1963oct17
  14. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named nyt-1967jan20
  15. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wp-1967jan20
  16. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wsj-1969apr02
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1974may23
  18. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1959jul17
  19. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1959oct20
  20. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1960mar31
  21. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  22. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named barr-1963jul15
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1968dec06
  24. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1956sep04
  25. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1957jul11
  26. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named cdt-1960mar26
  27. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1960mar25
  28. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1960mar30
  29. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1960aug16
  30. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wsj-1960sep13
  31. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1962jul05
  32. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wswd-1969feb27

External links

Retrieved from "https://www.alfawiki.org/index.php?title=Interstate_Department_Stores&oldid=31503"