Turn Style

Turn Style

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Retail (discount department stores)
Founded	1957
Founder	Harold Sparks
Defunct	1978
Fate	Sold to May Department Stores and rebranded as Venture; remaining stores converted or closed
Headquarters	Brighton, Massachusetts , United States
Area served	Midwestern United States, Massachusetts, New England
Parent	Jewel Companies (from 1961)

Turn Style was a discount department store chain operating as a subsidiary of Chicago-based Jewel, the parent company of Jewel Food Stores. During the 1960s and 1970s, several Midwestern Turn Style locations featured an Osco Pharmacy, a rarity among discount retailers of that era. At its height, the chain boasted over fifty outlets across Chicago, downstate Illinois, including Decatur, Illinois and Moline; as well as in Davenport, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; Boston, Massachusetts; Merrillville, Indiana; various locations in Michigan; and Racine, Wisconsin.

History

Turn Style was established in 1957 by Harold Sparks in Lynn, Massachusetts, marking the first discount department store in Massachusetts and the second in New England after Connecticut's Topps Department Stores opened just seven months prior. The chain expanded quickly within Massachusetts with additional stores opening in Brighton (1958), Lawrence (1960), and Medford (1961). Headquartered in Brighton, Massachusetts, Turn Style was acquired by Jewel in 1961, which accelerated its growth. That year, the company reported $14 million in sales with four stores operating. The first Turn Style Family Center debuted in Racine in March 1962, introducing a new retail concept.

The chain expanded throughout the Midwest and maintained a presence around the Boston area. Within three years of opening the Racine location, Turn Style achieved the highest return on investment among Jewel Companies’ divisions. However, aggressive growth strategies—including integrating a catalog-style retail format and venturing into hypermarket operations—led to declining profitability.Template:Fix/category

Economic challenges prompted Jewel to reconsider its expansion plans, ultimately deciding to divest Turn Style to focus on its core supermarket and drugstore businesses. In 1978, nineteen of the twenty-two Turn Style stores were sold to May Department Stores and rebranded as Venture locations; many eventually transitioned into Kmart outlets. Remaining stores were either converted into large Osco Drug outlets, or shuttered entirely.