Uptons

Uptons

File:Uptons Department Store Final Logo.png
Company type	department store
Industry	retail
Founded	1985
Founder	George Upton Bobby Upton
Defunct	2000
Fate	Sold off by American Retail Group
Headquarters	Norcross, Georgia , United States
Number of locations	75
Area served	Southeastern United States
Owner	American Retail Group

Uptons was a department store chain headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Its operations were concentrated mainly across the Southeastern United States, including states such as Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The company ceased operations in 1999.

History

The inaugural Uptons store launched at Roswell Mall in Roswell, Georgia during 1985. Shortly after, two additional outlets were established within the Atlanta metropolitan area. In 1987, Uptons expanded by acquiring 14 stores from Meyers-Arnold based in Greenville, South Carolina.

In 1996, the retailer further grew by purchasing thirty-seven locations from the Florida-based J. Byrons department store chain. The following year, Uptons relocated its corporate headquarters from Norcross, Georgia, a suburb of the Atlanta metropolitan region, to the nearby Peachtree Corners area within Technology Park Atlanta.

By July 1999, the parent company, American Retail Group, determined that continuing to operate the Uptons chain was financially unsustainable. Consequently, all seventy-five stores had been closed by 2000. At that time, American Retail Group also controlled other retail brands including apparel retailer Maurices, Inc.; sporting goods chain Eastern Mountain Sports, Inc; and The Hub, Inc.—the latter comprising clothing brands such as Millers Outpost, Levi's Outlet by M.O.S.T., Dockers Outlet by M.O.S.T., Juxtapose, and Anchor Blue.