Bonton Holdings Inc. operating as Bonton was an American department store chain and group founded in 1898. The former York, Pennsylvania-based company BonTon filed for bankruptcy in February 2018 and sold the name to CSC Generation, which sold it to BrandX.com in 2021, operating an e-commerce site under the brand name. Along with Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson's, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's, and Younkers, the names of most of the defunct retail group's department store chains are owned by BrandX.
The Bon-Ton was founded in 1898, when Max Grumbacher and his father, Samuel, opened S. Grumbacher & Son, a one-room millinery and dry goods store on Market Street in York, Pennsylvania.[1]
Through World War I and the Roaring Twenties, the Grumbacher's store chain grew bigger, and in 1929, the company was incorporated as S. Grumbacher & Son, Inc. In 1931, Max's son, Max Samuel (M.S.), joined the company. When Max the elder died in 1933, his widow, Daisy, and their two sons, M.S. and Richard, continued the business, forming a partnership in 1936.
The Bon-Ton was a popular store destination on the classic radio show Fibber McGee and Molly,[2] which aired from 1935 to 1959.
Following World War II, the Grumbacher family expanded operations even further. In 1946, an additional Bon-Ton was opened, in Hanover, Pennsylvania. Two years later, the company moved outside Pennsylvania, acquiring Eyerly's in Hagerstown, Maryland, and, in 1957, purchasing McMeen's in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. These early moves set Bon-Ton's policy of growing into adjacent areas by opening new stores and acquiring existing businesses.
Over the next three decades, The Bon-Ton Stores continued to expand. In 1961, M.S.'s son, M. Thomas "Tim", entered the business, representing the fourth generation of Grumbachers. During the 1960s, the company opened new Eyerly's and Bon-Ton stores in several Pennsylvania communities and one in West Virginia. In 1969, they retired McMeen's name. During the 1970s, as the popularity of shopping centers began to grow, The Bon-Ton opened 11 new stores in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
During the 1980s, the retail department store industry rapidly consolidated as major chains bought their competitors. The Bon-Ton Stores began the decade by opening more stores, establishing a new division, Maxwell's, and acquiring L S Good, including its Fowler's department stores. When Tim Grumbacher was made CEO in 1985, the company operated 18 stores in four states. Two years later, the company made a major move, buying the 11-store Pomeroy's chain from Allied Department Stores. That purchase allowed the company to move into seven new markets in Pennsylvania.
In 1991, The Bon-Ton acquired J.W. Rhodes in Ithaca, New York.[3] The Bon-Ton entered the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, market in 1992 with the acquisition of two Watt & Shand locations in downtown Lancaster and Park City Center. The company continued to expand its presence in the New York metropolitan area in 1993 with a store in the Wilton Mall in Saratoga Springs in the former Addis & Dey's space. In the late 1980s, the company also acquired a York, Pennsylvania-based family-operated department store, Mailman's, from Stanley Mailman, which converted to a Bon-Ton location.
The Bon-Ton initially retained and operated Hess's flagship location until 1996, when it closed after nearly 100 years of continuous operation. The site was eventually demolished. Its Allentown store, Hess's former south Allentown location, was the anchor of the South Mall.
In 1995, The Bon-Ton entered the Rochester, New York market in three former McCurdy's locations, and in a former McCurdy's space (originally Iszard's) in Elmira, New York. The following spring, the company opened a fourth Rochester location in a former Sibley's/Kaufmann's location. In March 1995, The Bon-Ton closed the landmark downtown Lancaster store. Later that year, they closed the downtown AM&A's location. 1998's expansion included a new store in Westfield, Massachusetts, making it The Bon-Ton Stores' first presence in New England.
21st century
In October 2003, The Bon-Ton expanded its reach into Ohio and the lower Midwest by acquiring the 68-store Elder-Beerman store chain. Following an attempt to convert to a privately held company, Elder-Beerman was offered more cash for its outstanding stock as part of the buyout.[4]
On November 25, 2003, Bon-Ton reported a net loss in the third quarter of $1.7 million, or $0.11 per share, including an asset impairment charge of $0.10 per share.[5]
The Bon-Ton Stores chain doubled in size in November 2005 with the $1.1 billion (~$1.65billion in 2023) purchase of the 142 stores of Saks' Northern Department Store Group, headquartered in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The corporate headquarters remained in York, Pennsylvania, but the merchandising headquarters was relocated to Milwaukee. As with the Elder-Beerman acquisition, no store names were changed in the transaction. The newly acquired store group included Carson Pirie Scott, later branded as Carson's, Bergner's, Boston Store, Herberger's, and Younkers.[6]
In September 2006, The Bon-Ton purchased four Parisian stores (plus one under construction) from Belk, which had just purchased the chain; the stores were located in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, outside Belk's traditional operating territory. The stores in Indiana and Ohio soon became Carson Pirie Scott[7] and Elder-Beerman, respectively. The three Michigan stores continued to be positioned as Parisian until 2013, when they became Carson's stores.[8]
From 2011 through 2017, the company did not post a net profit, while not unheard of, it also had a somewhat high degree of executive turnover during a significant period for legacy retailers to innovate.[9][10][11][12][needs copy edit]
In December 2013, Mike Nemoir, senior vice president, announced he would retire after four decades in the retail industry at Bon-Ton and its predecessor companies on March 28, 2014.[13] In May 2017, Tim Grumbacher retired after 50 years on the board of directors, and more than 25 as its chairman. He was Bon-Ton's CEO from 1985 to 1995 and held other senior management positions. Grumbacher's wife and fellow board member, Debra Simon, was elected to succeed him.[14]
In the fall of 2016, Bon-Ton launched "Close to Home" dedicated areas with its branding within 45 stores offering carefully selected hand-picked merchandise from designers, artisans, and entrepreneurs in each market. In February 2017, the chain announced it would expand this concept to at least 100 stores in 25 states.[15]
On December 18, 2017, Bon-Ton Stores revealed that after sales had fallen 6% in both the second and third quarters, it would be unable to satisfy a $14 million (~$17.1million in 2023) interest payment due December 15. The company entered into a standard grace period with its lenders. Analysis from Standard & Poor's downgraded the company into selective default, and predicted an out-of-court restructuring or a bankruptcy filing after the grace period.[16][17]
In late January 2018, The Bon-Ton announced a decision to optimize its brick-and-mortar format by shuttering 42 stores in 14 states, in addition to five stores previously announced.[18]
In February 2018, The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the likelihood of satisfying its long-term debt.[19]
On April 9, 2018, it was announced that Washington Prime Group and Namdar Realty Group had made a substantial offer to acquire The Bon-Ton. On April 17, 2018, however, a judge decided that the company would not be allowed to pay a $500,000 (~$597,664 in 2023) "work fee", rejecting the offer. The next highest offer that day came from The Great American Group LLC and Tiger Capital Group LLC, which are businesses that both specialize in store liquidation, from which they receive a significant profit.[20] Later on that same day The Bon-Ton announced that the court had approved The Great American Group LLC and Tiger Capitol Group LLC's offer for $775.5 million and that it would liquidate all 267 stores and convert its Chapter 11 bankruptcy to Chapter 7. They acquired the inventory and other assets of the company and sold it all off.[21]
On August 30, Great America Group said all Pennsylvania locations were officially closed, and buildings would be vacated by the next day.[22]
Relaunch
The Bon-Ton logo used until 2015The Bon-Ton logo from 2015 to 2022
On August 31, 2018, The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc.-owned retail websites were updated with "Stay Tuned" messages, indicating that the company's respective brands would relaunch; the liquidator stated that the company was being acquired.[23][24] On September 6, 2018, it was reported that the purchaser was Merrillville, Indiana-based CSC Generation, a holding company backed by Chinese and American venture capital firms, which owns the membership buying service DirectBuy.
CSC Generation agreed to pay $900,000 to acquire the Bon-Ton which includes their official branding, trademarks, websites, and database of 24.5 million unique customer records and 5.6 million email addresses. While the retailer would be focused on its digital format, there were plans to reopen some physical stores in several states.[25] However, only one such store was rolled out, in Evergreen Park, Illinois, and it closed in October 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.[26][27] Beauty products company L'Oréal USA successfully bid $312,900 for data on Bon-Ton's cosmetics and fragrance customers.[28][29][30]
On September 10, 2018, the federal bankruptcy judge approved the sale to CSC Generation; on September 14, the new owner relaunched for all of its department store brands. In addition to apparel and home goods, they also sold televisions and major kitchen appliances.[31]
Subsequently, in early 2021, CSC Generation sold Bon-Ton to New York-based BrandX.com, Inc in a private sale.[32] According to a May 2022 article on WWD, BrandX will relaunch Bon-Ton and open a brick-and-mortar format Carson's in Illinois.[33]
In September 2022, The Bon-Ton relaunched as the first brand relaunch by BrandX.com.
Parisian Inc. was an American chain of upmarket department stores founded and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Competing mainly through the 1980s against Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Gus Mayer, Parisian underwent a series of restructurings and mergers during its 130-year history, and was taken over by Proffitt’s, Inc. in 1996. In September 2006, Belk purchased Parisian from Saks for $285 million with twenty-four locations later becoming Belk by September 2007. Parisian was quickly sold once more in October 2006 to The Bon-Ton with stores operating in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. Parisian operated individually under its own separate division until 2013 when the exclusive rights to operate Parisian had expired, marking the end of this upmarket department store.
Younkers Inc. is an American online retailer and former department store chain founded as a family-run dry goods business in 1856 in Keokuk, Iowa. The retailer had evolved over more than 150 years to include a presence in locations throughout Iowa and bordering states in the Midwest region of the United States. It is pronounced yong-kers. Younkers became influential as it acquired several rivals throughout the 20th century both inside and outside of Iowa. The chain itself was sold by the late 1990s, with ownership transferring out of state, and its Des Moines-based headquarters closed by 2003 as a part of a corporate consolidation. Following its last sale in 2006, Younkers operated as a subsidiary of The Bon-Ton, with locations in seven Midwestern states, primarily in shopping malls. As of 2013 the chain operated more than fifty locations in the region. On August 29, 2018, Younkers closed its doors one last time.
Saks, Inc. was an American holding company founded in 1919. Before acquisition by the Canadian-founded Hudson's Bay Company in 2013, it held ownership of department store chains including New York City-based Saks Fifth Avenue (1998–2013) and Tennessee-based Proffitt's (1919–2005). It acquired several mid-range department store chains in the 1990s, however, refocused on upscale retailing and divested of them in the mid-2000s.
H. C. Prange Co., sometimes shortened to Prange's, was an American department store chain begun by H. C. Prange in 1887 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. At its peak, it operated stores in the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan. It also operated discount stores under the Prange Way name in the former two states, although this division was sold off in the 1990s. Prange's was dissolved and most of the stores converted to the rival Younkers chain after sale in 1992.
Carson Pirie Scott & Co. was an American department store that was founded in 1854, which grew to over 50 locations, primarily in the Midwestern United States. It was sold to the holding company of Bon-Ton in 2006, but still operated under the Carson name. The entire Bon-Ton collection of stores, including Carson's, went into bankruptcy and closed in 2018. Bon-Ton's intellectual property was quickly sold while in bankruptcy, and the new owners reopened shortly afterwards as a BrandX virtual retailer.
The Boston Store is a digitally native retailer. It was established in 1897 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as a department store.
G. R. Herberger Inc. is a digitally native retailer. It was established in 1927 in the Midwestern United States as a department store.
Hess's, originally known as Hess Brothers, was a department store chain based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company was founded a single store in 1897, and grew to nearly 80 stores by its commercial peak in the late 1980s. The chains stores were closed or sold off in a series of deals in the early to mid-1990s.
P.A. Bergner & Co. was an upscale Midwestern department store in the United States, that was established in 1889. The chain is now an online retailer operated by BrandX.com, Inc. The flagship store was located in Peoria, Illinois at The Shoppes at Grande Prairie.
Goody's Family Clothing Inc. was an American chain of department stores, owned and operated by Stage Stores and headquartered in Houston, TX. It specialized in retailing on-trend apparel, accessories, cosmetics, footwear, and housewares.
Allied Stores was a department store chain in the United States. It was founded in the 1930s as part of a general consolidation in the retail sector by B. E. Puckett. See also Associated Dry Goods. It was the successor to Hahn's Department Stores, a holding company founded in 1928. In 1935 Hahn's was reorganized into Allied Stores.
Stage Stores was a department store company specializing in retailing off-price brand name apparel, accessories, cosmetics, footwear, and housewares throughout the United States. Stores were usually located in shopping malls and centers or in standalone locations. The corporate office was located in Houston, Texas.
The Elder-Beerman Stores Corp., commonly known as Elder-Beerman, was an American chain of department stores founded in 1883 and whose last stores closed in 2018. The chain, based primarily in the Midwestern United States, was composed of 31 stores in eight states at the time of its liquidation in 2018, and peaked around 2003 with 68 stores and $670 million in annual sales.
Gordmans was a retailer founded in Omaha, Nebraska. The chain is owned by BrandX as of May 2022. In 2019, Stage Stores began converting other retail chains it owned into Gordmans stores, with the goal of having 700 Gordmans stores in 42 states by the end of 2020. In May 2020, Stage Stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and began liquidating its stores. Although a buyer for Stage could have prevented liquidation, Stage later announced that they would proceed with going out of business sales at all locations. There is one store in the town of Algonquin, Illinois.
The Plaza, formerly known as Evergreen Plaza, was a shopping mall in Evergreen Park, Illinois, United States. It was legally organized by Arthur Rubloff, who is also credited with coining the phrase "Magnificent Mile" describing the upscale section of Michigan Avenue north of the Chicago River to Oak Street. Rubloff secured the funding for the Evergreen Plaza from the Walgreen family who lived nearby in Beverly, Chicago. The Evergreen Plaza operated from 1952 to 2013. It featured over 120 stores, as well as a food court. The mall closed in 2013 and became an outdoor shopping center. Anchors include Whole Foods Market, and Burlington Coat Factory.
The Concord Mall was an enclosed shopping mall serving Elkhart, Indiana in the United States. It opened in 1972 and is anchored by Hobby Lobby.
Muncie Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Muncie, Indiana. Opened in 1970, it was developed by Melvin Simon & Associates, now known as Simon Property Group. The mall's original anchor stores were W. T. Grant, Britt's, Sears, and Ball Stores. In 2020 the mall had no anchor stores, although it continued to have over 30 inline tenants. Its anchor stores as they closed were JCPenney, Macy's, Carson's, and Sears. In 2021 the former Macy's building was bought by a discount store called Buyers Market. The mall is owned and managed by the Hull Property Group.
Village Mall is a shopping mall in Danville, Illinois in the United States. Opened in 1975, the mall's anchor stores are County Market, Pet Supplies Plus, Dunham's Sports, Ross Dress for Less, Citi Trends, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Burlington, Shoe Sensation, Slumberland Furniture, and AMC Theatres. There are 2 vacant anchor store that were once Carson's and Sears. It is managed by T Danville, a division of Tabani Group.
Cross County Mall is a shopping mall in Mattoon, Illinois, U.S. It was opened in 1971 with JCPenney, G. C. Murphy, IGA, Arlan's, and Myers Brothers, with Sears joining in 1972. Following the closure of Arlan's in 1973, the space became Kmart one year later. G. C. Murphy became Meis, Elder-Beerman, and then Carson's, while Kmart moved out of the mall in 1993 and became a larger Sears store. The Sears closed in 2014 and became a Rural King in 2019. Following the closures of Carson's and JCPenney in 2018 and 2020 respectively, the mall's anchors are Rural King, Marshalls, Jo-Ann Fabrics, and Dunham's Sports. Rural King also owns the mall.
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