Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Service Merchandise was a retail chain of catalog showrooms carrying jewelry, toys, sporting goods and electronics. The company, which first began in 1934 as a five-and-dime store , was in existence for 68 years before ceasing operations in 2002.
Founded in 1872, Montgomery Ward pioneered mail-order catalog retailing and opened its first retail store in 1926. A bankruptcy reorganization in 1999 failed to turn the chain around. Closed 2001. Still exists as a catalog/internet/mail order retailer. Siegel-Cooper Company; Chas A. Stevens (Chicago) Purchased by Hartmarx Corp. before being closed.
Ten years later, Wilson opened his first catalog showroom. By 1982, Wilson's was the third-largest catalog showroom chain in the United States. At its peak, it had 80 stores in 12 states. In 1985, rival chain Service Merchandise purchased all 80 of the Wilson's stores. Wilson died on February 8, 2008, at age 80.
For premium support please call: 800-290-4726 more ways to reach us
Ellman's – acquired by Service Merchandise in 1985 [39] [40] H. J. Wilson Co. – Southern states, based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; acquired by Service Merchandise in 1986 [39] [40] K's Merchandise Mart – liquidated in 2006; Luria's – originally L. Luria & Son, was a chain of catalog showroom stores in Florida, from 1961 to 1997.
Consumers Distributing aimed to reduce costs for customers by stocking merchandise in a warehouse-type stocking system instead of displaying them in a costly showroom. Customers made their selections from a catalogue, filled out a form listing the items they wanted, then waited for stock staff to retrieve the items from the warehouse.
However, many long-established catalog merchants have gone out of business since the 1980s, including Best Products, Brendle's, Ellman's, Jafco, KeyMid, Montgomery Ward, Rink's, Aldens, H. J. Wilson Co., Service Merchandise, Sterling Jewelry & Distributing Company and Consumers Distributing.
In 1982, Best acquired catalog competitors: Basco, a chain with 19 catalog showrooms in the Northeast and Ohio; and Modern Merchandising, headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, with 76 showrooms under the names LaBelle's, Dolgin's, Jafco, Miller Sales, Rogers and Great Western. This was followed by the acquisition of Ashby's, a 9-store women's ...