Carson's

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Carson Pirie Scott & Co.
Company typeDepartment store
IndustryRetail
Founded1854
HeadquartersAmboy, Illinois
ProductsClothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, housewares
Websitehttp://www.carsons.com/

Carson Pirie Scott & Co., known informally as Carson's, is a chain of traditional department stores that have been in business for over 150 years. Their product price points are targeted to the moderate-to-upscale shopper. The majority of the stores are located in the Chicago metropolitan area, with more than 30 stores under the nameplate.

The Carson Pirie Scott name is strongly associated with the historic Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building designed by Louis Sullivan, built in 1899 for the retail firm Schlesinger & Meyer, and expanded and sold to Carson Pirie Scott in 1904. The building, located on State Street in Chicago's Loop, housed the chain's flagship store for more than a century before closing for good on February 21, 2007.

History

Beginnings

Carson's previous logo used in the 1950s through the 1970s.
Carson's Logo used in the 1980s and early 1990s. In later years, the boxes would be dropped and a "red flower" would appear next to it, and is still in use today. The font has, however, changed.

The chain began in 1854 when Samuel Carson opened a dry goods store in Amboy, Illinois, after he left Ireland. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed 60% of the store's stock. In 1961, Carson Pirie Scott & Co. greatly expanded in Illinois by purchasing the 20 unit Block & Kuhl chain headquartered in Peoria.

In 1980, to diversify its business, Carson Pirie Scott & Co. borrowed $108 million to buy Dobbs Houses, Inc., an airline caterer and owner of the Toddle House and Steak 'n Egg Kitchen restaurant chains. These were sold in 1988.

In 1989, Carson Pirie Scott & Co. was acquired by P.A. Bergner & Co. (founded in Peoria, Illinois), who operated the Bergner's, Charles V. Weise, Myers Brothers and Boston Store chains.

Bankruptcy

In 1991, P.A. Bergner & Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy; upon emerging from bankruptcy in 1993, it became a NASDAQ publicly traded company, changing its operating name to Carson Pirie Scott & Co. One year later, the company commenced trading on the NYSE under the CRP symbol.

Acquisition by Proffitt's

By 1998, Carson Pirie Scott & Co. ownership was held by Proffitt's, Inc., (later renamed Saks Incorporated to reflect the acquisition of Saks Fifth Avenue). The Carson Pirie Scott, Bergner's, and Boston Store chains, along with Younkers and Herberger's nameplates, eventually operated as Saks' Northern Department Store Group (NDSG), based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In late 2005, however, the group was put up for sale as Saks Incorporated tried to refocus itself primarily on its core Saks Fifth Avenue stores.

Sale to The Bon-Ton

Carson's and its associated stores became part of The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. in a $1.1 billion deal completed on March 6, 2006.[1] The group's base of merchandising and marketing operations remains in Milwaukee.

On August 25, 2006, the CEO of Bon-Ton announced that the landmark Carson Pirie Scott store in downtown Chicago would close after the 2006 holiday season. It will then be redeveloped by the building's owner, who purchased the property in 2001. The store closed February 21, 2007.[2]

Current locations

Current Carson Pirie Scott locations

Store Locator

Store Locator

Illinois

Indiana

Former locations

Former Carson Pirie Scott locations

Illinois

  • Aurora - 5 E. Galena Blvd. (opened 1928 as Block & Kuhl, acquired by Carson's in 1961, now Waubonsee Community Collge, Aurora Campus)
  • Chicago
  • Flagship Store, 1 S. State St. (closed February 21, 2007)
  • Merchandise Mart, circa 1990
  • Carpentersville - Meadowdale Plaza (1961 built for Block & Kuhl , store burned down in 1963, store not rebuilt)
  • Decatur - downtown (opened 1925 as Block & Kuhl, converted to Carsons in 1961, closed in the 1970s)
  • Elgin - 30 DuPage St. (opened in 1941 as Block & Kuhl, acquired by Carson's in 1961, relocated to Meadowdale Plaza in Carpentersville, now a State of Illinois Employment Office)
  • Forsyth - Hickory Point Mall (closed and became Von Maur 1990)
  • Galesburg - 400 East Main Street (opened as Block & Kuhl, acquired by Carson's in 1961, closed mid-1970s, now Lindstrom's Appliances)
  • Hillside - Hillside Mall (now West Point Centre) (now Menards, rest of mall -except for outparcel building- torn down)
  • Joliet - Downtown (opened as Block & Kuhl, acquired by Carson's in 1961, closed in 1975, currently offices)
  • Kankakee - Downtown (closed in 1989 and relocated to Northfield Square in Bourbonnais)
  • Kewanee - Downtown (opened 1942 as Block & Kuhl, converted to Carsons 1961, closed 1980s)
  • Mount Prospect - Randhurst Mall (converted to JCPenney in 1990 when Carson's moved to former Bergner's in mall. Former JCPenney torn down for Costco)
  • Normal - College Hills Mall (now Shoppes at College Hills) (closed 1989, became Von Maur in 1990)
  • Ottawa - Downtown (former Block & Kuhl )
  • Peoria
  • Downtown, 124 S.W. Adams at Fulton - (the Block & Kuhl flagship, founded in 1879 as Schipper & Block, became Block & Kuhl in 1914, acquired by Carson Pirie Scott in 1961, store closed in 1975, now Chase Bank building)
  • Northwoods Mall - (opened 1973 as Carson's, closed in 1983, acquired by Famous Barr in 1984, became Macy's in 2006)
  • Rockford - Downtown (former Block & Kuhl location)
  • Urbana - Lincoln Square Mall (opened 1964, converted to Bergner's in 1990, closed 1993, acquired and reopened as a Herberger's in August 1994, re-acquired by Carson's and converted to a Bergner's in January 1999, closed March 2002, building converted to offices of Health Alliance)
  • Waukegan - Lakehurst Mall (opened 1971, closed 2003, torn down)
  • Quincy- Downtown (opened as Block & Kuhl), converted to Carsons in 1961, closed in 1984
  • Moline- Downtown opened as Block & Kuhl, converted to Carsons in 1961, closed 1970's

Indiana

Iowa

  • Cedar Falls - College Square Mall (opened as James Black Company, Transferred by Allied Stores to Donaldson's 1978, Carson's 1987, store closed January 1989, now Von Maur)
  • Waterloo - Crossroads Center (opened as James Black Company, Transferred by Allied Stores to Donaldson's 1978, Carson's 1987, store closed September 30, 1989, now divided among smaller stores)

Minnesota

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.bonton.com/investor_relations/pr030606.asp
  2. ^ Chicago Business News, Analysis & Articles | Carson Pirie Scott's State Street store to close | Crain's

Further reading

  • Siry, Joseph M. Carson Pirie Scott: Louis Sullivan and the Chicago Department Store. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1988. ISBN 0-226-76136-3

External links

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