BOSTON STORE

'Boston Store' is a major, mid-line department store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, established in 1897 when Julian Simon opened his first store there.

Contents

History

Federated and Maus Freres S.A.

Acquisitions

Bankruptcy and Merge with Proffitt's

Sale to The Bon-Ton

Other stores named Boston Store

Locations

Current Location

Former Locations

History

Federated and Maus Freres S.A.

Julian Simon's control of Boston Store was sold to Federated Department Stores in 1948 and under Federated, branch stores were opened in several Wisconsin cities including Oshkosh, Sheboygan and Manitowoc. Ownership later passed to the Bergner's chain of Peoria, Illinois in 1985 (itself owned by Switzerland-based Maus Freres S.A., a retail conglomerate controlled by the Maus and Nordmann Families); soon afterward Bergner's relocated its headquarters to Milwaukee.

Acquisitions

As cross-town rival Gimbels was being dismantled in 1986, Boston Store acquired three Gimbel's branches at Southgate Mall, Milwaukee, East Towne Mall, Madison and Mayfair Mall, Wauwatosa.
In 1989 P.A. Bergner bought Chicago's Carson Pirie Scott for over $450 million. Carson's itself had just bought Minneapolis-based Donaldson's in November 1987. With this, Bergner's was a major Midwestern presence, with stores in five states: Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, and Iowa, operating under the Bergner's, Carson Pirie Scott and Boston Store names.

Bankruptcy and Merge with Proffitt's

In 1991, Bergner's had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with Maus Freres S.A. losing control of the company in a bitter fight. In 1993, the organization emerged from bankruptcy court under the name Carson Pirie Scott & Co, trading under the symbol COS. Eventually, Proffitt's Inc, now Saks Incorporated, bought Carson Pirie Scott in 1998 and its purchase increased the northern presence of the Saks Incorporated company.

Sale to The Bon-Ton

In July 2005, Saks completed the sale of its Southern Department Store Group consisting of Proffitt's and McRae's to Charlotte, NC based Belk, Inc.. On October 31, 2005, Saks announced that it was selling Boston Store and its other Northern Department Store Group stores (Carson Pirie Scott, Bergner's, Younkers, and Herberger's) to Bon-Ton Stores in a $1.1 billion deal; the transaction was completed on March 6, 2006. [1] Currently, the Boston Store segment operates with 10 locations exclusively in Wisconsin.

Other stores named Boston Store

At least three other unrelated stores called Boston Store also existed. Unrelated stores called Boston Store also operated in Phoenix, Arizona; Erie, Pennsylvania; and Albany, New York.

Locations

Current Location

★ Brookfield, WI - Brookfield Square

★ Glendale, WI - Bayshore Town Center

★ Greendale, WI - Southridge Mall

★ Janesville, WI - Janesville Mall (formerly Charles V. Weise)

★ Madison, WI - East Towne Mall (formerly Younkers and Prange's)

★ Madison, WI - West Towne Mall (formerly Younkers and Prange's)

★ Milwaukee, WI - Downtown (Flagship)

★ Racine, WI - Regency Mall

★ Wauwatosa, WI - Mayfair Mall (formerly Gimbel's)

Former Locations

★ Green Bay, WI - Port Plaza Mall (closed as there was both a Boston Store & a Younkers in the same mall)

★ Madison, WI - East Towne Mall (former Gimbel's, moved to Younkers store)

★ Milwaukee, WI - Northridge Mall (closed with mall in early 2000s)

★ Milwaukee, WI - Capitol Court Mall (closed in 1987)