A Store That Is No More: Ames Department Stores
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| Empty Ames store in Seabrook, NH (3/27/11) |
Bankrupt: 2001
Stores Closed: 2002
From the Ames website in 1996: "It all began in 1958 when two Connecticut brothers, Milton and Irving Gilman, opened their first store in the closed Ames Worsted Textile Co. mill in Southbridge, MA. Since then, Ames has grown into the nation's fifth-largest discount retailer with annual net sales of $2.1 billion. "
From the Ames website in 1998: "Ames' original business strategy was radical: bring discounting to the underserved smaller towns and rural areas of the Northeast. Ames’ broad product mix, discount pricing and convenient shopping hours were enormously popular with customers.
Ames’ success spurred an aggressive growth period from 1978-1988. Combining a new store building program with acquisitions of other discount chains such as Neisner Brothers, Kings and G.C. Murphy, Ames grew to 450 stores by 1985.
The 1988 acquisition of the 392-store Zayre discount division, however, brought a sharp reduction in profitability, and Ames filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in April 1990.
After successfully emerging from bankruptcy on December 30, 1992, the company returned to profitability in fiscal 1993 and operating performance has continued to improve.
Under the leadership of President and Chief Executive Officer, Joseph R. Ettore, a 36-year retailing veteran, management is focusing on targeted expansion (Ames acquired 155 Hills stores in December 1998); maintaining a customer-friendly environment with appealing merchandise presentations, customer service, and strict chainwide operational and financial controls."
Ames’ success spurred an aggressive growth period from 1978-1988. Combining a new store building program with acquisitions of other discount chains such as Neisner Brothers, Kings and G.C. Murphy, Ames grew to 450 stores by 1985.
The 1988 acquisition of the 392-store Zayre discount division, however, brought a sharp reduction in profitability, and Ames filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in April 1990.
After successfully emerging from bankruptcy on December 30, 1992, the company returned to profitability in fiscal 1993 and operating performance has continued to improve.
Under the leadership of President and Chief Executive Officer, Joseph R. Ettore, a 36-year retailing veteran, management is focusing on targeted expansion (Ames acquired 155 Hills stores in December 1998); maintaining a customer-friendly environment with appealing merchandise presentations, customer service, and strict chainwide operational and financial controls."
From the Ames website in 2001: "Ames is a regional, full-line discount retailer with an associate base of 21,500 and annual sales of approximately $2.7 billion. Ames operates 327 stores in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Mid-West"
An AMES price tag on a Matchbox car
