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 G.C. Murphy's Richmond, Virginia, store on Broad Street and Fourth was designed by Murphy corporate architectHarold Ellsworth Crosby. In 2004, it was demolished to make way for a parking lot. | |
| Industry | 5&10 Variety Stores |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1906 |
| Founder | George Clinton Murphy |
| Defunct | 2002 |
| Fate | Acquired byAmes, later McCrory |
| Headquarters | McKeesport, Pennsylvania |
Number of locations | 298 (1989) |
| Subsidiaries | Bargain World, Terry and Ferris, Bruners, Cobbs |
G.C. Murphy was a chain offive and dime orvariety stores in theUnited States from 1906 to 2002. They also operated Murphy's Mart (full-scale discount stores), Bargain World (closeout merchandise), Terry & Ferris and Bruners (junior department stores), and Cobbs (specialty apparel) stores.[1]
In April 1985, the company was acquired byAmes Department Stores Inc. Ames converted many of the larger "Murphy's Mart" stores and in 1989, sold the variety store division to former competitorMcCrory Stores.
The chain was founded in 1906 byGeorge Clinton Murphy in thePittsburgh suburb ofMcKeesport, Pennsylvania. Murphy had gotten his start in retail as a manager of aMcCrory's store in 1896. Murphy later moved toDetroit, Michigan, to manage several stores there and then returned to thePittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area to launch his stores. His namesake chain was founded in 1906. It was one of several large retailers that originated in Pennsylvania.[2]
Murphy died in April 1909, three years after the chain's launch.[3]: 13 Two former McCrory executives,John Sephus Mack andWalter C. Shaw, bought the G.C. Murphy chain, which was at the time about 12 stores, that same year. The chain quickly expanded through new stores and the purchase of competitors, growing to 173 stores by 1932.[4][2]
Murphy's expanded cautiously during the 1920s, letting it cope with theGreat Depression better than other retailing chains:[3]: 47 Sales in 1930 were reported to have risen about 9% ($17 million). By 1932, however, sales had dropped 3.7%. The retailing company never let go of their employees during this time, although they did have to get rid of overtime pay and dock employees for absences.[3]: 49–51
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Murphy's stores became popular partly because of their locations; many were in small and medium-sized towns that had previously been served only by stores owned by whatever mining company was based there. The lunch counters in the stores were a popular destination for quick and inexpensive meals (before the rise of fast food). Murphy's stores were designed in-house and to a high standard, led by architects likeHarold Ellsworth Crosby.
G.C. Murphy expanded through the 1950s by acquiring 91 Morris stores in the Midwest and 92Morgan & Lindsey stores in the South and Southwest.[1] The chain also began testing more prominent locations, opening a significant location at Cermak Plaza inBerwyn, Illinois, in 1957.[5] When company President James Stephen Mack (son ofJohn Sephus Mack) died in 1968, the chain was up to 511 stores.[6] In 1970, it opened its first large-scale store, branded as "Murphy's Mart," inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[7] The stores were similar in size and concept toKmart and were often located in the suburbs. By 1980, they had grown to 448 stores.[1]
In April 1985, the company was acquired byAmes Department Stores Inc. for $48 per share.[8] Ames rebranded many of the larger "Murphy's Mart" stores. In 1989, Ames sold the G. C. Murphy and Bargain World divisions to E-II Holdings, parent ofMcCrory's, to help offset debt incurred during their recent acquisition ofZayre.[9] The McCrory's chain filed for bankruptcy in 1992, closed many of its stores (including former G.C. Murphy's outlets) in 1997 and ceased its remaining operations in 2002.[10]
Although the stores ceased business operations some time ago, the chain's foundation, the G.C. Murphy Foundation, still exists. Retirees and former employees of the stores have a volunteer organization that allows them to keep in touch.
In 2005, thePittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the Murphy Foundation had commissioned a writer to compile the G.C. Murphy Company's history.[11] That history, titledFor the Love of Murphy's: The Behind-the-Counter Story of a Great American Retailer, by Jason Togyer, was published in 2008 by Pennsylvania State University Press.[12]
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