 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1856 (169 years ago) (1856) inKeokuk, Iowa |
| Founders | Marcus Younker Lipman Younker Samuel Younker |
| Fate | Subsidized into online retail by BrandX.com |
| Headquarters | Des Moines, Iowa (until 2003) Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2003-2021) New York, NY (2021 onwards) |
Number of locations | 49 Until the parent company's liquidation in 2018[1] |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, housewares |
| Parent |
BrandX.com (2021-present) |
| Website | younkers |
Younkers Inc. (/ˈjɒŋkərz/)[2]is an American online retailer and formerdepartment store chain founded as a family-run dry goods business in 1856 inKeokuk, Iowa. The retailer had evolved over more than 150 years to include a presence in locations throughout Iowa and bordering states in theMidwest region of the United States. Younkers became influential as it acquired several rivals throughout the 20th century both inside and outside of Iowa. The chain itself was sold by the late 1990s, with ownership transferring out of state, and its Des Moines-based headquarters closed by 2003 as a part of a corporate consolidation. Following its last sale in 2006, Younkers operated as a subsidiary ofThe Bon-Ton, with locations in seven Midwestern states, primarily inshopping malls. As of 2013[update] the chain operated more than fifty locations in the region. On August 29, 2018, Younkers closed its doors one last time.[3]
The company was founded by threePolish Jewish immigrant brothers Lipman, Samuel, andMarcus Younker,[4] who opened a general store inKeokuk,Iowa, in 1856.Herman Younker, a younger half-brother to the three founders, opened a dry goods store inDes Moines, Iowa, in 1874. Following Samuel's death in 1879, the Keokuk store was closed and the Des Moines location became the main store. The future novelist and newspaper editorEleanor Hoyt Brainerd worked as a clerk at the Younkers store in Des Moines in 1889.[5] In 1899 the Younker brothers' main store in downtown Des Moines was moved to 7th and Walnut Streets, and it operated at the same location for 106 years before closing on August 12, 2005. The downtown Des Moines store became known for its Tea Room restaurant, which opened in 1913 and closed shortly before the store did. It also installedIowa's firstescalator, known as the "electric stairs," in 1939.
A series of additions, enlargements, and mergers resulted in the company changing its name to Younkers Incorporated. The department store in downtown Des Moines was purchased in 1912. The company started growing in the 1920s by acquiring other department stores throughout Iowa, including Wilkins Department Stores (1923), Harris-Emery (1927), and J. Mandelbaum and Sons (1928). The Iowa-based retailers Brintnall's ofMarshalltown and Davidson's ofSioux City were acquired in 1948 and Yetters ofIowa City was acquired in 1949.[6] Younkers began expanding outside of Iowa during the 1950s and opened its firstshopping mall store inOmaha, Nebraska, in 1955. (It acquired another Omaha department store, Kilpatrick's, in 1961.) By 1978 Younkers had 28 stores in five states.
In November 1978, a fire broke out in the Younkers store in theMerle Hay Mall in Des Moines, killing 11 people.[7] To date, it is the most devastating fire inDes Moines' history, and destroyed the original Younkers at the mall. It is also the third deadliest department store fire in US history. The fire was caused by faulty wiring.[8]
In the early hours of March 29, 2014, a fire ravaged the formerYounker Brothers Department Store in downtown Des Moines while it was under renovation.[9][10] The eastern, original 1899 building partially collapsed in the fire and was demolished;[9] the western 1909 Wilkins Department Store building, that Younker's had expanded into in 1924, was still standing as of 2016[update] and undergoing renovation.[11]
Younkers was operated by the Equitable of Iowa insurance company from 1979 to 1992 after being a publicly traded company since 1948.[12][13] Under Equitable's ownership, Younkers acquired all 11 locations of the Omaha-basedBrandeis department store chain in 1987.[14] After returning to public ownership on theNASDAQ on April 22, 1992, Younkers purchased the 22 stores of theH.C. Prange chain inWisconsin andMichigan.[15]
After a hostiletakeover bid byCarson Pirie Scott was rejected in 1995, Younkers' shareholders agreed to a friendly merger byProffitt's, Inc., ofKnoxville, Tennessee. The merger was completed in December 1996. Proffitt's would later acquire Carson Pirie Scott, and in 1998 Proffitt's acquiredSaks Fifth Avenue to formSaks Incorporated. In 2003, Saks closed Younkers' headquarters in Des Moines and merged its operations with those of Carson Pirie Scott inMilwaukee, Wisconsin.
Saks sold Younkers and its other Northern Department Store Group stores (Carson Pirie Scott,Bergner's,Boston Store, andHerberger's) toBon-Ton Stores in a $1.1 billion (~$1.6 billion in 2023) deal that was completed on March 6, 2006.[16]
On January 31, 2018, Bon-Ton announced that they were going to close 42 locations nationwide including 9 in the state ofWisconsin between February and April 2018.[17]
It was further announced on April 17, 2018 that Bon Ton Stores would be closing doors and began liquidating all 267 stores after two liquidators, Great American Group and Tiger Capital Group, won an auction for the company. The bid was estimated to be worth $775.5 million. This included all remaining Younkers locations after 162 years of operation. According to national retail reporter Mitch Nolen, stores closed within 10 to 12 weeks.[18][19]
On August 29, 2018, Younkers closed its doors and shut down.[20]
On September 10, 2018, of Merrillville, Indiana-based CSG Generation acquired all trademark and intellectual property assets of The Bon-Ton (York, Pa.).[21] Subsequently, in early 2021, CSC Generation sold all the acquired assets of Bon-Ton to New York-based BrandX.com in a private sale.
In May 2022 BrandX.com announced that Younkers would reopen with a physical location in 2023.[22]
Department stores in the United States | |
|---|---|
| Current | |
| Defunct | |
| Online only | |
