Mervyns
From Free net encyclopedia
Mervyns is a department store chain based in Hayward, California. It carries national brands of clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, and housewares. Many of the company's stores are found in shopping malls.
The first Mervyns store opened in 1949 in San Lorenzo, California, named after the founder Mervin G. Morris (and adopting the misspelling on the company's first sign). However, the Dayton Hudson Corporation (later known as Target Corporation) acquired the company in 1979. From the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, the stores were rebranded as Mervyn's California, in an effort to identify with their West Coast heritage. Mervyn's TV commercials and catelogs featured former San Francisco 49er's quarterback, Joe Montana in their advertising. After this, the company later reverted to the original name after seeing no marked improvements.
In July 2004, Mervyn's was bought from the Target Corporation by a group of investors including private investment firm and turnaround specialist Sun Capital Partners Inc. of Boca Raton, Florida, Cerberus Capital Management of New York, and real estate investment company Lubert-Adler Management Inc. of Philadelphia. The company announced in September 2005 that it would focus exclusively on Western and Southwestern markets, and planned to close its stores in Michigan, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Louisiana by February 2006. In addition, the store has closed its location in the upscale Washington Square mall in Tigard, Oregon; in January, the company announced plans to close its 17 remaining Oregon and Washington stores by 2007. A Salt Lake City, Utah area store, located in Crossroads Plaza, will be closing by summer 2006.
Mervyn's in the Southeast
In 1986, Mervyn's made a major expansion into the Southeast, especially the Atlanta market. The chain had never previously been in Georgia, but competed for mall space with J.C. Penney and got top anchor spots at several area malls. Known Mervyn's locations in the Atlanta area were Town Center Mall, Shannon Mall, North Dekalb Mall, Gwinnett Place Mall and North Point Mall. The Akers Mill Crossing strip center across from Cumberland Mall in Smyrna was also a location.
The chain, however, failed to sustain itself in the Atlanta market and left the Atlanta area in 1995. J.C. Penney converted the Town Center, Shannon and Gwinnett Place stores in 1986. The others became a movie theater at North Dekalb, a Parisian and North Point and a Sports Authority and the strip center.