Parisian

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For other uses, see Parisian (disambiguation).

Parisian is a moderate to upscale U.S. chain of department stores, based in Birmingham, Alabama. It is a division of Saks Incorporated, the owners of the Saks Fifth Avenue (SFA) department store chain.

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History

The chain was founded by sisters Bertha and Estella Sommers under the name Parisian Dry Goods & Millinery Company in 1887 in Birmingham. In 1945, Parisian adopted an aggressive program of brand-name merchandising and enhanced customer service as it expanded. In 1983 it became a publicly traded company and it joined Proffitt's Inc., in 1996. In September of 1998, Proffitt’s, Inc. and Saks Holdings, Inc. completed a merger transaction where Saks Fifth Avenue and its Off 5th outlet stores became the Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises division of Proffitt’s, Inc. At that time, Proffitt’s, Inc. was renamed Saks Incorporated.

Particularly in its larger markets, Parisian was placed in a marketing tier between the luxury-oriented SFA chain and the company's other more moderate nameplates. At its height, Saks Incorporated operated more than 250 mid-level to high end department stores under its Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises group, the Parisian division, the Northern Department Store Group (Younkers, Herberger's, Carson Pirie Scott, Bergner's, Boston Store), and its Southern Department Store Group (Proffitt's and McRae's) — plus more than 50 Club Libby Lu specialty shops.

Following the divesting of its Southern Department Store Group in July 2005 to Belk, Inc., and the March 2006 sale of its Northern Department Store Group (controlled under the divisional umbrella of Carson Pirie Scott) to Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., for $1.1 billion, Parisian survives as a division that emphasizes its service, fashion, and specialty items much like its New York-born corporate sibling. Though it shares several markets with SFA, many of Parisian's markets are comparatively smaller in scale.

Parisian currently operates 39 stores located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The chain plans to add two Arkansas stores in Little Rock and Rogers by late 2006.

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Current Parisian Locations

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Alabama

Birmingham - Colonial Brookwood Village
Birmingham - Downtown (flagship)
Birmingham - Riverchase Galleria
Birmingham - The Summit
Decatur - Colonial Mall Decatur
Dothan - Wiregrass Commons
Florence - Regency Square
Gadsden - Gadsden Mall (formerly McRae's)
Huntsville - Madison Square
Huntsville - Parkway Place
Mobile - Bel Air Mall
Montgomery - Eastdale Mall
Tuscaloosa - University Mall (formerly McRae's)

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Florida

Jacksonville - The Avenues
Pensacola - Cordova Mall
Tallahassee - Tallahassee Mall

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Georgia

Alpharetta - North Point Mall
Atlanta - Northlake Mall
Atlanta - Phipps Plaza
Columbus - Peachtree Mall
Douglasville - Arbor Place Mall, Opened 1999
Duluth - Gwinnett Place Mall
Kennesaw - Town Center Mall
Lithonia - The Mall at Stonecrest
Macon - Macon Mall

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Indiana

Indianapolis - Circle Centre
Indianapolis - The Fashion Mall

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Tennessee

Chattanooga - Hamilton Place Mall
Collierville (Memphis suburb) - The Avenue Carriage Crossing (Opened 10/05) - 124,000 square feet
Franklin - Coolsprings Galleria
Knoxville - West Town Mall

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New Parisian store openings

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2006

Rogers, Arkansas - Pleasant Crossing - 100,000 square feet
Little Rock, Arkansas - Pleasant Ridge Town Center - 120,000 square feet
Trussville (metro Birmingham), Alabama - Colonial Pinnacle at Tutwiler Farm - 100,000 square feet

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