Carson Pirie Scott

Infobox Company
company_name = Carson Pirie Scott & Co.
company_
company_type = Department store
foundation = 1854
location = Amboy, Illinois
industry = Retail
products = Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, housewares
website = http://www.carsons.com/

Carson Pirie Scott & Co., known informally as Carson's, is a chain of traditional department stores that have been in business for over 150 years. Their product price points are targeted to the moderate-to-upscale shopper. The majority of the stores are located in the Chicago metropolitan area, with more than 30 stores under the nameplate.

The Carson Pirie Scott name is strongly associated with the historic Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building designed by Louis Sullivan, built in 1899 for the retail firm Schlesinger & Meyer, and expanded and sold to Carson Pirie Scott in 1904. The building, located on State Street in Chicago's Loop, housed the chain's flagship store for more than a century before closing for good on February 21, 2007.

History

Beginnings

The chain began in 1854 when Samuel Carson opened a dry goods store in Amboy, Illinois, after he left Ireland. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed 60% of the store's stock. In 1961, Carson Pirie Scott & Co. greatly expanded in Illinois by purchasing the 20 unit Block & Kuhl chain headquartered in Peoria.

In 1980, to diversify its business, Carson Pirie Scott & Co. borrowed $108 million to buy Dobbs Houses, Inc., an airline caterer and owner of the Toddle House and Steak 'n Egg Kitchen restaurant chains. These were sold in 1988.

In 1989, Carson Pirie Scott & Co. was acquired by P.A. Bergner & Co. (founded in Peoria, Illinois), who operated the Bergner's, Charles V. Weise, Myers Brothers and Boston Store chains.

Bankruptcy

In 1991, P.A. Bergner & Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy; upon emerging from bankruptcy in 1993, it became a NASDAQ publicly traded company, changing its operating name to Carson Pirie Scott & Co. One year later, the company commenced trading on the NYSE under the CRP symbol.

Acquisition by Proffitt's

By 1998, Carson Pirie Scott & Co. ownership was held by Proffitt's, Inc., (later renamed Saks Incorporated to reflect the acquisition of Saks Fifth Avenue). The Carson Pirie Scott, Bergner's, and Boston Store chains, along with Younkers and Herberger's nameplates, eventually operated as Saks' Northern Department Store Group (NDSG), based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In late 2005, however, the group was put up for sale as Saks Incorporated tried to refocus itself primarily on its core Saks Fifth Avenue stores.

ale to The Bon-Ton

Carson's and its associated stores became part of The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. in a $1.1 billion deal completed on March 6, 2006. [http://www.bonton.com/investor_relations/pr030606.asp] The group's base of merchandising and marketing operations remains in Milwaukee.

On August 25, 2006, the CEO of Bon-Ton announced that the landmark Carson Pirie Scott store in downtown Chicago would close after the 2006 holiday season. It will then be redeveloped by the building's owner, who purchased the property in 2001. The store closed February 21, 2007. [ [http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?rssFeed=news&id=21835 Chicago Business News, Analysis & Articles | Carson Pirie Scott's State Street store to close | Crain's ] ]

Current locations

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tore Locator

[http://news.bonton.com/apps/storelocator/default_popup.asp?d=130 Store Locator]

Illinois

*Aurora
**Westfield Fox Valley ("formerly Lord & Taylor")
**Northgate Shopping Center (opened as Charles V. Weise, then Bergner-Weise, then Bergner's) - (was Aurora Sears store before Fox Valley Mall opened, closed shortly after the new store opened).
*Bloomingdale - Stratford Square
*Bourbonnais
**Northfield Square ("main store")
**Northfield Square ("men's & home, formerly Venture")
*Calumet City - River Oaks Mall ("formerly Edward C. Minas")
*Carpentersville - Spring Hill Mall (opened as Bergner-Weise, then Bergner's) Note: Portion of Spring Hill Mall is located within Carpentersville, including Carson's.
*Chicago
**120 S. Riverside Plaza
**Ford City Mall ("formerly Wieboldt's")
*Chicago Ridge - Westfield Chicago Ridge
*DeKalb - Northland Shopping Center 52,000 sq. ft. (opened as Elder-Beerman in 2003, converted to Carson's in 2008)
*Evergreen Park - The Plaza
*Joliet - Westfield Louis Joliet ("opened as Bergner-Weise, then Bergner's")
*Lincolnwood - Lincolnwood Town Center
*Lombard
**Yorktown Center ("main store")
**The Shops at Yorktown ("furniture store")
*Matteson - Lincoln Mall
*Mount Prospect - Randhurst Mall ("opened 1962 as Wieboldt's, Bergner's 1988, Carson Pirie Scott 1990")
*Norridge - Harlem Irving Plaza ("opened 1956 as Wieboldts's, Carson Pirie Scott 1987")
*North Riverside - North Riverside Park Mall
*Orland Park - Orland Square
*Schaumburg
**Streets of Woodfield ("main store")
**830 E. Golf Rd. ("furniture store")
*St. Charles - Charlestowne Mall
*Vernon Hills - Westfield Hawthorn ("formerly Lord & Taylor")
*Wilmette, Illinois
**Edens Plaza - 3200 Lake Ave. ("main store")
**Edens Plaza - 3232 Lake Ave. ("furniture store")

Indiana

*Hammond - Woodmar Mall ("store currently being rebuilt")
*Indianapolis - Circle Centre ("formerly Parisian, in former L.S. Ayres flagship store building)"
*Merrillville - Westfield Southlake
*Michigan City - Marquette Mall

Former locations

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Illinois

*Aurora - 5 E. Galena Blvd. ("opened 1928 as Block & Kuhl, acquired by Carson's in 1961, now Waubonsee Community Collge, Aurora Campus")
*Chicago:*Flagship Store, 1 S. State St. ("closed February 21, 2007"):*Merchandise Mart, circa 1990
*Carpentersville - Meadowdale Plaza ("1961 built for Block & Kuhl , store burned down in 1963, store not rebuilt")
*Decatur - downtown ("opened 1925 as Block & Kuhl, converted to Carsons in 1961, closed in the 1970s")
*Elgin - 30 DuPage St. ("opened in 1941 as Block & Kuhl, acquired by Carson's in 1961, relocated to Meadowdale Plaza in Carpentersville, now a State of Illinois Employment Office")
*Forsyth - Hickory Point Mall ("closed and became Von Maur 1990")
*Galesburg - 400 East Main Street ("opened as Block & Kuhl, acquired by Carson's in 1961, closed mid-1970s, now Lindstrom's Appliances")
*Hillside - Hillside Mall (now West Point Centre) ("now Menards, rest of mall -except for outparcel building- torn down")
*Joliet - Downtown ("opened as Block & Kuhl, acquired by Carson's in 1961, closed in 1975, currently offices")
*Kankakee - Downtown ("closed in 1989 and relocated to Northfield Square in Bourbonnais")
*Kewanee - Downtown ("opened 1942 as Block & Kuhl, converted to Carsons 1961, closed 1980s")
*Mount Prospect - Randhurst Mall ("converted to JCPenney in 1990 when Carson's moved to former Bergner's in mall. Former JCPenney torn down for Costco")
*Normal - College Hills Mall (now Shoppes at College Hills) ("closed 1989, became Von Maur in 1990")
*Ottawa - Downtown (former Block & Kuhl )
*Peoria:*Downtown, 124 S.W. Adams at Fulton - ("the Block & Kuhl flagship, founded in 1879 as Schipper & Block, became Block & Kuhl in 1914, acquired by Carson Pirie Scott in 1961, store closed in 1975, now Chase Bank building) :*Northwoods Mall - ("opened 1973 as Carson's, closed in 1983, acquired by Famous Barr in 1984, became Macy's in 2006")
*Rockford - Downtown ("former Block & Kuhl location")
*Urbana - Lincoln Square Mall ("opened 1964, converted to Bergner's in 1990, closed 1993, acquired and reopened as a Herberger's in August 1994, re-acquired by Carson's and converted to a Bergner's in January 1999, closed March 2002, building converted to offices of Health Alliance")
*Waukegan - Lakehurst Mall ("opened 1971, closed 2003, torn down")
*Quincy- Downtown (opened as Block & Kuhl), converted to Carsons in 1961, closed in 1984
*Moline- Downtown opened as Block & Kuhl, converted to Carsons in 1961, closed 1970's

Indiana

*Elkhart - Pierre Moran Mall ("opened late 1970s in former Grant City; converted 1985 to Service Merchandise, converted 1986 Target. Target closed ca. 2003, mall torn down 2006")

Iowa

*Cedar Falls - College Square Mall ("opened as James Black Company, transferred by Allied Stores to Donaldson's 1978, Carson's 1987, store closed January 1989, now Von Maur")
*Waterloo - Crossroads Center ("opened as James Black Company, transferred by Allied Stores to Donaldson's 1978, Carson's 1987, store closed September 30, 1989, now divided among smaller stores")

Minnesota

*Blaine - Northtown Mall ("opened 1972 as Powers Dry Goods, Donaldson's 1985, Carson's 1987, Mervyn's 1995, closed 2004, opened as Herberger's September 10, 2008")
*Brooklyn Center - Brookdale Center ("opened as Donaldson's, Carson's 1987, Mervyn's 1995, closed 2004, vacant")
*Burnsville - Burnsville Center ("opened 1977 as Powers Dry Goods, Donaldson's 1985, Carson's 1987, Mervyn's 1995, closed 2004, now Steve & Barry's and Dick's Sporting Goods")
*Eden Prairie - Eden Prairie Center ("opened 1976 as Powers Dry Goods, Donaldson's 1985, Carson's 1987, Mervyn's 1995, closed 2004, now JCPenney")
*Edina - Southdale Center ("opened 1954 as Donaldson's, Carson's 1987, Mervyn's 1995, closed 2004, vacant")
*Maplewood - Maplewood Mall ("opened 1974 as Powers, Donaldson's 1985, Carson's 1987, closed/renovated 1995, Dayton's 1996, Marshall Fields 2001, now Macy's)
*Minneapolis - City Center ("opened 1982 as Donaldson's, Carson's 1987, closed 1993, now Office Depot)
*Minnetonka - Ridgedale Center ("opened 1974 as Donaldson's, Carson's 1987, closed 1995, now Macy's Men's and Home)
*Rochester - Miracle Mile ("opened new October 15, 1953 as Donaldson's, Carson's 1987, closed in October 2002, now HOM Furniture as of March 26, 2008, Herberger's at Apache Mall became successor store October 2002")
*Roseville - Rosedale Center ("opened as Donaldson's, Carson's 1987, Mervyn's 1995, closed 2004, torn down for lifestyle section")
*St. Louis Park - Knollwood Mall ("opened 1955 as Powers, Donaldson's 1985, Carson's 1987, closed/renovated 1994, now Kohl's")
*St. Paul - Town Square (downtown) ("opened 1980 as Donaldson's, Carson's 1987, closed 1993, now Minnesota Dept. of Public Safety)
*St. Paul - Highland Park ("opened 1960 as Powers, Donaldson's 1985, Carson's 1987, closed/demolished 1994, now Barnes & Noble and various other shops)

See also

* Chicago architecture

References

Further reading

* Siry, Joseph M. "Carson Pirie Scott: Louis Sullivan and the Chicago Department Store." Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1988. ISBN 0-226-76136-3

External links

* [http://www.carsons.com/ Carson Pirie Scott Official Website]
* [http://www.bonton.com/investor_relations/home.asp The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. investor relations home page]