Carson Pirie Scott
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| Carson Pirie Scott & Co. | |
| Type | Department store |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1854 |
| Headquarters | Amboy, Illinois |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and 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 Metro Chicago area, with more than 30 stores under the nameplate. But, as of February 21, 2007, the very famous downtown Chicago location closed.
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.
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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. By 1989, Carson Pirie Scott & Co. was acquired by P.A. Bergner & Co., who operated the Bergner's, Chas. V. Weise, Myers Brothers and Boston Store chains.
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.
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.
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. [1] 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. [2]
- Aurora
- Westfield Fox Valley (formerly Bergner's)
- Northgate Shopping Center
- 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 - Meadowvale Mall (mall torn down)
- Chicago
- 120 S. Riverside Plaza
- Ford City Mall (formerly Wieboldt's)
- Chicago Ridge - Westfield Chicago Ridge
- Evergreen Park - Evergreen Plaza
- Joliet - Westfield Louis Joliet (formerly 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 1988 in former Wieboldt's)
- 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)
- West Dundee - Spring Hill Mall (formerly Bergner's)
- Wilmette, Illinois
- Edens Plaza - 3200 Lake Ave. (main store)
- Edens Plaza - 3232 Lake Ave. (furniture store)
- Hammond - Woodmar Mall (store currently being rebuilt)
- Indianapolis - Circle Centre (formerly Parisian)
- Merrillville - Westfield Southlake
- Michigan City - Marquette Mall
- Chicago - 1 S. State St. (closed February 21, 2007)
- Galesburg - Sandburg Mall (now Bergner's)
- Hillside - Hillside Mall (now West Point Centre) (mall torn down)
- Mount Prospect - Randhurst Mall (converted to JCPenney in 1990 when Carson's moved to former Bergner's in mall. Former JCPenney slot has been torn down for Costco)
- Normal - College Hills Mall (now Shoppes at College Hills) (closed 1989, became Von Maur in 1990)
- Urbana - Lincoln Square Mall (opened 1964, converted to Bergner's, closed 1999)
- Waukegan - Lakehurst Mall (opened 1971, closed 2003, torn down)
- Blaine - Northtown Mall (opened 1972 as Powers Dry Goods, Donaldson's 1985, Carson's 1987, Mervyn's 1995, closed 2004, vacant)
- 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)
- Minneapolis - City Center
- 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, now Kohl's)
- Siry, Joseph M. Carson Pirie Scott: Louis Sullivan and the Chicago Department Store. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1988. ISBN 0-226-76136-3