DGS Retail Group

The DGS Retail Group operated over 100 very well-regarded retail stores in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The stores were operated under 3 names:

* DGS Super Discount Centers (140+ locations)
* DGS HomeSource Home Centers (13 Locations)
* DGS MaxVOL Warehouse Clubs (3 Locations)

History

The group was at its height in the late 1980s, opening 2 to 4 discount stores each year.The early 90's brought new heavy competition from Bradlees, Caldor and Home Depot and forced the company to close 28 unprofitable locations, including its entire Long Island division. At the same time, the company was expanding its HomeSource division in Westchester County, NY and Northern NJ. Many of the new HomeSource stores were opened in shuttered Channel Home Center and Pergament locations. HomeSource was a combination of a home-center/hardware store, and a Bed Bath & Beyond/Linens n Things all in a convenient location. (The stores were modeled after Rickels' HoM Store concept.) The new stores were doing quite well, but the company's main discount store division was hemorrhaging cash and losing market share. A second wave of closings in 1996 included all stores North of New York City and the MaxVOL and HomeSource divisions, except for the Aramingo Avenue HomeSource in Philadelphia.

hopWise Dollar Concept Stores

In 1997, with sales declining and its footprint shrinking, DGS tried experimenting with a new closeout concept called Shopwise Dollar stores. Three stores were opened during 1997 in East Brunswick, NJ; Totowa, NJ; and Brooklyn, NY. The stores were similar to Big Lots in target audience, but featured more dollar-store fair mixed with closeout apparel and home merchandise. Much of the merchandise, it seemed, was leftover from store closings at its 3 main divisions.

Bankruptcy

The company could never return to the same profitability it enjoyed in the 1980s, and in 1999, citing increasing competition in the retail market, the company was forced into Chapter 7 bankruptcy. All 117 remaining stores were liquidated later that year. Many stores were converted to Drug Fair, Ollie's Bargain Outlet, and Phar-Mor. Since the Philadelphia-area stores were newer, and much larger, they were sold to ShopRite Supermarkets, which allowed the chain to expand its market share in the city.The ShopWise Dollar stores in Brooklyn and Totowa were sold to an independent operator and still operate under the Shopwise Dollar banner. The East Brunswick store was sold to CVS.

logans

* America's Discount Source is...DGS!
* The DGS Savings Snowball is gonna git ya! (This was used to advertise the famous Black-Friday 24-hour sale when the stores were open 24 hours/day for a week after Thanksgiving)

References