Stix, Baer, Fuller

Infobox_Company
company_name = Stix, Baer, and Fuller
company_
company_type = Company and then Division
foundation = 1892
location = St. Louis, Missouri, USA
industry = Retail
owner = Associated Dry Goods

Stix, Baer and Fuller (sometimes called "Stix" or SBF or the Grand Leader) was a department store chain in St. Louis, Missouri that operated from 1892 to 1984. The central downtown store was located on the north side of Washington Avenue between Sixth and Seventh street.

The store was a public company with its stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The Company was a longtime member of the American Merchandising Companies ("AMC"), a trade association of important, locally owned department stores across the United States. For many years the company was known as the leading high-end fashion store in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area, although a smaller competitor, Scruggs, Vandervort and Barney, also vied for that position.

Stix's largest shareholders were Arthur B. Baer, Sidney Baer and Leo J. Fuller. These men were also the senior officers of the company. However, they hired a series of more experienced retailers to run the business as general managers. Those with the longest tenure were first, Morris Jelenko and later, Frank P. Wolff. The last general manager and president was J. Arthur Baer, son of Arthur B. Baer.

In 1966 the company was purchased by Associated Dry Goods (ADG) and eventually expanded into the Kansas City market.

Unable to compete against Famous-Barr, ADG sold the 13-store division in 1984 to Dillard's, which also rebranded the stores to the Dillard's name. The flagship store in downtown St. Louis, designed by John Mauran and built in stages between 1906 and 1991, was briefly closed and reopened in 1985 as part of the St. Louis Centre Mall, but would be shuttered in September 2001, amdist the mall's failure.

Athletic sponsorship

In the early 1930s, the company sponsored a local St. Louis Soccer League team, known as Stix, Baer and Fuller F.C.. This team won the 1933 and 1934 U.S. Open Cup national soccer titles.

Community Relations

- The S bar F Scout Ranch in Knob Lick, Missouri is named for Stix, Baer, and Fuller due to their contribution to help buy the property.

Former Stix, Baer & Fuller locations

Illinois

*Fairview Heights - St. Clair Square "(became Dillard's 1984)"
*Springfield - Downtown on E. Adams St. between 6th & 7th "(formerly Bressmer's, closed early 80s)"
*Springfield - White Oaks Mall "(formerly Bressmer's, closed early 80s, became Kohl's)"

Kansas

*Overland Park - Oak Park Mall "(became Dillard's 1984)"

Missouri

*Chesterfield - Chesterfield Mall "(became Dillard's 1984)"
*Florissant - Jamestown Mall "(became Dillard's 1984, then closed 2006)"
*Independence - Independence Center "(became Dillard's 1984)"
*Jennings - River Roads Mall "(became Dillard's 1984, then closed 1984)"
*Kansas City - Ward Parkway Center "(became Dillard's 1984)"
*St. Ann, Missouri - Northwest Plaza "(became Dillard's 1984)"
*St. Louis
**Crestwood Plaza "(became Dillard's 1984, will close in October 2007)"
**Downtown "(briefly closed, reopened 1985 as Dillard's with opening of St. Louis Centre, closed 2001)"
**South County Center "(became Dillard's 1984)"
**Westroads Shopping Center (now St. Louis Galleria) "(became Dillard's 1984, rebuilt in 1991)"

External links

* [http://www.umsl.edu/mercantile/special_collections/directory/slma-231.html Stix, Baer and Fuller Collection (1908-1978)] at St. Louis Mercantile Library - University of Missouri-St. Louis
* *Whmc stl photodb|keywords=stix+baer|title=Stix, Baer and Fuller