- Brendle's
Brendle's was a chain of
catalog showroom s based inElkin, North Carolina , USA. Its showrooms carriedjewelry ,toy s,sporting goods , andelectronics . At its peak in 1990, Brendle's operated 58 showrooms inNorth Carolina ,South Carolina ,Virginia , andTennessee . ["Doug Brendle quits board of directors,"The Tribune (Elkin, North Carolina) , September 6, 1996]The company announced it was closing in 1996 a few months after filing for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection for a second time.History
The company began in 1918 as a wholesale grocery-distributing business. [ [http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137834043417&path=!localnews&s=1037645509099 "Store founder Douglas D. Brendle dies," Winston-Salem Journal, Feb. 12, 2006] ] In 1953, Douglas D. Brendle, the grandson of the company's founder, joined the business. He began stocking toys and houseware items, becoming the company's first wholesale showroom. In 1957, Brendle began publishing the company's first catalog.
At its peak in 1990, Brendle's had 3,000 employees.
The company filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection in 1992, closing six stores [ [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n4_v31/ai_11875072 Discount Store News, Feb. 17, 1992] ] .Brendle's then filed for Chapter 11 for a second time in April 1996. The company, whose struggles mirrored
Service Merchandise , closed 18 stores and tried to reinvent itself as a craft and party store, eliminating consumer electronics, toys and sporting goods. Company officials ultimately decided to close by the end of that year. [ [http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/1996/12/02/daily11.html Charlotte Business Journal] ]The company was headquartered on North Bridge Street in Elkin.
After retiring from Brendle's, Doug Brendle opened Doug Brendle's Natural Health Superstore.
References
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