Venture Stores

Venture Stores

Infobox_Company
company_name = Venture Stores, Inc.
company_
company_type = Defunct (NYSE: [http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/lcddata.html?ticker=VEN VEN] )
company_slogan = High Quality, Low Prices
foundation = 1970 St. Louis, MO
location = O'Fallon, MO
key_people = Robert Wildrick, Julian Seeherman
industry = Retail (Department & Discount)
num_employees = 10,000
products = Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, and housewares.
homepage = [http://deadmalls.com/archive/www.venturestores.com/ www.venturestores.com (archived at Deadmalls.com)]

Venture Stores, Inc., was a former chain of retail stores that operated in the American Midwest. The company operated over 70 stores, and was based out of the St. Louis suburb of O'Fallon, Missouri.

History

The chain was founded in 1968 when Target's co-founder John F. Geisse went to work for May Department Stores. [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n6_v31/ai_12054329/pg_1 Article from Discount Store News detailing John Geisse's retailing career] ] Under an antitrust settlement reached with the Department of Justice, May was unable to acquire any more retail chains during the time, and the department store company needed a way to compete against the emerging discount store chains. When May's Executive Vice President Dave Babcock learned that Geisse had resigned from Target Stores, he spoke with Geisse about starting a new discount retailer, resulting in the founding of Venture.

The first store opened in 1970 in the St. Louis suburb of Overland (after Venture closed, the location became a Kmart and is now a Home Depot). In 1976, Geisse left Venture Stores, which had expanded to 20 units. In 1978 Venture Stores purchased 23 Turn Style locations in the Chicago area from Jewel food stores, and expanded to over 40 locations in the Chicago market area, with many city locations. They were the largest discount chain in Chicago with inner city locations other than Zayre/Ames. In 1990 Venture separated from May and became a private corporation.

Venture's advertising slogan during the 1980s was "Save With Style." or "SWS" [ [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n16_v32/ai_14300957 Texas proving ground for Venture's evolving micro-marketing strategy - Regional Discounters in Transition] ] In the 1990s, Venture would employ two other slogans; the first was tied to the remodel and restrategizing to be like Kohl's and that slogan was "See What's New For You!". By the time they closed they used the slogan "See What A Little Money Can Buy". "Save With Style" is most notably the slogan associated with the chain.

Bankruptcy

By the late 1990s, the chain found that it was unable to compete against other retail chains, such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Kmart. Venture tried to return to its founding principles as an upscale discounter and remodeled most of its 90+ stores. While facing vast competition Venture made a fatal mistake trying to expand into Texas instead of protecting its core markets. Venture sold the Texas stores to Kmart in 1996 and closed its distribution center in Corsicana, Texas. The company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 20, 1998, and tried to operate with a smaller number of stores. The effort was not successful, and the company announced its closing on April 27, 1998. Most of the former Venture buildings were absorbed into other chains, such as Kmart, Kohl's, ShopKo, and Burlington Coat Factory. [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n14_v36/ai_19610915 Venture sells 20 units to Kmart for fast cash] ]

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Venture — A venture is a major undertaking, synonymous with adventure. But can also refer to:In automobiles: * Chevrolet Venture, a General Motors Corporation minivan. * VentureOne, a concept car by Venture VehiclesIn business: * Joint venture, a strategic …   Wikipedia

  • Venture (department store) — Venture was a chain of defunct discount department store operating across Australia. It was developed by South Australian department store John Martins and was first opened in 1970. The chain grew to cover much of the country. It was later sold… …   Wikipedia

  • stores with doors — n. Retail stores with physical locations. Example Citation: In another move into brick and mortar, E Trade is planning to set up a walk in office on Manhattan s Madison Avenue by the end of the year, The Chronicle reported last month. But sources …   New words

  • List of defunct department stores of the United States — The extent of department stores in America is an incalculable number. Many towns had multiple department stores over the years. Others changed names and some only existed for a short time. The stores on this list of defunct department stores of… …   Wikipedia

  • FitzGerald's Department Stores — was Tasmania s largest chain of department stores. The chain was rebadged and relaunched as Harris Scarfe in 1995, and the renamed stores continue to trade today.HistoryFitzGerald s was a Tasmanian majority family owned department store business… …   Wikipedia

  • The May Department Stores Company — Industry Retail Fate Merged with Federated Department Stores, Inc. Successor Federated Department Stores, Inc. (2005 2006) Macy s, Inc. (2007 present) Founded …   Wikipedia

  • Shopko Stores — Infobox Company company name = Shopko Stores Operating Co., LLC company company type = Discount store company slogan = my life, my style, my store. foundation = 1962 Green Bay, Wisconsin location = Green Bay, Wisconsin key people = James Ruben,… …   Wikipedia

  • department stores — Stores in traditional China were usually specialized. Iron and copper shops sold iron and copper tools; gold and silver shops sold gold and silver jewellery; pickle and sauce shops sold pickles and sauces; fabric shops sold fabrics. The modern,… …   Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture

  • History of private equity and venture capital — The history of private equity and venture capital and the development of these asset classes has occurred through a series of boom and bust cycles since the middle of the 20th century. Within the broader private equity industry, two distinct sub… …   Wikipedia

  • List of assets owned by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. — Wal Mart Stores, Inc. (nyse|WMT) is the largest retailer in the world and one of the five largest corporations in the world by sales. For more information see the main article: Wal Mart Included in parentheses are total units as of July 26,… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”