Bon Ton Stores headed on the downswing

Predicting the demise of Sears & Kmart since 2017!
SamSpade
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Re: Bon Ton Stores headed on the downswing

Post by SamSpade »

Chapter 11 filed Sunday.
The court is open Sundays?
"Many of Bon- Ton's stores were in areas where the availability of branded fashions and homewares was traditionally poor," said Neil Saunders, the managing director of GlobalData Retail. "However, while this once made them a focal point and a destination for local shoppers, the internet has done much to change this dynamic and has made the stores less relevant."
Interesting point. But then why does Stage Stores keep on keepin' on?
Also, doesn't Bon Ton have stores in larger metropolitan areas (Chicago, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Dayton...)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html
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Re: Bon Ton Stores headed on the downswing

Post by wnetmacman »

SamSpade wrote: February 5th, 2018, 1:26 pm Chapter 11 filed Sunday.
The court is open Sundays?
No, but electronic filing is available.
SamSpade wrote: February 5th, 2018, 1:26 pm
"Many of Bon- Ton's stores were in areas where the availability of branded fashions and homewares was traditionally poor," said Neil Saunders, the managing director of GlobalData Retail. "However, while this once made them a focal point and a destination for local shoppers, the internet has done much to change this dynamic and has made the stores less relevant."
Interesting point. But then why does Stage Stores keep on keepin' on?
Stage makes a better attempt to keep its customers. Also, Stage's largest store is in the 50,000 square foot range. Most are 30k or less. Stage also quickly closes unprofitable locations, and does so without a lot of fanfare.
SamSpade wrote: February 5th, 2018, 1:26 pmAlso, doesn't Bon Ton have stores in larger metropolitan areas (Chicago, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Dayton...)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html
They do.
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Re: Bon Ton Stores headed on the downswing

Post by rwsandiego »

wnetmacman wrote: February 5th, 2018, 2:08 pm
SamSpade wrote: February 5th, 2018, 1:26 pm Chapter 11 filed Sunday.
The court is open Sundays?
No, but electronic filing is available.
SamSpade wrote: February 5th, 2018, 1:26 pm
"Many of Bon- Ton's stores were in areas where the availability of branded fashions and homewares was traditionally poor," said Neil Saunders, the managing director of GlobalData Retail. "However, while this once made them a focal point and a destination for local shoppers, the internet has done much to change this dynamic and has made the stores less relevant."
Interesting point. But then why does Stage Stores keep on keepin' on?
Stage makes a better attempt to keep its customers. Also, Stage's largest store is in the 50,000 square foot range. Most are 30k or less. Stage also quickly closes unprofitable locations, and does so without a lot of fanfare.
SamSpade wrote: February 5th, 2018, 1:26 pmAlso, doesn't Bon Ton have stores in larger metropolitan areas (Chicago, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Dayton...)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html
They do.
Indy is soon to be history, but they will still operate almost all of the original Carson's (Chicago) and Boston Store (Milwaukee) locations. It is funny to hear that they struggled to develop their own private label. Years ago, before being acquired by Bernger's, Carson Pirie Scott used its own name as well as "the Corporate Level" (business wear) and "Level 6" (housewares) as their own brands. They had an extensive selection of private label merchandise. Although Bergner's brought with it a focus on nicer stores, the merchandise was often slightly lower-end than Carson's.
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Re: Bon Ton Stores headed on the downswing

Post by storewanderer »

wnetmacman wrote: February 5th, 2018, 2:08 pm
SamSpade wrote: February 5th, 2018, 1:26 pm Chapter 11 filed Sunday.
The court is open Sundays?
No, but electronic filing is available.
SamSpade wrote: February 5th, 2018, 1:26 pm
"Many of Bon- Ton's stores were in areas where the availability of branded fashions and homewares was traditionally poor," said Neil Saunders, the managing director of GlobalData Retail. "However, while this once made them a focal point and a destination for local shoppers, the internet has done much to change this dynamic and has made the stores less relevant."
Interesting point. But then why does Stage Stores keep on keepin' on?
Stage makes a better attempt to keep its customers. Also, Stage's largest store is in the 50,000 square foot range. Most are 30k or less. Stage also quickly closes unprofitable locations, and does so without a lot of fanfare.
SamSpade wrote: February 5th, 2018, 1:26 pmAlso, doesn't Bon Ton have stores in larger metropolitan areas (Chicago, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Dayton...)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html
They do.
Stage runs a lot of very small stores in very small markets. Low staff levels, low inventory levels, pretty heavy promotional program though.
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Re: Bon Ton Stores headed on the downswing

Post by arizonaguy »

Looks like the liquidation process is starting.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/ ... eport.html
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Re: Bon Ton Stores headed on the downswing

Post by rwsandiego »

arizonaguy wrote: April 17th, 2018, 4:05 pm Looks like the liquidation process is starting.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/ ... eport.html
Very sad news. Carson, Pirie, Scott was a great store prior to the acquisition by P.A. Bergner, their bankruptcy, and the acquisition by Bon-Ton. Will be very strange visiting the Chicago area and not seeing Carson's. That said, the stores really slipped under Bob-Ton, and Carson's was one of the nicer chains. Can't even imagine what the other banners are like anymore.
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Re: Bon Ton Stores headed on the downswing

Post by pseudo3d »

rwsandiego wrote: April 17th, 2018, 6:52 pm
arizonaguy wrote: April 17th, 2018, 4:05 pm Looks like the liquidation process is starting.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/ ... eport.html
Very sad news. Carson, Pirie, Scott was a great store prior to the acquisition by P.A. Bergner, their bankruptcy, and the acquisition by Bon-Ton. Will be very strange visiting the Chicago area and not seeing Carson's. That said, the stores really slipped under Bob-Ton, and Carson's was one of the nicer chains. Can't even imagine what the other banners are like anymore.
So, with the news that the last Sears in Chicago in proper is closing, how many department stores are there even left in Chicago? The State Street Macy's?
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Re: Bon Ton Stores headed on the downswing

Post by rwsandiego »

pseudo3d wrote: April 17th, 2018, 7:10 pm
rwsandiego wrote: April 17th, 2018, 6:52 pm
arizonaguy wrote: April 17th, 2018, 4:05 pm Looks like the liquidation process is starting.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/ ... eport.html
Very sad news. Carson, Pirie, Scott was a great store prior to the acquisition by P.A. Bergner, their bankruptcy, and the acquisition by Bon-Ton. Will be very strange visiting the Chicago area and not seeing Carson's. That said, the stores really slipped under Bob-Ton, and Carson's was one of the nicer chains. Can't even imagine what the other banners are like anymore.
So, with the news that the last Sears in Chicago in proper is closing, how many department stores are there even left in Chicago? The State Street Macy's?
In addition to the State Street Macy's, there is the Water Tower Place Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, and Neiman-Marcus - all of which are located on Michigan Avenue. Also, JC Penney operates at Ford City on the Southwest Side and if you count Kohl's they have one on Elston near Armitage in Bucktown.

Carson's State Street store closed in 2006. Hardly seems like it has been gone that long. In fairness, that was a quirky store. The State Street side and I believe part of the Wabash side is one building, with the rest of the Wabash side being a conglomeration of several small buildings. On one of the floors, they had to install a mini-lift to make it ADA compliant.
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Re: Bon Ton Stores headed on the downswing

Post by jamcool »

For all of this department store consternation, we hear nary a peep, good or bad, from Dillard’s. I guess they have their niche in the retail world - mostly smaller cities.
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Re: Bon Ton Stores headed on the downswing

Post by rwsandiego »

jamcool wrote: April 21st, 2018, 5:41 pm For all of this department store consternation, we hear nary a peep, good or bad, from Dillard’s. I guess they have their niche in the retail world - mostly smaller cities.
Do you mean Dillard's buying parts of Bon-Ton?
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