Pergament Home Centers was a home improvement store chain with stores in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. It specialized in the sale of flooring, paint, and wallpaper and was one of the first in the area to sell

acrylic paint Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion and plasticizers, silicone oils, defoamers, stabilizers, or metal soaps. Most acrylic paints are water-based, but become water-resistant when dry. Dep ...

. At its zenith, the chain had 42 stores and sales of $375 million. In 2001, after facing stiff competition from

The Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...

and

Lowe's Lowe's Companies, Inc. ( ) is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States. As of October 28, 2022, Lowe's and i ...

, the company filed

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

and shut down.

History

The company had its roots in a store opened in 1935 by Louis Pergament in Franklin Square, New York. In 1989, Mancuso & Co., owned by Robert F. Mancuso, and Equitable Capital Management acquired the company from the founding family for as much as $175 million (~$ in ) via a

leveraged buyout A leveraged buyout (LBO) is the acquisition of a company using a significant proportion of borrowed money (Leverage (finance), leverage) to fund the acquisition with the remainder of the purchase price funded with private equity. The assets of t ...

. Equitable Capital Management invested over $11 million in the acquisition. Michael H. Lurie became president and chief operating officer. In 1992, the company was restructured, including layoffs and store closings. Control of the company wound up in the hands of its lender, Westdeutsche Landesbank. In 1998, the company closed its last store in Connecticut. In 2001, after facing stiff competition from

and

, the company filed

and shut down. In 2013, Bob Pergament, the son of the founder, told his memoirs about the chain.

References

{{reflist Defunct retail companies of the United States Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001