Value Village Stores, Inc. was a

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

chain of

retail stores The retail format (also known as the retail formula) influences the consumer's store choice and addresses the consumer's expectations. At its most basic level, a retail format is a simple marketplace, that is; a location where goods and services ar ...

aimed at the discount department-store market. Henry Horney, formerly of

F.W. Woolworth Company The F. W. Woolworth Company (often referred to as Woolworth's or simply Woolworth) was a retail company and one of the pioneers of the five-and-dime store. It was among the most successful American and international five-and-dime businesses, se ...

founded a small, regional chain of discount stores located in the two states of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

that opened in 1961 and operated into 1989. Horney also had a real estate company and often built small shopping malls adjoining the discount stores. The chain had no relation to the Savers Value Village chain of

thrift stores A charity shop is a retail establishment run by a charitable organization to raise money. Charity shops are a type of social enterprise. They sell mainly used goods such as clothing, books, music albums, shoes, toys, and furniture donated by ...

History

The Value Village chain was founded in 1961 when founder Henry Horney decided to convert six of his 8-year old chain of smaller,

five and dime A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, auto parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, furniture, and a selection of groceries. It usually sells th ...

variety store A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, auto parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, furniture, and a selection of groceries. It usually sel ...

locations called both Horney Dime Stores and Horney Variety Stores into much larger " big box" locations. The former Woolworth employee had seen his former company build its first big box

Woolco Woolco was an American-based discount retail chain. It was founded in 1962 in Columbus, Ohio, by the F. W. Woolworth Company. It was a full-line discount department store unlike the five-and-dime Woolworth stores which operated at the time. At ...

store in 1961 and

S.S. Kresge Sebastian Spering Kresge (July 31, 1867 – October 18, 1966) was an American businessman. He created and owned two chains of department stores: the S. S. Kresge Company, one of the 20th century's largest discount retail organizations, and the ...

and

W.T. Grant W. T. Grant or Grants was a United States–based chain of mass-merchandise stores founded by William Thomas Grant that operated from 1906 until 1976. The stores were generally of the variety store format located in downtowns. History In 1906 t ...

were readying their

Kmart Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...

and Grant City equivalents which would both launch in 1962. A 1961 ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' article explained the "broad transformation" of the entire variety and dime store industry that was taking place as Horney was transforming his dime store portfolio. The first two Value Village stores opened in Illinois in Harvey and

Homewood, Illinois Homewood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,463 at the 2020 census. The village sits just a few miles south of Chicago proper. It is bordered by Chicago Heights and Flossmoor to the south, Hazel Crest ...

in August and November 1961. Both were established in

Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cinc ...

grocery stores that closed in 1960. A third location in Dolton had replaced a Horney Variety Store and, because it was the first designed and constructed from the ground up, it would serve as the flagship location and blueprint for the chain. The architectural style was self-described as Swiss influenced with thatched wood fronts. All new-build stores created after the Dolton flagship had the same basic blueprint. The triangular design built over store entrances served as a double-meaning in the chain's 1980s marketing slogan, “Value Village: The peak of value.” Specific departments were leased out including the pharmaceutical and hardware areas. The hardware was contracted to HWI (a chain later renamed Do It Best) and the pharmacy was handled by an Indiana-based firm. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, the chain had expanded into small towns in Wisconsin and two more Illinois locations. Converted and new build stores were located in

Portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

, Watertown, Sun Prairie, Elkhorn and

Muskego Muskego () is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 25,032. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The name Muskego is derived from the Potawatomi Indian name for the ar ...

in Wisconsin along with Watseka and Macomb in Illinois. Small malls were built adjoining the Monroe, Watseka, Portage, Dolton and Macomb locations. Leasing was handled by the Value Village Real Estate Corporation. Store sizes within the malls were diminutive ranging from just 600 square feet to around 3,500 square feet. Horney also continued to operate the remaining variety dime stores located in Indiana and Illinois.

Downturn and closure

The first of the Value Village stores to close was in Harvey, Illinois. Though later rebuilt, the flagship store in Dolton burned down in 1977. The chain's final store opening was the March 1980 Muskego location. By the 1980s, the chain found that it was unable to compete against other retail chains, such as Kmart,

Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...

and

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

. The Sun Prairie location was closed in 1983 by the local sheriff due to "unpaid bills." The last of the smaller Horney Variety Store locations appears to have closed in 1985. Newspaper columnist Matt Figi examined the Monroe, Wisconsin competitive landscape to explain the downturn of the Value Village there and the pattern that existed elsewhere for the chain. The Monroe store had opened as the town's first big box store in 1970. Kmart then opened in 1976 and when Walmart opened in Monroe in 1985, neither Value Village nor the remaining variety dime stores survived. With the competitive landscape changing in each of the Value Village markets, closures occurred throughout the mid to late 1980s. Store liquidations reduced the Value Village chain one store at a time until the entire chain was defunct. The final two stores to close in the 11-store chain's history were the Portage location and the rebuilt Dolton flagship store late in 1989. A number of the adjoining malls were repurposed, as well. The Macomb Value Village Mall became a co-location of

Spoon River College Spoon River College (SRC) is a public community college in Canton, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Community College System. Spoon River College's district comprises parts of Schuyler County, McDonough County, Mason County, and Knox Coun ...

. The Monroe location was altered to house a larger retail store. The Dolton Value Village Mall was the last of the Value Village branded malls to close in 1998 and the Value Village Real Estate Corporation was dissolved."Expo Center's Fate in Judge's Hands." ''The Times'' (Munster, Indiana), 13 October 1998, p. B3.

References

{{Reflist Retail companies of the United States Discount_stores_of_the_United_States Retail_companies_established_in_1961 Defunct_discount_stores_of_the_United_States Retail_companies_disestablished_in_1989 Companies based in Cook County, Illinois 1961 establishments in Illinois 1989 disestablishments in Illinois