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Younkers Inc. () is an American online retailer and former
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
chain founded as a family-run dry goods business in 1856 in
Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk people, Sauk chief K ...
. The retailer had evolved over more than 150 years to include a presence in locations throughout Iowa and bordering states in the
Midwest 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 ...
region of the United States. Younkers became influential as it acquired several rivals throughout the 20th century both inside and outside of Iowa. In the late 1990s, the chain was sold with ownership transferring out of state, and its
Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
-based headquarters closed by 2003 as a part of a corporate consolidation. Following its last sale in 2006, Younkers operated as a subsidiary of
The Bon-Ton Bonton Holdings Inc. operating as Bonton () was an American department store chain and group founded in 1898. It operated in Western New York, Pennsylvania, Western Maryland, and throughout the Midwestern United States. The former York, Pennsy ...
, with locations in seven Midwestern states, primarily in
shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...
s. the chain operated more than fifty locations in the region. On August 29, 2018, Younkers closed its doors one last time.


History


Beginnings

The company was founded by three
Polish Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...
immigrant brothers Lipman, Samuel, and Marcus Younker, who opened a general store in Keokuk,
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
, in 1856. Herman Younker, a younger half-brother to the three founders, opened a dry goods store in
Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
, Iowa, in 1874. Following Samuel's death in 1879, the Keokuk store was closed and the Des Moines location became the main store. The future novelist and newspaper editor
Eleanor Hoyt Brainerd Eleanor Hoyt Brainerd (1868 – 1942) was an early 20th-century American writer. She published at least 10 novels, mostly written for young women. Childhood Eleanor was born on January 31, 1868 at Plum Grove Historic House in Iowa City, Iowa, ...
worked as a clerk at the Younkers store in Des Moines in 1889. In 1899 the Younker brothers' main store in downtown Des Moines was moved to 7th and Walnut Streets, and it operated at the same location for 106 years before closing on August 12, 2005. The downtown Des Moines store became known for its Tea Room restaurant, which opened in 1913 and closed shortly before the store did. It also installed
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
's first
escalator An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a Electric motor, motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the st ...
, known as the "electric stairs," in 1939.


Younkers Incorporated

A series of additions, enlargements, and mergers resulted in the company changing its name to Younkers Incorporated. The department store in downtown Des Moines was purchased in 1912. The company started growing in the 1920s by acquiring other department stores throughout Iowa, including Wilkins Department Stores (1923), Harris-Emery (1927), and J. Mandelbaum and Sons (1928). The Iowa-based retailers Brintnall's of
Marshalltown Marshalltown is a city in Marshall County, Iowa, and is the county seat of the county. With a population of 27,591 at the 2020 census, it is the 16th largest city in the state. Marshalltown is home to the Iowa Veterans Home and Marshalltown C ...
and Davidson's of
Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Iowa. The county seat of Woodbury County, Sioux City is the primar ...
were acquired in 1948 and Yetters of
Iowa City Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's fifth-most populous city. The Iowa City metropolitan area, which enc ...
was acquired in 1949. Younkers began expanding outside of Iowa during the 1950s and opened its first
shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...
store in
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
, in 1955. (It acquired another Omaha department store, Kilpatrick's, in 1961.) By 1978 Younkers had 28 stores in five states.


Fires

In November 1978, a fire broke out in the Younkers store in the
Merle Hay Mall Merle Hay Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping mall in Des Moines, Iowa, in the United States. Opened in 1959, it is the second oldest regional shopping center in Iowa, and was the largest mall in Iowa in terms of gross leasable area befo ...
in Des Moines, killing 11 people. To date, it is the most devastating fire in
Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
' history, and destroyed the original Younkers at the mall. It is also the third deadliest department store fire in US history. The fire was caused by faulty wiring. In the early hours of March 29, 2014, a fire ravaged the former
Younker Brothers Department Store The Younker Brothers Department Store was a historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. History Younkers was founded in Keokuk, Iowa in 1856. They op ...
in downtown Des Moines while it was under renovation. The eastern, original 1899 building partially collapsed in the fire and was demolished; the western 1909 Wilkins Department Store building, that Younker's had expanded into in 1924, was still standing and undergoing renovation.


Acquisitions of Brandeis and H.C. Prange

Younkers was operated by the Equitable of Iowa insurance company from 1979 to 1992 after being a publicly traded company since 1948. Under Equitable's ownership, Younkers acquired all 11 locations of the Omaha-based Brandeis department store chain in 1987. After returning to public ownership on the
NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...
on April 22, 1992, Younkers purchased the 22 stores of the H.C. Prange chain in
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
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
.


Acquisition by Proffitt's

After a hostile
takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are publicly listed, in contrast to the acquisi ...
bid by
Carson Pirie Scott Carson Pirie Scott & Co. (also known as Carson's) is an American department store that was founded in 1854, which grew to over 50 locations, primarily in the Midwestern United States. It was sold to the holding company of Bon-Ton in 2006, but sti ...
was rejected in 1995, Younkers' shareholders agreed to a friendly merger by
Proffitt's Proffitt's was a department store chain based in Alcoa, Tennessee. The chain was founded in 1919 by David W. Proffitt and James Ellis. In 2006, the Proffitt's and McRae's stores were converted into Belk after Belk had acquired the two chains in ...
, Inc., of
Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...
. The merger was completed in December 1996. Proffitt's would later acquire Carson Pirie Scott, and in 1998 Proffitt's acquired
Saks Fifth Avenue Saks Fifth Avenue (Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain founded in 1867 by Andrew Saks. The first store opened in the F Street and 7th Street shopping districts, F Street shopping distric ...
to form
Saks Incorporated Saks, Inc. was an American holding company founded in 1998 through the merger of Proffitts, Inc. and Saks Fifth Avenue. Before acquisition by the Canadian-founded Hudson's Bay Company in 2013, it held ownership of numerous regional department st ...
. In 2003, Saks closed Younkers' headquarters in Des Moines and merged its operations with those of Carson Pirie Scott in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
.


Sale to The Bon-Ton

Saks sold Younkers and its other Northern Department Store Group stores (
Carson Pirie Scott Carson Pirie Scott & Co. (also known as Carson's) is an American department store that was founded in 1854, which grew to over 50 locations, primarily in the Midwestern United States. It was sold to the holding company of Bon-Ton in 2006, but sti ...
,
Bergner's P.A. Bergner & Co. (also known as Bergner's) was an upscale Midwestern department store in the United States, that was established in 1889. The chain is now an online retailer operated by BrandX.com, Inc. The flagship store was located in Peori ...
, Boston Store, and
Herberger's G. R. Herberger Inc. is a digitally native retailer. It was established in 1927 in the Midwestern United States as a department store. History Herberger's began in Osakis, Minnesota, when G.R. "Bob" Herberger opened his first store in 1927 ...
) to
Bon-Ton Bonton Holdings Inc. operating as Bonton () was an American department store chain and group founded in 1898. It operated in Western New York, Pennsylvania, Western Maryland, and throughout the Midwestern United States. The former York, Pennsy ...
Stores in a $1.1 billion (~$ in ) deal that was completed on March 6, 2006. On January 31, 2018, Bon-Ton announced that they were going to close 42 locations nationwide including 9 in the state 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 ...
between February and April 2018. It was further announced on April 17, 2018 that Bon Ton Stores would be closing doors and began liquidating all 267 stores after two liquidators, Great American Group and Tiger Capital Group, won an auction for the company. The bid was estimated to be worth $775.5 million. This included all remaining Younkers locations after 162 years of operation. According to national retail reporter Mitch Nolen, stores closed within 10 to 12 weeks. On August 29, 2018, Younkers closed its doors and shut down.


Sale to BrandX.com, Inc

On September 10, 2018, of Merrillville, Indiana-based CSG Generation acquired all trademark and intellectual property assets of The Bon-Ton (York, Pa.). Subsequently, in early 2021, CSC Generation sold all the acquired assets of Bon-Ton to New York-based BrandX.com in a private sale. In May 2022 BrandX.com announced that Younkers would reopen with a physical location in 2023. Those plans ultimately did not come to fruition, although Younkers was revived as an online retailer.


References

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External links

*
Official website
(Archive)

{{Department stores in the United States Economy of Des Moines, Iowa Companies based in Milwaukee Companies based in Iowa Economy of the Midwestern United States Defunct department stores based in Iowa 1856 establishments in Iowa 2018 disestablishments in Iowa Retail companies established in 1856 Retail companies disestablished in 2018 American companies established in 1956 American companies disestablished in 2018 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018 Companies that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2018