Hartfield-Zodys was an American retail corporation begun in 1960. It operated the Hartfield chain of women's ready-to-wear apparel in the Los Angeles area, and starting in 1960, the Zodys chain of
discount retail stores (1960–1986), which operated locations in
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
,
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
,
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
, 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, ...
.
Hartfield's

Hartfield was present on
Broadway, the main shopping district in the Los Angeles area in the 1940s, in the
F. and W. Grand Silver Store Building at 545 S. Broadway and also at 749 S. Broadway. Additionally, a 1943 advertisement showed branches at 253 South Market Street in
Inglewood, 650
Pacific Boulevard in
Huntington Park
Huntington Park is a city located in the South Central region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The area includes the separate communities of Florence, California, Florence, Firestone Park, California, Firestone Park, Graham, ...
, and 705 South Pacific Avenue in
San Pedro (the latter opened 1941), all busy downtown shopping districts of what were once separate towns that had become working and middle class suburbs of Los Angeles. Additional branches opened across the Los Angeles area over the following decades.
Zodys
Hartfield’s decided to enter the
discount department store
Discount stores offer a retail format in which products are sold at prices that are in principle lower than an actual or supposed "full retail price". Discounters rely on bulk purchasing and efficient distribution to keep down costs.
Types (Unit ...
business with a new chain to be called Zodys, and opened its first one on June 13, 1960, in
Garden Grove, in Central
Orange County, California
Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...
. From 1962 the parent company changed its name to Hartfield-Zodys. By 1969 there were 19 stores. In 1972, Hartfield-Zodys acquired the
Yankee Stores chain of
Flint, Michigan
Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...
, briefly re-branding the stores as Yankee-Zodys, and later as Zodys.
In 1969 Zodys opened a 6.5-acre distribution center employing 300. The Michigan stores were unprofitable, and were sold in 1974 when Hartfield-Zodys filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
A brief period of prosperity brought expansions into
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
and
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
. In 1979 there were 37 stores.
Locations included:
[https://www.groceteria.ca/board/viewtopic.php?t=139&start=45]
#Garden Grove, 9852 Chapman Avenue (Opened 6/15/1960)
#Redondo Beach, 1413
Hawthorne Boulevard (SR 107) (Opened 11/3/1960)
#Long Beach, 5933 Spring Street (Opened 8/13/1961)
#Northridge, 10201 Reseda Boulevard (Opened 10/27/1961)
#Canoga Park, 8201
Topanga Canyon Boulevard (SR 27) (Opened 9/27/1962)
#West Covina, 615
North Azusa Avenue (SR 39) (Opened 9/27/1962)
#Burbank, 1000 North San Fernando Road (Opened 12/6/1962)
#Anaheim, 120 West Orangethorpe Avenue (Opened 7/19/1967)
#Huntington Beach, 6912 Edinger Avenue (Opened 8/10/1967)
#Buena Park, 121 North Beach Blvd (SR 39) (Opened 11/19/1967)
#Santa Ana, 1900 North Grand Avenue (Opened 10/20/1968)
#Norwalk, 10901 East
Imperial Highway (Opened 10/27/1968)
#Fountain Valley, 16111
Harbor Boulevard
Harbor Boulevard (formerly Spadra Road) is a north–south road corridor in the counties of Los Angeles and Orange. One of the busiest routes in Orange County, the thoroughfare passes through some of the most densely populated areas in the re ...
(Opened 11/13/1968)
#Long Beach, 2185 South Street (Opened 9/29/1968)
#Pomona, 1444 East Holt Avenue (Opened 6/8/1969)
#Inglewood, 3200 West Century Boulevard (Opened 8/17/1969)
#North Hollywood, 12727 Sherman Way (Opened 10/19/1969)
#Lynwood, 4050 Imperial Highway (Opened October 1969)
#Fullerton, 120 East Imperial Highway (Opened 11/30/1969
#El Monte, 4901 Santa Anita Drive (Opened 5/10/1970)
#Torrance, 851 West
Sepulveda Boulevard
Sepulveda Boulevard is a major street and transportation corridor in the City of Los Angeles and several other cities in western Los Angeles County, California. The street parallels Interstate 405 for much of its route. Portions of Sepulveda ...
(Opened 6/21/1970)
#Ladera Heights, 4925 West
Slauson Avenue (Opened August 1970)
#Bakersfield, 4001 Ming Street (Opened 9/9/1970)
#Riverside, 3700 North Tyler Street (Opened October 1970)
#Downtown Los Angeles, 437 South Broadway (Opened 3/21/1971)
#Hollywood, 5420 West
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...
(Opened 10/20/1971)
#San Bernardino, 555 West Second Street (Opened 1972)
#Alhambra, 600 East
Valley Boulevard (Opened 9/9/1973)
#Montebello, 2441 Via Campo (Opened 1974)
#Fresno, 5422 North Blackstone Avenue (Opened 1974)
#City Of Industry, 151 South Hacienda Boulevard (Opened 8/15/1977)
#Pasadena, 900 North Lake Avenue (Opened 5/2/1978)
#Indio, 82266
Highway 111 (Opened 9/30/1979)
#Midtown, 4801
Venice Boulevard
Venice Boulevard is a major east–west thoroughfare in Los Angeles, running from the ocean in the Venice district into downtown Los Angeles. It was originally known as West 16th Street under the Los Angeles numbered street system. A segment o ...
(Opened 10/15/1980)
#Boyle Heights, 2800 East First Street (Opened 10/22/1980)
#Vermont/Slauson, 5850 South Vermont Street, Los Angeles (Opened 11/20/81)
#Oxnard, 830 Wagon Wheel Road
#Oceanside, 2505 Vista Way
#San Jose, 920 Blossom Hill
#Sunnyvale, 121 El Camino Real
#San Jose, 375 North Capital Avenue
#Las Vegas, 2120 South Decatur Boulevard
#Upland, 1445 East
Foothill Boulevard (Opened 1982)
#East Riverside, 3900 Chicago Avenue (Opened 1982)
Epilogue
Bankrupt again by the early 1980s, the parent company, now known as HRT Industries, began closing stores in 1984. The remaining Zodys stores in California were shuttered in March 1986,
with many locations being sold to
Federated Stores, the parent company of
Ralphs
Ralphs is an American supermarket Chain stores, chain in Southern California. The largest subsidiary of Cincinnati-based Kroger, it is the oldest such chain west of the Mississippi River. Kroger also operates stores under the Food 4 Less and Fo ...
supermarket chain,
while other locations were purchased by
HomeClub, a home improvement store chain.
References
{{History of Retail in Southern California
Companies based in Los Angeles
Retail companies disestablished in 1986
Defunct companies based in California
Defunct discount stores of the United States
Retail companies established in 1960
1960 establishments in California
Defunct department stores based in the Westside, Los Angeles
1986 disestablishments in California
Defunct department stores based in Downtown Los Angeles