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76-567: Caldor, Inc. was a discount department store chain founded in 1951 by husband and wife Carl and Dorothy Bennett. Referred to by many as "the Bloomingdale's of discounting," Caldor grew from a second story "Walk-Up-&-Save" operation in Port Chester , New York, into a regional retailing giant. Its stores were earning over $ 1 billion (~$ 2.41 billion in 2023) in sales by the time Carl Bennett retired in 1985, by which time Caldor

152-532: A Pleasure", was more of a way of life for the Caldor team. Carl Bennett, who had been working as a wholesale liquor salesman for a Connecticut company, was born and raised in retail. His father owned a small grocery store in Greenwich, CT , where quality of merchandise and customer appreciation were key. Bennett credits his father for teaching him the retail sensibilities that he used to guide his company throughout

228-421: A Quebec-based supermarket and department store chain. Those locations were quickly rebranded into Steinberg's grocery stores, but over time most of their former Grand Union stores were closed and moved to new stores, due to poor locations compared to local competitors. British corporate raider Sir James Goldsmith acquired Grand Union in the early 1970s through his food conglomerate Cavenham Foods . Grand Union

304-669: A better fit with its tried-and-true floor layouts, the company debuted its first custom-built store in 1949, located in the Fresh Meadows neighborhood across the East River in Queens . Over 25,000 people visited on its first day of business. During the 1960s, Bloomingdale's shifted its merchandise mix to incorporate haute couture fashions imported from Paris and home furnishings from Italy. It also launched its first single designer-specific department in 1969, for Halston , one that

380-422: A business that would emphasize quality of merchandise over less desirable, lower cost wares at prices 10 to 40 percent below the manufacturers' suggested list prices, along with department store level services such as well informed salespeople, merchandise guarantees, and a liberal refund policy. These turned into cornerstones of the sustained growth and success of the chain they went on to establish. Later in 1951

456-606: A controlling stake in the southern grocery chain Big Star Markets . In October 1986, Grand Union leased ten stores in the Albany area from Weis Markets , including nine stores that had operated under the Albany Public Markets banner. In the mid-1980s, Goldsmith brought in former Target Corporation executive Floyd Hall to manage the chain. Goldsmith also had world-renowned artist Milton Glaser complete

532-510: A crucial role in shaping post-war American fashion. The store actively engaged with European designers and trends, as well as promoting American designers, and was an influencer in fashion trends and the evolution of American fashion sensibilities. This period marked a phase of continued growth and influence for Bloomingdale's, solidifying its status as a premier department store. By the 1950s, Bloomingdale's had become an established and influential retail institution. The store's commitment to offering

608-546: A discount department store chain (called Grand Way ) in Keansburg, New Jersey . Many of these stores combined a grocery store and a department store, which was similar to the combination Bradlees and Stop & Shop stores that were around during that time as well. Others were separate stores. For instance, a multi-level Grand Way store was built on a vacant lot across from the Elmwood Park corporate headquarters while

684-733: A dramatic loss in sales. Caldor also had trouble meeting its financial goals, and losses mounted. Shortly before filing for bankruptcy, Caldor had $ 1.2 billion in assets and $ 883 million in liabilities, the lowest amount of assets and the highest amount of liabilities the company had had since it was sold. In 1996, Caldor closed 12 underperforming stores due to the bankruptcy. In 1997, Caldor closed two underperforming stores in New York City. Like all department and discount stores, Caldor relied on its weekly multi-color circular in Sunday newspapers to advertise its Sunday–Saturday sales for

760-458: A dream grow into a major force in the world of mass merchandising". Bloomingdale%27s Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain founded in 1861 by Joseph Bloomingdale and Lyman Bloomingdale . It was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1930, which acquired the Macy’s department store chain in 1994, when they became sister brands. Ultimately, Federated itself

836-539: A graphical redesign of the chain, which included the "red dot" theme. Through the new management under Hall, the chain was able to make record-making profits throughout the late 1980s. In 1987, Goldsmith sold is shareholding in Grand Union's parent company, Generale Occidentale to French conglomerate Compagnie Générale d'Electricité (CGE), and in 1988 CGE sold Grand Union to a management buyout led by Hall for $ 655 million. In 1989, investment banker Gary D. Hirsch,

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912-461: A hostile takeover attempt of the company, successfully acquiring it for $ 6.6 billion: it was the largest non-oil corporate merger ever at the time. Bloomingdale's faced continued economic challenges in the early 1990s, resulting in the closures of its Dallas , Fresh Meadows, and Stamford, Connecticut locations. In 1994, Federated Stores acquired the entire Macy's chain, which had been in bankruptcy for two years. In 1996, Bloomingdale's expanded to

988-714: A month, Caldor was violating a Connecticut state law that permitted him to observe his Sabbath without opposition from his employer. Caldor contended that the law was unconstitutional as it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution . The lawsuit was filed in 1980, and eventually the case was heard before the United States Supreme Court , wherein Caldor's position

1064-491: A number of stores in upstate New York and New England open. The chain was sold to Tops Friendly Markets in 2012; in 2013 Tops rebranded the remaining Grand Union stores with the Tops logo and the Grand Union name was discontinued. After Tops and Price Chopper Supermarkets merged in 2021, the combined entity was forced to sell 12 stores to meet regulatory approval, and on November 9, 2021, C&S announced that they were purchasing

1140-732: A partner in the firm Miller Tabak Hirsch & Co. acquired a portion of the Grand Union Company with Salomon Brothers. Grand Union was Hirsch's fourth major supermarket purchase since 1987, as he had acquired the Pennsylvania-based Penn Traffic , the Syracuse, New York –based P&C Foods, and the Columbus, Ohio -based Big Bear Stores in the previous two years. Hirsch assumed the position of chairman while Joseph McCaig became CEO. Floyd Hall left upon

1216-499: A second location called Bloomingdale's Great East Side Bazaar in Midtown Manhattan at 965 Third Avenue, between 56th & 57th Sts. The Bazaar later moved into three adjacent buildings further up the block before finally moving into a building at 59th St. and Third Avenue , where its flagship store remains today. In the subsequent years, Bloomingdale's underwent a series of relocations and expansions. The brothers moved

1292-708: A substantial amount of money which allowed them to pass savings on to their customers and to promote their extremely fast growth. By 1963, Caldor had stores in Peekskill, NY , Danbury, CT , Hamden, CT , Norwalk, CT , and Riverside, CT , in addition to the original location in Port Chester, NY. Staying true to its belief in the benefits of regionalization each new store was planned close to Caldor's headquarters. In November of that year Caldor's common stock, which had split two for one in September, began trading on

1368-677: A suburb of Washington, D.C. in Northern Virginia . The First Lady at the time, Betty Ford , attended its opening as its guest of honor. In 1981, Bloomingdale's opened a branch at the King of Prussia Mall in suburban Philadelphia , then the largest mall in the world. Other new stores opened as well, along the East Coast , Florida , Chicago , and in Dallas, Texas . In 1988, Canadian real estate developer Robert Campeau launched

1444-496: A trend, making the store more visually appealing and attracting attention from passersby. This approach contributed to the store's reputation for being fashion-forward. By 1902, the store grew to occupy 80 percent of the city block between 58th St. and 59th St. to the north and south, and Third Avenue and Lexington Avenue to the east and west. After the New York City Subway debuted, the store's primary entrance

1520-417: A turnaround of the ailing chain. Harris had recently been an executive at A&P and at Kroger , and had an excellent reputation in the industry. Harris immediately began remodeling stores and building larger ones, which put even more stress on the company's finances and forced another Chapter 11 filing in 1998. The company emerged again in 1999 and had $ 175 million in new capital, which Harris used to finish

1596-467: A variety of special events and unique merchandise offerings through the end of the year at its Manhattan flagship location. Notes to Table Partial list (stores open at end 2023, plus 4 that closed in 2012) Store Type: 40°45′43″N 73°58′00″W  /  40.76194°N 73.96667°W  / 40.76194; -73.96667 Grand Union (supermarket) After C&S bought Grand Union, it down-scaled most of its operations, keeping only

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1672-526: A wide range of high-quality merchandise and its role in shaping fashion trends laid the foundation for its continued growth and legacy in the decades to come. In 1947, and tandem with America's economic boom after World War II , Bloomingdale's opened its first store outside of Manhattan in New Rochelle , a New York City suburb, where it assumed control of the former Ware's Department Store. After concluding that using pre-existing buildings could have been

1748-477: The American Stock Exchange . In 1966, Caldor opened its ninth store. Its management, sales, and executive board were also expanded in size and depth. A report written that same year by The Value Line Investment Survey, one of Wall Street 's most influential investment advisory services, recognized Caldor as a company growing at a rate of advance faster than that of Xerox Corporation . During

1824-732: The Phoenix market with a 180,000-square-foot store by 2009. Arizona would have been the thirteenth state to have a Bloomingdale's store location, with this store being the tenth in the western U.S. and 41st throughout the chain. This store never materialized as a result of the Great Recession in 2008 and 2009. In May 2008, Bloomingdale's began the phase-out of its Bloomingdale's By Mail catalog to greater emphasize its rapidly growing online presence at bloomingdales.com. On September 10, 2008, Macy's announced plans to open three new Bloomingdale's stores, two modeled after its SoHo store. One

1900-497: The U.S. West Coast , converting four former chains of The Broadway , which it acquired via its merger with Macy's, in Southern California into Bloomingdale's stores in a single day. Bloomingdale's continued growth and shuttering of duplicative locations stemming from Macy's merger. In 2004, the company returned once again to downtown Manhattan, opening an 82,000-square-foot store – featuring an "edited" selection of

1976-690: The 12 stores and would convert them to Grand Union stores, reviving the brand. Grand Union started in Scranton, Pennsylvania , as the Jones Brothers Tea Company in 1872. By the 1930s it was one of the largest grocery chains in the United States. The name "Grand Union" was inspired by the desire to "unite shoppers with low prices in a 'Grand Union of Value ' " as described by company associate Elvin Sanders. The store's mascot

2052-535: The 1970s, despite New York City's turbulence at the time, partly via continued expansions into the suburbs. Its largest branch opened in White Plains, New York in 1975, with 260,000 square feet of floor space, and shortly after that, Bloomingdale's shuttered its original, but much smaller, New Rochelle branch. In 1976, Bloomingdale's launched its first store outside of the New York City area in Tysons, Virginia ,

2128-486: The 21 remaining Grand Union stores in the Adirondack Region and parts of Vermont. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. On May 28, 2013, grand reopening ceremonies were held for nine stores which had been re-bannered under the Tops name. The remaining 12 stores held grand reopening ceremonies on July 2, 2013, under the Tops banner, effectively bringing an end to the Grand Union supermarket chain. In 2021, it

2204-784: The Dubai store would most likely be the only store outside of the U.S. (The company's leaders later had a change of heart, and opened a branch in Kuwait in 2017.) Later in 2010, the company launched its first outlet store at Potomac Mills , located outside of Washington, D.C. In 2012, Macy's Inc. closed four Bloomingdale's stores, one each in the Minneapolis (Mall of America), Atlanta (Perimeter), Washington DC (White Flint), and Chicago (Oak Brook) areas. In late 2019, Macy's announced that fur would no longer be sold in any of its stores, including Bloomingdale's department & outlet stores, as of

2280-558: The New York retail market. Caldor was successful through several business practices which were distinct in their industry. New stores were located within at most a day's travel from Caldor's corporate headquarters and its distribution center, allowing for closely controlled costs and minimized inventory expenses. This allowed single advertising and promotional campaigns to cover multiple stores and simplified executive supervision and transfer of employees. The interior of each Caldor store

2356-523: The Northeast, where it was long established, were closed. Many of the medium-sized and most of the larger Grand Union stores, as well as most of the construction permits for stores that had yet to be built or finished, were sold to Ahold while C&S continued to supply the stores. At the time of the acquisition of Grand Union by C&S, Ahold had been looking to establish a presence in the Northeast as well through its Edwards Super Food Stores chain and

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2432-465: The Washington, D.C., area. This, along with the chain's slow financial progress, caused its secured creditors to file a motion that would have forced Caldor to convert its bankruptcy, from which the company had still not emerged, from a Chapter 11 filing to a Chapter 7 filing; this would have required Caldor to liquidate all of its stores and cease operations. The creditors believed their best option

2508-406: The acquisition. Under Hirsch's leadership the company was driven into serious debt and ran out of the necessary capital for store improvements and upgrades, making it difficult for them to compete with other better financed retailers. Still, gradually, Grand Union remodeled most of its stores. Some of its older, run-down stores were closed and converted to other uses. Grand Union's big disadvantage

2584-514: The awards banquet in Chicago, Bennett credited the corporation's employees as “our secret ingredient" for making Caldor “the finest retail chain in the country". In 1983, Bennett was elected into the "Discounting Hall of Fame" by the same industry poll, making him the sixth retail executive to receive the honor. Iris Rosenberg, editor of Discount Store News , said: "Carl Bennett typifies the successful entrepreneur who from an inconspicuous start made

2660-562: The block, expanding the store's size to 84,000 square feet (later nearly quadrupled via newly added floor space). Like most publicly traded companies, Bloomingdale's faced severe financial problems following the Black Tuesday stock market crash in 1929, and it merged with the newly created Federated Department Stores in early 1930, which helped it survive the Great Depression . After World War II, Bloomingdale's played

2736-473: The board, and Dorothy as treasurer and director. Carl's brother Harry Bennett served as vice president. That same year fire destroyed the Norwalk store and all of its contents. Ever resourceful, Caldor continued to serve the Norwalk community by operating out of three temporary stores close to the damaged outlet, which was quickly being rebuilt. Despite this setback that destroyed nearly seven months of inventory,

2812-550: The company built a strip mall in nearby Paramus , where the Grand Way anchored one end with the Grand Union anchoring the other. These stores were eventually closed and sold to other competitors, such as Winn-Dixie . The Elmwood Park and Paramus Grand Way stores were sold to Kmart ; both of these stores have since closed. In 1959, Grand Union's 38 stores it operated in Ontario , Canada, were sold to Steinberg's (supermarket) ,

2888-711: The company had no alternative but to wind down business and lay off all of their staff at the corporate headquarters in Connecticut. One day after that, on January 23, 1999, liquidation sales began at the remaining 145 stores. By April 1999, most of the Caldor locations had sold off all their merchandise and closed their doors; the last store to close did so on May 15, 1999. At the time of the liquidation, Caldor employed over 24,000 people. Many Caldor stores eventually were purchased by retailers such as competitors Kmart , Target , and Walmart , and many metro New York Caldor stores were bought by Kohl's as part of Kohl's entry into

2964-403: The company posted an increase in sales of approximately 43% over the previous year. Part of Caldor's financial success was convincing vendors of Caldor's billing incentives. Caldor got most, if not all, of their vendors to agree to a 2% 10/net 30–60 format. This meant if they paid the vendors within 10 days of receipt, Caldor got 2% off or a net payment within 30 or 60 days. This saved the company

3040-495: The company. At the time of this announcement, Caldor had 100 stores and over $ 1 billion in sales. After his three-year contract with Associated Dry Goods expired, Bennett looked forward to retirement and spending time relaxing, playing tennis, reading a few new books, and vacationing. ADG wanted Bennett to stay as long as possible. "After all", said one corporate insider, "Carl Bennett is Caldor". Bennett died on December 23, 2021, aged 101. In 1989, May Department Stores (which

3116-445: The couple used their $ 8,000 savings (equivalent to $ 93,908 in 2023) to open a 9,600-square-foot store in a second floor loft in Port Chester, New York . They named it Caldor, a blending of their first names. Specializing in name-brand hard goods such as appliances, electronics, home furnishings, jewelry, and sports equipment for middle to upper middle class income yet bargain-conscious consumers. Their slogan, "Where Shopping Is Always

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3192-468: The defunct W. T. Grant, giving Caldor immediate access to locations that were already zoned for retail outlets and access to fast-tracked expansion. According to Bennett, those stores became "immediately profitable" for Caldor. Caldor was the subject of a lawsuit filed by former employee Donald Thornton, who claimed he was fired by the company for refusing to work on Sunday, which was his Sabbath day . Thornton contended that by forcing him to work one Sunday

3268-423: The end of March quickly evaporated due to the pandemic's rapid spread, as did its intent to do so by the end of April 2020: as was the case with most brick-and-mortar retailers, Macy's ended up closing some of its stores for a year or more, with reopening days that varied depending on their locations. Some did not reopen until late 2021. On September 9, 2022, Bloomingdale's celebrated its 150th anniversary, featuring

3344-411: The end of the 2020 fiscal year. As part of an initiative to better establish its New York flagship store as a "retail destination," designed to allure shoppers who primarily purchase department store goods online, Bloomingdale's introduced new departments and offerings throughout the decade, including a branch of Magnolia Bakery and a boutique for Sarah Jessica Parker 's SJC Collection shoe line. It

3420-423: The family name but also symbolized the flourishing and growth of their business. Joseph Bloomingdale retired from the company in 1896, giving his brother Lyman full control, and Lyman's sons Hiram and Samuel inherited his shares upon his death in 1905. As the 20th century dawned, Bloomingdale's embraced innovative retail practices. The introduction of the department store window display in the late 19th century set

3496-821: The flagship store's offerings – in SoHo . In 2007, Bloomingdale’s expanded into San Diego ( Fashion Valley ) and Costa Mesa ( South Coast Plaza ), once again by replacing former Robinsons-May stores that closed in 2006, in each case because there were already existing Macy's stores in each mall. In 2006, Bloomingdale's opened its largest store save its Manhattan flagship in San Francisco 's Union Square, 330,000 sq ft (31,000 m ) in area. On June 1, 2007, Federated Stores changed its corporate name to Macy's, given its more robust name recognition, but left its Bloomingdale's store names intact. On February 14, 2008, parent company Macy's, Inc. announced plans to enter

3572-445: The flyer were distributed to the public via an 85-newspaper distribution chain. Caldor released a statement expressing its mystification over how the image was created and got past proofreaders, and issued an apology about the oversight. In January 1998, Caldor had $ 1.2 billion in liabilities and $ 949 million in assets, one of the worst deficits the company ever had. A few months later, Caldor closed another 12 stores, mostly in

3648-495: The former flagship in Elmwood Park, were demolished after closing and replaced with other buildings. As for the stores that remained under the Grand Union banner, they became part of a rebranded Grand Union Family Markets , complete with a new logo that discarded the 1980s "Red Dot" logo. Many of the stores did keep the Red Dot, although not all of them did. On July 19, 2012, Tops Friendly Markets announced that it would acquire

3724-514: The inside, it had Stop & Shop branded items on the shelves. Other supermarket chains that purchased Grand Union stores included Tops , which was at the time also an Ahold subsidiary, Shaw's , Hannaford , Price Chopper and Pathmark . Some of the other medium-sized stores were sold to department store chains such as Marshalls and Kohl's , while many of the smaller stores were sold to independent grocers and drugstore chains such as Eckerd , Rite Aid , CVS , and Walgreens . Other stores, like

3800-454: The remainder of the 1960s and the 1970s, the economy saw years of booming consumer consumption, as well as contraction and recession. Throughout these changing times and varied economic climates Caldor continued to show healthy profits and expansion. Many Caldor competitors, such as E.J. Korvette , Grand Way Stores , Two Guys , and W. T. Grant , did not fare as well and would shut down. In 1976, Caldor took over seven stores formerly operated by

3876-703: The remodels on the stores that were still in the process and to acquire more construction permits for larger stores. He also used some of the money for new store formats, with three emerging. One was "Grand Union Fresh Market", which catered more to an upscale gourmet clientele more in the vein of its competitor Kings . Another was a discount grocery store named "Mega Save". A third was Grand Union's answer to limited selection chains such as Aldi and Save-A-Lot , called "Hot Dot". None of these ideas worked out, and again Grand Union's finances reached dire straits. In addition to this, many of Grand Union's executives were found to have been stealing money such as Don Vaillancourt, who

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3952-428: The store from its original location to a larger space on 59th Street and Third Avenue. As the business flourished, necessitating more significant retail space, the store moved once again to its iconic location at 59th Street and Lexington Avenue in 1886. This move marked a turning point, solidifying the store's position as a prominent retail destination. In 1872, the store changed its name to "Bloomingdale's", reflecting

4028-416: The stores it wanted to as there was not enough money left. A Fishkill, New York store was sold to a ShopRite ownership group before it could open, and the construction of a store in its home area of Wayne, New Jersey, was halted for over a year. In October 2000, Grand Union filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for a third time. Two months later, the bankruptcy was converted to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy after it

4104-409: The week, along with an annual catalog-like "Toy Book" which featured its toy selection for the holiday season. In November 1998, the company suffered a public relations embarrassment when the 1998 Toy Book featured a prominent photograph of two grinning boys playing the board game Scrabble , with the word "rape" spelled out in the center of the board, buried amongst nonsense words. 11 million copies of

4180-505: The years. With business growing steadily, the original store was replaced in 1953 with an expanded location in Port Chester, NY that also provided more modern amenities. A second Caldor was added in 1958, a 70,000-square-foot store in Norwalk, CT . This year also marked Caldor's introduction of apparel to its product line. In 1961, with four locations, Caldor Inc. went public with Carl Bennett serving as president, director, and chairman of

4256-506: Was Abraham Lincoln wearing a deli apron, and most stores featured a costumed Lincoln to accomplish deeds, talk to customers, and proclaim the general splendor of the Grand Union, and to urge them to "Save the Union" when the company faced economic hardship. In the early 1950s, Grand Union merged with Great Eastern and began construction on a new shopping center in what was then known as East Paterson (now Elmwood Park ), New Jersey. The strip

4332-414: Was convicted of embezzling over $ 2 million from the company in 2002. Harris was forced out in 2000 and took a job with JCPenney , who hired him to revive their Eckerd drugstore chain. Harris failed to do that as well, and Eckerd was sold to a combination of Jean Coutu Group and CVS Corporation in 2004. In addition to the now-critical debt being borne by Grand Union, the company was unable to build

4408-466: Was Associated Dry Goods' successor upon merging with May in 1986) announced it would sell Caldor to a group that included Odyssey Partners and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette . As the 1990s emerged, Caldor would run into troubles. In 1995, Caldor filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The chain found itself unable to compete with the lower prices and wider selection of such stores as Wal-Mart (which had acquired several former Caldor stores), causing

4484-439: Was a money loser during much of Goldsmith's time of ownership. Goldsmith presided over the closing of the Grand Way chain in 1978 and the exit of Grand Union from most of the rest of the nation outside of the Northeast and New England in the mid-1980s. In the 1980s Grand Union acquired many former A&P stores in northern New Jersey that A&P closed after acquiring the metropolitan New York operations of Stop & Shop and

4560-431: Was a subsidiary of Associated Dry Goods . Despite its successes, Caldor suffered from financial issues by the 1990s. The company was liquidated and all 145 stores were closed by May 1999. In 1951, while shopping at an E. J. Korvette store in New York City, newlyweds Carl and Dorothy Bennett were inspired to open their own discount store that would be different from the average postwar discount retailer. They envisioned

4636-410: Was announced that, as part of the merge of Tops and Price Chopper Supermarkets merger, the combined entity had to sell 12 stores to meet regulatory approval. On November 9, 2021, C&S announced that they were purchasing the 12 stores and converting them to Grand Union stores, reviving the brand. As part of the announcement, it was revealed that those 12 stores will be converted to Grand Union and that

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4712-566: Was delayed until 2020, primarily due to the Great Recession, and Santa Monica closed in 2021 due to subpar performance. In February 2010, Macy's launched Bloomingdale's first international location in Dubai . As is the case for rival Saks Fifth Avenue , the global presence for Bloomingdale's is operated under license by a local interest: in this case, Al Tayer Group LLC, a leading UAE-based conglomerate. Bloomingdale's CEO announced that

4788-449: Was designed to look more like a department store than a discounter, and many were even designed by the same firms used by more up-scale retail environments. They featured wide aisles, bright lighting, and large, colorful display treatment, and were typically remodeled every six years. In September 1980, Carl Bennett was named “Discounter of The Year” by a national poll of the top US retailing executives, sponsored by Discount Store News . At

4864-464: Was discovered that the damage Harris' failed ideas and the embezzlement scandal had done to the company left it with so little money that Grand Union could not operate or supply any of its stores. A search for a buyer began, but in spite of the filing the stores continued to do business as before. Grand Union's Chapter 7 filing had a large effect on its supplier C&S Wholesale Grocers , a New England–based wholesale food distributor of which Grand Union

4940-649: Was for Caldor to liquidate rather than continue to operate. In addition, Caldor's stock was delisted on the New York Stock Exchange in September 1997. Caldor responded by seeking mediation to resolve the dispute, but in January 1999 the company deduced that there was nothing they could do to save themselves. On January 9, Caldor announced it would not place any more orders for, nor would they accept shipments of, new merchandise for their stores. Thirteen days later, on January 22, Caldor's chairman announced

5016-527: Was founded in New York City by Benjamin Bloomingdale and his son Lyman Bloomingdale in 1861 in its Lower East Side area, originally under the name Bloomingdale's Hoopskirts, initially focused on selling hoop skirts and European fashions. The brothers quickly identified opportunities for growth and expansion in the dynamic retail landscape of the time.In 1872, Lyman and his brother Joseph opened

5092-474: Was initially a bidder for Grand Union. Eventually Ahold converted the Edwards stores to Stop & Shop , reintroducing the brand to the area, and later converted the Grand Union stores it acquired to Stop & Shops as well. Ahold began supplying Grand Union stores for some time prior to their rebranding. This meant that although the store retained the Grand Union sign on the outside and various other signage on

5168-764: Was intended to be a three-level 82,000-square-foot (7,600 m ) anchor store at The Shops at Georgetown Park in Washington, D.C. , but the plan collapsed after the mall's parent company declared bankruptcy. The other two stores were completed, including a new 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m ) branch at Westfield Valley Fair in San Jose, California , and a 205,000 sq ft (19,000 m ) store in Santa Monica Place , in Santa Monica, CA . The latter debuted in early 2010. San Jose's debut

5244-464: Was its largest customer. C&S also was one of Grand Union's largest creditors, and made a stalking horse offer to take control of the company in early 2001 that was approved. Shortly afterward, C&S began reorganizing Grand Union's operations. This resulted in a consolidation that left the chain with only a relatively small number of stores in smaller cities and towns across Upstate New York and New England . In addition, Grand Union's stores in

5320-583: Was quickly followed later that year by a dedicated Polo Ralph Lauren boutique in its men's store. By the early 1970s, Bloomingdale's had begun embracing avant-garde European design, and following the United Nations recognition of China in 1971, it became the first American retailer to sell products from Communist-era China. Its iconic rounded logo debuted in 1972, followed a year later by its "Big Brown Bag" and "Little Brown Bag," all of which remain in use today. Bloomingdale's continued to thrive throughout

5396-419: Was renamed Macy’s, Inc. in 2007. As of 2024, the chain had a total of 32 owned department stores in the U.S. and 3 franchised stores in Dubai and Kuwait ; 21 outlet stores (all in the U.S.), and 3 Bloomie's by Bloomingdales concept stores. Its headquarters and flagship store are located at 59th Street and Lexington Avenue in the New York City borough of Manhattan . The first Bloomingdale's

5472-546: Was shifted to its Lexington Avenue side in 1918 to draw customers coming from the nearby IRT Lexington Avenue Line stop at 59th Street and Lexington Avenue . Given that the U.S. was involved in World War I , Samuel Bloomingdale gave the American Red Cross free use of an entire floor there until the war ended. By 1927, after acquiring all the remaining portions along it, Bloomingdale's controlled 100 percent of

5548-449: Was that its average store was 35,000 square feet while most supermarkets being built were over 50,000. The company also built a few larger stores. In 1995, Grand Union's ongoing financial difficulties forced the company into its first bankruptcy as it filed for Chapter 11 . In 1996, shortly after Grand Union emerged, Hirsch announced his resignation and sold his share of the company. In 1997, Grand Union brought in J. Wayne Harris to begin

5624-447: Was the first department store in New York to offer the latter. In 2018 and 2019, Bloomingdale's remodeled nearly 200,000 square feet inside the store, wholly revamping its denim, cosmetics, shoes, and women's contemporary clothing departments. In March 2020, Macy's, Inc. announced that it would temporarily close all Bloomingdale's and Macy's locations as a result of the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic. Its original plan to reopen at

5700-483: Was to include a new Grand Union store with an office tower attached that would serve as the company's new corporate headquarters. The store and new headquarters opened in 1951. In 1987, Grand Union moved its corporate headquarters to Willowbrook Center in Wayne , abandoning its Elmwood Park offices. Grand Union did not close the Elmwood Park store, though, and it remained in operation until 2001. In 1956, Grand Union opened

5776-532: Was upheld. In 1981, Associated Dry Goods (ADG), the owners of Lord & Taylor and other quality department stores, purchased Caldor, Inc. for $ 313 million (~$ 888 million in 2023). Attracted to its growth potential and low debt, the 63-store Caldor chain was ADG's first entry into the realm of discount retailing. Bennett was retained under a three-year contract, and ADG brought on several other Caldor executives. In March 1984, Carl Bennett announced that he would retire on May 31, 1985, after 33 years with

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