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Bon-Ton history
Bon-Ton company history timeline
Bon-Ton was founded in 1898.
The Bon-Ton was started in 1898, when Max Grumbacher and his father, Samuel, opened S. Grumbacher & Son, a one-room millinery and dry goods store on Market Street in York, Pennsylvania.
As reported in the Carlisle Evening Sentinel on October 31, 1902, the store chain had two additional locations under the name "Bon-Ton Millinery" in Trenton, New Jersey, as well as in the following Pennsylvania locations: Carlisle, Lancaster, Lebanon, Altoona, and East Liverpool.
The store grew bigger and, in 1929, the company was incorporated as S. Grumbacher & Son, Inc.
In 1931, Max’s son, Max Samuel (M. S.), joined the company.
In 1946, an additional Bon-Ton was opened, in Hanover, Pennsylvania.
Two years later, the company moved outside Pennsylvania, acquiring Eyerly's in Hagerstown, Maryland, and, in 1957, purchasing McMeen's in Lewistown, Pennsylvania.
In 1961, M.S.'s son, M. Thomas "Tim", entered the business, representing the fourth generation of Grumbachers.
In 1969, retired the McMeen's name.
The Bon-Ton Stores began the decade by opening more stores, establishing a new division, Maxwell's, and acquiring L S Good (including its Fowler's department stores). When Tim Grumbacher was made CEO in 1985, the company operated 18 stores in four states.
The company began the decade by changing its logo in 1990 and completing the integration of the Pomeroy units.
Women’s clothing was the largest merchandise category, representing 30.5 percent of net sales in fiscal year 1990.
In 1991, The Bon-Ton acquired J.W. Rhodes in Ithaca, New York.
The Bon-Ton entered the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, market in 1992 with the acquisition of two Watt & Shand locations in downtown Lancaster and Park City Center.
In 1993 the company closed more stores than it opened and comparable store sales had a loss, a first for the company.
The company continued to expand its New York presence in 1993 with a store in the Wilton Mall in Saratoga Springs in the former Addis & Dey's space.
Ed Dravo, an investment analyst in San Francisco, recommended selling Bon-Ton shares in his column in the September 12, 1995, issue of Financial World. "Not only does Bon-Ton have economics playing against it, it is also in the retailing category that Wal-Mart likes to extinguish.
Excluding those charges, net income for 1995 was $200,000 or $0.02 per share.
The Bon Ton Stores, Inc. is a leading regional department store chain with sales in fiscal year 1995 of $607.4 million.
In 1995, The Bon-Ton entered the Rochester, New York market in three former McCurdy's locations, as well as in a former McCurdy's space (originally Iszard's) in Elmira.
In January 1996, the end of its fourth quarter, the company closed three stores and announced plans to close five to seven underperforming stores, eliminating 700 positions.
Sales for February and March totaled $84.8 million, a 3.8 percent increase from the year before, despite the Blizzard of 1996.
Talk began to surface, suggesting the possible closing of another five stores in early 1997.
The beginning of 1997, however, reflected a company that was in a much better position.
In May 1998 the company announced another stock offering of 4,600,000 shares.
8. "The Bon-Ton to Expand or Renovate Stores in Three Shopping Malls," December 12, 1998, http://www.reji.com.
1998's expansion included a new store in Westfield, Massachusetts, making it The Bon-Ton Stores' first entry into the New England area.
Looking ahead to 1999 and the end of the century, the company planned more growth in the form of new stores, expansions, and yet more remodels.
Frank Tworecke was named vice chairman and chief merchandising officer at the end of 1999.
The Bon Ton Stores, Inc. is a leading regional department store chain with sales in fiscal year 2001 of $749.8 million.
When the economy declined at the beginning of 2001, so did consumers’ spending habits.
“Measuring the Business of Corporate Philanthropy: The Bon-Ton Stores Foundation,” Summer 2001, http://www.measuringphil anthropy. com/casestudies.
“Young, Charlie, “Holiday Sales down for the Bon-Ton,” York Dispatch Online, January 11, 2002, http://www.yorkdispatch.com.
The company concentrates on serving medium-sized communities, and at the start of 2002, operated 73 stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Georgia, Massachusetts, and West Virginia.
As the economy continued to struggle into 2002, Bon-Ton kept its focus on quality merchandising, expansion, and growth.
In October 2003, The Bon-Ton expanded its reach into Ohio and the lower Midwest with the acquisition of the 69-store Elder-Beerman store chain.
On November 25, 2003, Bon-Ton reported a net loss in the third quarter of $1.7 million, or $0.11 per share, including an asset impairment charge of $0.10 per share.
In 2004, the year before it acquired Bon-Ton generated revenue of $1.3 billion, while Saks posted $2.2 billion, 69% higher.
The Bon-Ton Stores chain doubled in size in November 2005 with the $1.1 billion purchase of the 142 stores of Saks' Northern Department Store Group, headquartered in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Macy’s national presence also enabled it to more seamlessly adopt a corporate-wide omnichannel game plan, which began to take form in 2010.
The company had not made an annual profit since 2010.
From 2011 through the company's bankruptcy, it had four CEOs and three CFOs.
In 2015 it opened a massive direct-to-consumer fulfillment center in Ohio.
In fall 2016, Bon-Ton launched in-store and online "Close to Home" shops in 45 of its stores, selling locally sourced and locally themed products.
In February 2017, the chain announced that it would expand these shops to at least 100 stores in 25 states and would partner with local designers, artisans and entrepreneurs in each market interested in selling their products in these shops.
In May 2017, Tim Grumbacher retired after 50 years on the board of directors, and more than 25 as its chairman.
On May 5, 2017, Bon-Ton Stores was informed its common stock was no longer in compliance with NASDAQ listing requirements, and the stock was de-listed from the exchange on December 6 and became listed in OTC Pink.
In November 2017, the company announced a store closure program, stating 40 to 45 stores would close after the holiday season.
On December 18, 2017, Bon-Ton Stores revealed it had failed to pay $14 million in interest that had been due December 15.
The company's financial situation worsened rapidly in 2017, with same-store sales falling over 6% in both the second and third quarters.
In February 2018, The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
It will be 2018 when the last sweaters are folded, the racks rolled away and the windows papered over, but Bon-Ton Stores, now heading toward liquidation, may have met its maker 13 years ago.
On August 31, 2018, The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc.-owned retail websites were updated with "Stay Tuned" messages, indicating that the company's respective brands would come back in some form; the liquidator stated that the company's intellectual property was being sold.
On October 29, 2018, Bon-Ton announced it would reopen the Evergreen Park, Illinois Carson's store on November 24 (Black Friday)–one of Bon-Ton's first brick-and-mortar stores to reopen.
During the first quarter of 2018, The Bon-Ton announced it would be closing 42 stores in 14 states, in addition to five stores previously announced.
"The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. ." International Directory of Company Histories. . Encyclopedia.com. (April 16, 2021). https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/bon-ton-stores-inc-0
Subsequently, in early 2021, CSC Generation sold all the acquired assets of Bon-Ton to New York-based BrandX.com, Inc in a private sale.
BrandX will relaunch the Bonton.com website in Spring 2022.
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Bon-Ton competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nordstrom | 1901 | $15.0B | 74,000 | 990 |
| Dillard's | 1938 | $6.6B | 40,000 | 17 |
| Lord & Taylor | 1826 | $1.4B | 9,000 | - |
| Kohl's | 1962 | $16.2B | 110,000 | 1,321 |
| Five Below | 2002 | $3.9B | 14,001 | 2,011 |
| Elder-Beerman | 1883 | $3.5B | 5,000 | - |
| Jo-Ann Stores | 1943 | - | 23,000 | 1 |
| SHOE SHOW | 1960 | $6.2B | 140 | 1 |
| Kmart | 1899 | $25.1B | 1,500 | - |
| Walmart | 1962 | $681.0B | 2,300,000 | 42,050 |
Bon-Ton history FAQs
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Bon-Ton may also be known as or be related to The Bon-Ton Stores Inc, BON TON STORES INC THE, Bon-Ton Holdings Inc, The Bon-ton Stores, Inc., The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., Bon-Ton and The Bon-Ton.