’02: More churn for retail industrycontinued from page 1 The retail industry continued to churn out new formats and growing establishments expanded their presence on the Michigan scene in 2002, while some older, well-known names fell upon hard times. Despite the sluggish economy, several lifestyle centers opened up across the state. Target Corporation announced the growth of Super Target stores in Michigan, which will boast a new supercenter food and merchandise format. New players like Younkers and Galyan’s looked to establish footholds in the growing and ever-competitive Michigan retail market. Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the 103-year-old Kmart Corporation meant the closing of 283 stores and the loss of over 22,000 jobs. Familiar stores like Jacobson’s, Service Merchandise, Harmony House, Quality Farm and Fleet and Ames Discount Stores all went out of business, and opportunistic retail establishments like Von Maur and Tractor Supply Company scrambled to fill their buildings. Meanwhile, Frank’s Nursery and Crafts emerged from bankruptcy. The following are some of the most notable events of this memorable year. January • Michigan retailers report an overall 3.3 percent increase in 2001 holiday sales, despite the impact of 9/11. • Service Merchandise closes after 42 years in business.
• Quality Farm and Fleet closes 153 stores nationwide. Eighty-five of those stores are taken over in an acquisition by former rival Tractor Supply Company. • Jacobson’s Department Store files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, initially closing five of its 23 stores. • By order of Attorney General Jennifer Granholm, Circuit City agrees to change its advertising practices in Michigan by offering rain checks when advertised sale items are not in stock and by revealing in ads how many of a given item are available. • Stanley Marcus, chairman emeritus of Neiman Marcus and one of the most innovative leaders in the retail industry, dies at age 96. • Kmart files Chapter 11 bankruptcy after reporting losses of over $3 billion in 2001. February • Hank Meijer, 49, replaces Jim McLean as chief executive officer of Meijer Inc. • The first A.J. Wright Discount Store in the area opens in Rogers Plaza in Wyoming, taking over the former Montgomery Ward’s space. • William T. Dillard Sr., founder of Dillard’s Department Store and chairman of Dillard’s Inc., dies in his Little Rock, Arkansas, home at age 87. • Frank’s Nursery and Crafts Inc. files a reorganization plan asking for a bankruptcy court’s approval to become a publicly traded company in an effort to repay $182 million to creditors. • Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson announces he will shift nearly $1 million in county spending to aid Kmart in restructuring efforts. • An item pricing reform bill sponsored by Representative Mike Bishop (R-Rochester) is introduced. • Wal-Mart releases its 2001 fiscal year revenue figures and breezes past oil giant Exxon Mobil to become the world’s largest corporation, with sales exceeding $218 billion. March • Grandville Tractor and Equipment celebrates it’s 60th anniversary and the grand opening of its new 10,800 square-foot facility in Grandville. • Walt Disney Co. announces it is preparing to split its Disney Store chain into two separate retail concepts: Disney Play for children and Disney Kids at Home for parents. • The Attorney General’s Office releases a survey of statewide prescription drug prices. The survey, which angers Michigan pharmacists, says that drug prices can vary as much as 400 percent across the state, depending on where a prescription is filled. April • Retailers Fund pays participants an interest-earnings dividend of $389,605. • Borders Group Inc. strengthens its bond with online ally Amazon.com, extending their contract to sell books and digital wares on the web. At the same time, Border’s subsidiary Waldenbooks forms a similar alliance with Amazon. • The JC Penney’s outlet store, which sold overstock and discontinued merchandise, closes it’s 160,000-square-foot store in the Great Lakes Crossing Mall in Auburn Hills. • Wal-Mart announces that it will build upon its designation as the nation’s biggest company—the first retailer ever to hold such a title—and go after more upscale, affluent customers, adjusting its competition from the likes of Kmart and Ames, to Target and Kohl’s. • JC Penney celebrates being in business for a century. • Roger Penske pulls his automotive line out of 860 Kmart stores, reporting a lack of profitability. • Governor Engler appoints Patrick A. Heller, owner of Liberty Coin Service in Lansing, as one of the 25 members of the Michigan Quarter Commission, a group focused on planning the design for the 2004 Michigan State Quarter. May • Sears purchases the Land’s End catalog company for $1.9 billion. • Target Corporation announces it will not sell Mervyn’s or Marshall Field’s department store divisions despite losing ground to Kohl’s. • Ground is broken for the $1.6 million Phoenix Court Shopping Center, the first new construction project in downtown South Haven in 20 years. • The Attorney General fines Home Depot $500,000 for violating the state’s item pricing act. • Marshall Field’s announces it will spend $6.3 million to renovate the interior of its Genesee Valley Shopping Center. • Frank’s Nursery and Crafts successfully emerges from bankruptcy. • Ground is broken for the 54,000-square-foot Terrazzo Shopping Center in Grand Rapids Township. • Detroit-area office products dealer Gail’s Office Supply celebrates 75 years in business. • Joe McCurry, former chair of the MRA Executive Committee, is recognized for his more than 35 years of service to Sears, Roebuck and Co. and his contributions to the African American Network at Sears. June • Kmart makes good on early announcements that it will close 283 stores. • Jacobson’s begins liquidation by planning going-out-of-business sales. • Harmony House music chain closes its doors after 55 years. The closing is blamed on slipping sales based on an era of Internet piracy and the low prices offered by entertainment superstores. • Michigan Retailers Foundation awards college scholarships totaling $12,250 to 15 students. • Target Corporation sets sales goal of $160 billion by 2012 with implementation of Target Super Stores. July • Retailers Fund pays $644,800 in dividends to participants, bringing the year’s total to just over $1 million. • The Michigan Legislature raises the cigarette tax by 50 cents a pack—to $1.25—a move many predict will hurt retailers by reducing their sales or causing them to lose sales to neighboring states. • The Tire Association of North America and the International Tire and Rubber Association merge to become the Tire Industry Association. • Downtown Ann Arbor office supply retailer, Mayer-Schairer Company, closes its doors after 92 years in business.
• Target Corporation unveils a comprehensive website with offerings from Target, Marshall Field’s, Mervyn’s and Amazon.com at one location: www.target.com. • A sponsorship agreement with retailer Saks Fifth Avenue breathes new life into Fash Bash, the annual gala fundraiser for the Detroit Institute of Arts. • Ames Department Stores Inc., officially shuts down all 327 stores nationwide, leaving 22,000 jobless. • The Attorney General’s office and the Better Business Bureau of Western Michigan publish The Home Furnishing and Comparative Advertising Guidelines for Michigan Retailers. MRA blasts the process used to draw up the guidelines. September • Von Maur Inc., a 130-year-old Iowa-based department store chain, takes ownership of former Jacobson’s retail space in Ann Arbor and Livonia. • Apple Computers unveils its first Michigan retail store at Novi’s Twelve Oaks Mall. • The Village of Rochester Hills, a new 375,000-square-foot lifestyle center, officially opens for business. • Eastwood Towne Center, another lifestyle center and the biggest retail complex to come to Lansing in 30 years, opens for business. October • The Saginaw Downtown Development Authority pays $200,000 for the vacant downtown Jacobson’s store. • Alticore, Tapper’s Jewelry and Naked Plates are named 2002 Michigan Retailer of the Year by MRA for their community service efforts. Cooper & Binkley Jewelers receives a Retailer of the Year Finalist Award. • MRA recognizes eight Michigan Centennial Retailers for their 100-plus years in operation. • Douglas J Salon and Aveda Institute celebrate the opening of their new home in the former Jacobson’s space on Grand River in East Lansing. November • Steketee’s of Kalamazoo announces it will close its store in Maple Hill Mall. • Etkin Equities of Southfield submits a proposal to the Pontiac Stadium Building Authority to demolish the Silverdome and build a massive retail center. • With official representation from United Auto Workers local 174, workers at the Kmart distribution center in Canton ratify their first union contract. • Younkers opens its third store in Michigan in the Lansing Mall. • Schneck’s Market in St. Joseph announces it will close its doors after 52 years in business. • Home Depot reports a 21 percent third quarter net income and a 7 cent per share increase in stock. • Retail store security measures are reconsidered after three people die in confrontations with security guards in 2002. New rules surrounding retail security specify that security guards should only confront a shoplifter if there is an immediate threat to a customer’s safety. • Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Mike Cox, endorsed by MRA, scraps his way to victory in the race to succeed Jennifer Granholm as attorney general. Cox edges out opponent State Sen. Gary Peters by 4,915 votes. • Michigan Retailers Foundation launches the “Links to a Legacy” campaign to reach $1 million for MRA’s scholarship program. December • Kmart launches its new-look concept store in White Lake Township. • Michigan retailers predict a 3.7 percent rise in holiday sales, the lowest forecast since MRA and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago established the Michigan Retail Index in 1994. |
•
Gateway Inc. announces it will eliminate 2,250 jobs and close 19 stores
nationwide in an effort to cut costs as it struggles with reduced industry
sales and a shrinking share of the U.S. market.
August