Carson's

The chain began in 1854 when Samuel Carson and John Thomas Pirie first clerked in the Murray's dry goods store in Peru, Illinois, then opened their own store in LaSalle, followed by one in Amboy. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed 60% of the store's stock.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

John Edwin Scott operated a dry goods store in Ottawa, Illinois. He later moved up to Chicago and became the first partner of Carson and Pirie in the ownership of a dry goods store which became known as Carson Pirie Scott & Co. Two of Scott's sons, Robert L. and Frederick H., were members of the department store firm.

File:Carsons Pirie Scott & Co.jpg]]

{{Main|Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building}}

The flagship store on State Street in the Downtown Chicago Loop is still known as the Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building. Louis Sullivan designed it for department store Schlesinger & Mayer, who added to it over the years. When that company went bankrupt in 1904, they sold the building to Carson Pirie Scott in 1904, and it would remain Carson's flagship store until it was announced in August 2006 that after the 2006 Christmas season, the department store in the building would close. After holding clearance sales, Carson's closed in February 2007.

In 1961, Carson Pirie Scott & Co. greatly expanded in Illinois by purchasing the 20 unit Block & Kuhl chain headquartered in Peoria.{{cite encyclopedia | url = http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/2586.html | title = Carson Pirie Scott & Co. | access-date = 8 April 2020 | author = Wilson, Mark R. | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Chicago | location = Chicago}}

In 1980, to diversify its business, Carson Pirie Scott & Co. borrowed $108 million to buy Dobbs Houses, Inc., an airline caterer and owner of the Toddle House and Steak 'n Egg Kitchen restaurant chains. These were sold in 1988, as was the County Seat clothing chain.

In 1989, Carson Pirie Scott & Co. was acquired by P.A. Bergner & Co. (founded in Peoria), who operated the Bergner's, Charles V. Weise, Myers Brothers and Boston Store chains.{{cite encyclopedia | url = https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/carson-pirie-scott-company | title = Carson Pirie Scott & Company | access-date = 8 April 2020 | date = 18 March 2020 | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia}}

In 1991, P.A. Bergner & Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy;{{Cite web|last=Strom|first=Stephanie|date=24 August 1991|title=COMPANY NEWS; Bergner Stores Chain In Bankruptcy Filing|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/24/business/company-news-bergner-stores-chain-in-bankruptcy-filing.html|url-status=live|access-date=9 April 2021|website=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525231333/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/24/business/company-news-bergner-stores-chain-in-bankruptcy-filing.html |archive-date=2015-05-25 }} upon emerging from bankruptcy in 1993, it became a NASDAQ publicly traded company, changing its operating name to Carson Pirie Scott & Co.{{Cite web|date=1 November 1993|title=Carson Pirie Stock Offering|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/01/business/carson-pirie-stock-offering.html|url-status=live|access-date=9 April 2021|website=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526081333/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/01/business/carson-pirie-stock-offering.html |archive-date=2015-05-26 }}{{Cite web|last=Writer|first=John Schmeltzer, Tribune Staff|title=CARSONS IS REBORN FROM BANKRUPTCY|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-10-31-9310310097-story.html|access-date=2021-04-09|website=chicagotribune.com|date=31 October 1993 |language=en-US}} One year later, the company commenced trading on the NYSE under the CRP symbol.

By 1998, Carson Pirie Scott & Co. ownership was held by Proffitt's, Inc., (later renamed Saks Incorporated to reflect the acquisition of Saks Fifth Avenue). The Carson Pirie Scott, Bergner's, and Boston Store chains, along with Younkers and Herberger's nameplates, eventually operated as Saks' Northern Department Store Group (NDSG), based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In late 2005, however, the group was put up for sale as Saks Incorporated tried to refocus itself primarily on its core Saks Fifth Avenue stores.

File:Carsons_at_Mounds_Mall.jpg in Anderson, Indiana during closing sales in 2018.]]

Carson's and its associated stores became part of The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. in a $1.1 billion deal completed on March 6, 2006.{{cite web |url=http://www.bonton.com/investor_relations/pr030606.asp |title=Investor Relations |access-date=2006-03-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311115314/http://www.bonton.com/investor_relations/pr030606.asp |archive-date=2007-03-11 }} The group's merchandising and marketing base remained in Milwaukee.

Bon-Ton converted Elder-Beerman stores in Indiana and Michigan to the newly shortened Carson's name in 2011 and 2012.{{cite web|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CO&s_site=charlotte&p_multi=CO&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB6D6BE5EACFAC6&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|title=Charlotte: Search Results|website=nl.newsbank.com|access-date=22 August 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.toledoblade.com/Retail/2012/10/02/Elder-Beerman-stores-in-Monroe-swap-name.html|title=Elder-Beerman stores in Monroe swap name|date=2 October 2012|website=Toledoblade.com|access-date=22 August 2017}} The chain expanded into Metro Detroit in 2013 with the conversion of three Parisian stores.{{cite web |url=http://www.freep.com/article/20130109/FEATURES13/130109081/Parisian-Bon-Ton-Stores-renamed-Carson-s |title=Parisian department stores will be renamed Carson's | Shopping | Detroit Free Press | freep.com |website=www.freep.com |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127134657/http://www.freep.com/article/20130109/FEATURES13/130109081/Parisian-Bon-Ton-Stores-renamed-Carson-s |archive-date=27 January 2013 |url-status=dead}}

Bon-Ton announced on April 17, 2018 that they would cease operations 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 Carson's stores after 164 years of operation. According to national retail reporter Mitch Nolen, stores closed within 10 to 12 weeks.{{Cite news|url=http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2018/04/bon-ton_stores_to_close_report.html|title=Bon-Ton Stores to close (report)|work=syracuse.com|access-date=2018-04-17|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/17/liquidators-to-wind-down-us-department-store-chain-bon-ton.html|title=Liquidators to wind down US department store chain Bon-Ton|work=CNBC|access-date=2018-04-18|language=en-US}}

The intellectual property of Bon-Ton, including Carson's, was quickly sold in bankruptcy to CSC Generation, and online retail was reopened. The new owners, based in Merrillville, Indiana, were also exploring opening new store locations. On October 29, 2018; Under this new ownership and using the same company and stores' names, Bon-Ton started announcing 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. Bon-Ton has also announced plans to open brick-and-mortar Carson's stores in Bloomingdale, Lombard and Orland Park.{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-carsons-reopening-evergreen-park-1031-story.html|title=Carson's reopening Evergreen Park store on Black Friday|author1=Lauren Zumbach|publisher=Chicago Tribune|date=October 29, 2018}} The sole location to return to operation was in Evergreen Park; the company never followed through in Orland Park and Lombard. The Evergreen Park location closed in October 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite news |url=https://www.nwitimes.com/business/lake-newsletter/merrillville-based-carsons-closed-its-only-brick-and-mortar-store/article_29f59b28-79a9-50a3-b970-b3fb3016c128.html |title=Merrillville-based Carson's closed its only brick-and-mortar store |newspaper=Times of Northwest Indiana |date=October 10, 2020 |first=Joseph S. |last=Pete}} Carson's currently has no brick and mortar stores and exists only as on online retailer. As of November 2021, Carson's website was preparing for another relaunch by BrandX who has also acquired the Stage Store trademarks; however, as of November 2024, the site remained in limbo, showing only a message of "coming soon."

• Chicago architecture
• Edens Plaza -shopping center formerly owned by Carson's, and formerly featuring a Carson's location

{{Reflist}}

• Merwood-Salisbury, Joanna. "Schlesinger and Mayer Department Store/Carson Pirie Scott: Louis Sullivan." Companion to the History of Architecture (2017): 1-10.
• Siry, Joseph. Carson Pirie Scott: Louis Sullivan and the Chicago Department Store (University of Chicago Press, 1988) [https://books.google.com/books?id=zLKapSs3sksC&dq=Marshall+Field&pg=PP13 online] {{ISBN|0-226-76136-3}}

{{commons category|Carson Pirie Scott}}

• [https://web.archive.org/*/www.carsons.com Official Carson's website (archived)]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060313160736/http://www.bonton.com/investor_relations/home.asp The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. investor relations home page]
• [https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-historic-carsons-photos-20180418-photogallery.html Historic photos of the Chicago flagship store (Chicago Tribune)]

{{Department stores in the United States}}

{{Bon-Ton Stores}}

*

Category:Retail companies established in 1854