Pamida
{{short description|Defunct American department store chain}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Pamida
| logo = Pamida.png
| type = Private
| fate = Merged with Shopko
| foundation = 1963
| defunct = 2012
| location = Omaha, Nebraska, United States
| locations = 175+
| industry = Retail
| products = Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, market, housewares, pharmacy.
| owner = Sun Capital Partners, Inc.
}}
Pamida {{IPAc-en|p|ə|ˈ|m|aɪ|d|ə}} was a chain of department stores with more than 175 locations in 16 Midwestern and West Central U.S. states. Founded by D.J. Witherspoon and Lee Wegener in 1963, Pamida stores were generally located in smaller, rural communities that range from 3,000 to 8,000 in population. The Pamida name represents the first two letters of the first names of co-founder D.J. (Jim) Witherspoon's three sons: Pat, Mike, and David.{{cite web|url=http://www.pamida.com/about/history.asp|website=pamida.com|title=Pamida - Your Hometown Store|access-date=August 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040607050705/http://pamida.com/about/history.asp|archive-date=2004-06-07|url-status=dead}}
History
File:Pamida outlet (Smithville, TN - 2006).jpg.]]
Pamida had its beginnings in a rack jobber business begun in 1938 by Jim Witherspoon, a company that by 1948 became known as NuWay Drug Service.{{cite web|url=https://dc.swosu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1084&context=echoes|publisher=Echoes From The Hill, Southwestern Oklahoma State University (reprint of Omaha World-Herald article)|title=Witherspoon Has Success Story|first=John|last=Taylor|date=October 1969|page=8|access-date=December 26, 2017}} The acquisition by Witherspoon of a distribution business in 1962 brought Lee Wegener into the company, and Pamida Inc. was founded as a holding company for Witherspoon's businesses. In 1963, Witherspoon and Wegener opened their first discount retail outlet in Knoxville, Iowa.{{cite web|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/pamida-holdings-corporation-history/|publisher=Funding Universe|title=Pamida Holdings Corporation History|access-date=December 17, 2017}} A second store soon followed in Oskaloosa, Iowa, and the stores quickly expanded throughout the Midwest, mostly as franchises of Gibson's Discount Center but also under other names. Pamida became a public company in 1969. Pamida eventually became the largest Gibson's franchisee, operating 74 stores.{{cite book |last=Fridson |first=Martin S. |date=1999 |title=How to be a Billionaire: Proven Strategies from the Titans of Wealth |url=https://archive.org/details/howtobebillionai00mart/page/92 |publisher=Wiley |page=[https://archive.org/details/howtobebillionai00mart/page/92 92] |isbn=978-0471332022 |url-access=registration }} By the late 1970s, however, Pamida was withdrawing from the Gibson's franchise, emphasizing the building of larger stores in its established markets over expansion into new markets, and branding its stores under the Pamida name.
Witherspoon and Wegener sold Pamida in 1981 to employees, and in 1986 a unit of Citicorp acquired a controlling interest in the company. Several former Fisher's Big Wheel stores were also acquired in 1994.{{cite news |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n17_v33/ai_15805012 |title=Positioning Pamida - Apparel Merchandising Supplement - Company Profile - Cover Story |access-date=August 11, 2007 |date=1994-09-05 |work=Discount Store News | first=Jeffrey | last=Arlen}} In 1999, Shopko Stores, Inc. purchased Pamida for $110 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=110000000|start_year=1999}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}), operating it as a separate division within Shopko.{{cite web|url=http://www.gcdailyworld.com/story/1822943.html|publisher=The New York Times/Dow Jones|title=COMPANY NEWS; SHOPKO STORES TO BUY PAMIDA, A RURAL MERCHANDISER|date=March 12, 1999|access-date=December 22, 2017}} In 2000, Shopko acquired Missouri-based discounter P.M. Place Stores and converted the Place's locations into Pamida stores. In 2005, Shopko was purchased by an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc., a private investment firm. In 2007, Pamida was separated from Shopko, and subsequently reestablished its corporate headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. On January 4, 2012, it was announced that Shopko and Pamida would merge and that Pamida's stores would be rebranded as Shopko Hometown stores.{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2012/01/04/shopko-pamida-stores-to-merge.html|publisher=Milwaukee Business Journal|title=Shopko, Pamida stores to merge|date=January 4, 2012|access-date=December 22, 2017}} Seven Pamida stores, in Sparta, Michigan; Litchfield, Minnesota; Ontonagon, Michigan; Albia, Iowa; Chelsea, Michigan; Corydon, Iowa; and Mount Vernon, Missouri, were closed instead of converting to Shopko Hometown.{{cite web|url=http://www.gcdailyworld.com/story/1822943.html|publisher=Greene County Daily World|title=Pamida merger with Shopko is a done deal|first=Nick|last=Schneider|date=March 6, 2012|access-date=December 17, 2017}}
The Shopko Hometown stores closed in 2019 along with the rest of the chain with Shopko's bankruptcy and liquidation.{{cite web|url=https://www.chainstoreage.com/finance-0/shopko-to-liquidate/|title=Shopko to liquidate|date=March 18, 2019|website=Chain Store Age|access-date=June 2, 2019}}
Gallery
Image:Pamida Attica.png|Pamida store in Attica, Indiana
Image:Knoxville Pamida 001.jpg|First Pamida Store (Knoxville, Iowa)