Stage Stores

• Stage Stores: South Central-based (department store)
• Bealls: Texas-based (department store, founded 1923) (previously owned)
• Palais Royal: Texas-based (department store, founded 1921)
• Peebles: Eastern and upper midwestern areas of US. (department store, founded 1891)
• Gordmans: Midwestern-based (off-price department store, founded 1915)
• Goody's: Southeastern-based (department store, founded 1953)

Through a series of acquisitions the company grew to 793 stores as of July 29, 2017.

In June 1992, Stage Stores, then known as Specialty Retailers, Inc. (SRI), acquired Colorado-based Fashion Bar, Inc., a family-owned business with 71 stores, most of which were comparable to Palais Royal and Bealls. The remainder were small specialty stores known as Stage Stores, which had already become part of SRI's operation.

In 1996, SRI completed the closure of the other Fashion Bar Stores but retained the Stage name. The company purchased the forty-nine stores of Beall-Ladymon, Inc., sold by company president Horace Ladymon. The outlets were located in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi; they were reopened in 1994 under the "Stage" name.{{cite news|title=Beall-Ladymon stores change hands|url=http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/82644/beall-ladymon-stores-change-hands|last=Ford|first=Kelly|date=September 26, 1994|website=Arkansas Business|accessdate=June 12, 2014}}

Stage expanded into the Northwest with the acquisition in 1997 of C. R. Anthony Co. and Tri-North stores.

The company acquired Uhlmans in 1996, which brought Stage to Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana. All of these newly acquired stores, however, were closed by 2001 when Stage Stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Closures as part of the bankruptcy included most of the former Fashion Bar, Milliken's, Tri-North, and Uhlman's stores, as well as an exodus from Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota.

In 2003, Stage Stores acquired 136 Peebles stores located in 17 states.

The company purchased the Goody's name through the Goody's bankruptcy auction in 2009. The nameplate was used in markets with a strong customer awareness and brand recognition of the name.{{cite web|title=Goody's name, logo sold|url=http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/jul/09/goodys-name-logo-sold/|last1=Harrington|first1=Carly|date=July 9, 2009|website=Knoxville News Sentinel|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090712235824/http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/jul/09/goodys-name-logo-sold/|archive-date=2009-07-12|accessdate=2019-10-24}}

In 2011, Stage Stores began a new chain called Steele's,{{cite web|title=Stage Stores Announces the Launch of Steele's, Its New Off-Price Concept|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20111011006973/en/Stage-Stores-Announces-Launch-Steele%E2%80%99s-Off-Price-Concept|date=11 October 2011|work=Business Wire|accessdate=2 April 2013}} but in March 2014 it was announced that these stores are being sold to Hilco Global.{{cite web|title=Stage Stores Announces the Sale of its Steele's Off-Price Division to the Hilco Global Retail Group|url=http://www.hilcoglobal.com/news/media/2014/03/06/stage-stores-announces-the-sale-of-its-steele-s-off-price-division-to-the-hilco-global-retail-group|date=2014-03-06|publisher=Hilco Global|accessdate=2014-03-29}}

Stage Stores acquired the Gordmans' assets in March 2017 after becoming the winning bidder in a bankruptcy sale. The company announced that it planned to run at least 50 stores and one of Gordmans’ distribution centers.{{Cite web|title=Some Gordmans department stores bought by rival, will remain open|url=https://www.denverpost.com/2017/03/30/gordmans-department-stores-bought/|last=|first=|date=2017-03-30|website=The Denver Post|publisher=Associated Press|language=en-US|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2019-10-24}} Under the direction of Stage Stores, Gordmans began to transition away from the specialty department store business model, moving the brand to the off-price retail sector, more resembling stores like T.J. Maxx, Ross, and Burlington. As part of expanding the brand, Stage Stores opening their first new Gordmans store in Rosenberg, Texas in March, 2018.{{cite web|title=Stage Stores shopping for bargain hunters in Rosenberg|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Stage-Stores-shopping-for-bargain-hunters-in-12774741.php|last=Takahashi|first=Paul|date=22 March 2018|website=HoustonChronicle.com|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}

In March, 2019, Stage announced that by mid-2020 they planned to convert at least 220 of their current department stores, including those of other brand names, into Gordmans off-price stores. CEO Michael Glazer cited the high sales increases in the locations that were converted in 2018 as the deciding factor in the decision.{{Cite web|title=Stage Stores converts to an off-price future|url=https://retailwire.com/discussion/stage-stores-converts-to-an-off-price-future/|last=Ryan|first=Tom|date=March 12, 2019|website=RetailWire|language=en-US|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-05-12}} In September, 2019, Stage Stores announced that they planned to completely exit the department store market, moving completely to the off-price model, converting all other stores brands to the Gordmans brand, and operating approximately 700 Gordmans stores by the third quarter of fiscal 2020 (August-October).{{Cite press release|title=Stage Stores Announces Total Company Conversion to Off-Price|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190917005257/en/Stage-Stores-Announces-Total-Company-Conversion-Off-Price|date=2019-09-17|website=Business Wire|language=en|access-date=2020-05-12}}

In May 2020, Stage Stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, even though the ongoing conversions had resulted in same-store sales rising more than 17% in the November-January fiscal quarter. {{Cite web|title=Stage Stores files for bankruptcy, says it will liquidate more than 700 stores if it can't find a buyer|url=https://www.inquirer.com/business/stage-stores-gordmans-goodys-20200511.html|last=Bhattarai|first=Abha|date=May 11, 2020|website=Philadelphia Inquirer|language=en-US|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-05-12}}

Stage Stores, Inc. has acquired many stores over the years, including the following:

• Fashion Bar (Colorado, Wyoming). Acquired in 1992, all stores converted to Stage.
• Beall-Ladymon (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Kansas). Acquired in 1994, all stores converted to Stage.
• Uhlman's (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio). Acquired in 1996. In addition to the Uhlman's name, Uhlman's operated Milliken's stores in Michigan. All were renamed Stage, except for the Milliken's locations in Michigan in Traverse City, Cadillac, Manistee, and Mount Pleasant which operated as Stage-Milliken until their closure in 2001.{{cite news|url=http://record-eagle.com/2001/jan/04mill.htm|title=Stage/Milliken closing in next three months|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010124045500/http://record-eagle.com/2001/jan/04mill.htm|archive-date=January 24, 2001|work=Traverse City Record-Eagle|date=January 4, 2001}}
• C. R. Anthony Co. (Montana, Idaho, Oregon, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Wyoming) Acquired 1997, most stores converted to Stage, while some Anthony's, such as those located in Amarillo, Texas, became Bealls locations.
• Tri-North (Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington) Most of these locations operated as Hub Clothing Stores before the 1998 acquisition, when all 15 stores converted to Stage.
• B. C. Moore & Sons, (Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina). Acquired February 2006. By November 2006, 69 of these 76 stores were converted to the Peebles name and format, and the other nine were closed.

On September 17, 2019, Stage Stores announced plans to convert all remaining Stage, Bealls, Palais Royal, Peebles, and Goodys department store locations into Gordmans stores by the end of 2020. This would mean that Stage Stores would completely exit the department store market and instead go all in as an off-price retailer.

By the end of fiscal year 2020, Stage planned to operate approximately 700 Gordmans Stores. CEO Michael Grazer cited the high sales increases in locations that had already been converted as the main factor in this decision.

After the COVID-19 pandemic caused most of its stores to temporarily close, Stage Stores announced that it would enter bankruptcy proceedings and liquidate its inventory, except for individual stores for which it could find a buyer. On October 21, 2020, Stage sold its intellectual property and a distribution center in Texas to Florida-based Bealls, Inc. for $7 million. Notably, this allowed the Florida chain to use the Bealls name nationwide; previously, Stage owned the rights to the Bealls name nationwide, except in Arizona, Florida and Georgia. Bealls also acquired the rights to the names of Stage's other chains, as well as all of its private label brands and customer lists.{{Cite press release|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ag-completes-bankruptcy-sale-of-stage-stores-texas-distribution-center-and-other-real-estate-assets-301156543.html|title=A&G Completes Bankruptcy Sale of Stage Stores' Texas Distribution Center and Other Real Estate Assets|date=2020-10-21|website=PRNewswire|language=en|access-date=2020-11-16}} In 2022, New York-based online company BrandX acquired Stage Stores, Goodys, Gordmans, Palais Royal, and Peebles, as well as their private brands and plans to relaunch them online. {{cite news|url=https://wwd.com/business-news/retail/brandx-to-relaunch-bon-ton-carsons-stores-1235186567/|title=BrandX to Relaunch Bon-Ton, Carson's Stores|date=2022-05-23|website=Women's Wear Daily|language=en|access-date=2022-08-28}}

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