GrandPa's
Encyclopedia
GrandPa's or GrandPa Pidgeon's was a discount store founded in 1954 by Tom and Mildred Pidgeon, spreading across the midwest from its Bridgeton, Missouri
(near St. Louis
) origins, which remained truly "discount", when most others like Venture
, Kmart
and Target
gradually raised prices in order to finance a more attractive layout and broader range of merchandise. Tom Pidgeon, born in Sebring, Ohio
in 1902, was in the low price china business from the early 1930s to the early 1950s. He sold his company, Pidgeon Vitrified China in 1953 when he foresaw the impact plastic was having on the lower end dinnerware market. The first Grandpa Pidgeon's was opened in February 1954 and managed by his son-in-law, John (Jack) Holley, born in 1924 in Galena, Kansas
.
In 1958 Jack Holley began a separate but related enterprise known as Grandpa's, and opened a store on Collinsville Road between East St. Louis and Collinsville, Illinois. Over the next decade, Holley subsequently opened several other stores in the St. Louis metropolitan area, before buying the company outright from his father-in-law in 1968.
Holley formed the Gramex Corporation in 1970, which also oversaw such companies as Forsyth Computers and Omni Sports, which was forced to close due to increasing competition.
In 1986 Jack Holley retired and turned the company over to his oldest son Tom Holley, who presided over an expansion both within and outside the metro St. Louis area into locations such as Greenville, Illinois
and Farmington, Missouri
, among other places. By the late 1990s there were thirteen Grandpa's locations.
GrandPa's was sold, in 1999, to Value City
http://www.greenvilleusa.org/grandpas.htm. It had approximately $200,000,000 in sales in its final year. It was profitable until its sale, failing to end only 1993 in the black, but was said to be facing a harder struggle near the end.
The company was known for their newspaper distributed advertising circulars that were printed mostly with black ink on a brown paper, in contrast to the glossy full color circulars of competitors.
In October 2008, a former Grandpa's employee started a website as a gathering place for all former GrandPa's, GrandPa Pidgeon's, and Gramex employees. It is a place for them to re-connect with old friends and share stories of your time at GrandPa's. It can be found at: www.grandpasreunion.com
Bridgeton, Missouri
Bridgeton is a city in northwestern St. Louis County, Missouri, serving as a suburb and transport hub within Greater St. Louis. The population at the 2010 census was 11,550. Portions of Lambert-Saint Louis International Airport are within Bridgeton.-Location:...
(near St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
) origins, which remained truly "discount", when most others like Venture
Venture Stores
Venture Stores, Inc., was a chain of retail stores that operated in the American Midwest. The company operated over 70 stores with major market share in St. Louis, Chicago and Kansas City, being headquartered in the St. Louis suburb of O'Fallon, Missouri....
, Kmart
Kmart
Kmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...
and Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
gradually raised prices in order to finance a more attractive layout and broader range of merchandise. Tom Pidgeon, born in Sebring, Ohio
Sebring, Ohio
Sebring is a village in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,912 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area....
in 1902, was in the low price china business from the early 1930s to the early 1950s. He sold his company, Pidgeon Vitrified China in 1953 when he foresaw the impact plastic was having on the lower end dinnerware market. The first Grandpa Pidgeon's was opened in February 1954 and managed by his son-in-law, John (Jack) Holley, born in 1924 in Galena, Kansas
Galena, Kansas
Galena is a city in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,085.-History:The city was named after the lead ore galena found here in 1877. The city was originally platted by the Galena Mining and Smelting Company and was to be known as Cornwall...
.
In 1958 Jack Holley began a separate but related enterprise known as Grandpa's, and opened a store on Collinsville Road between East St. Louis and Collinsville, Illinois. Over the next decade, Holley subsequently opened several other stores in the St. Louis metropolitan area, before buying the company outright from his father-in-law in 1968.
Holley formed the Gramex Corporation in 1970, which also oversaw such companies as Forsyth Computers and Omni Sports, which was forced to close due to increasing competition.
In 1986 Jack Holley retired and turned the company over to his oldest son Tom Holley, who presided over an expansion both within and outside the metro St. Louis area into locations such as Greenville, Illinois
Greenville, Illinois
Greenville is a city in Bond County, Illinois, United States, east of St. Louis. The estimated population as of July 2009 is 7,284. The population was 6,955 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bond County....
and Farmington, Missouri
Farmington, Missouri
Farmington is a city in St. Francois County located south of St. Louis in the Lead Belt region in Missouri in the United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was 16,240. It is the county seat of St. Francois County. The Farmington Micropolitan Statistical Area embraces St...
, among other places. By the late 1990s there were thirteen Grandpa's locations.
GrandPa's was sold, in 1999, to Value City
Value City
Value City was an American discount department store chain with 113 locations. It was founded in 1917 by Ephraim Schottenstein, a travelling salesman in central Ohio. The store was an off-price retailer that sold clothing, jewelry, and home goods below the manufacturer suggested retail price...
http://www.greenvilleusa.org/grandpas.htm. It had approximately $200,000,000 in sales in its final year. It was profitable until its sale, failing to end only 1993 in the black, but was said to be facing a harder struggle near the end.
The company was known for their newspaper distributed advertising circulars that were printed mostly with black ink on a brown paper, in contrast to the glossy full color circulars of competitors.
In October 2008, a former Grandpa's employee started a website as a gathering place for all former GrandPa's, GrandPa Pidgeon's, and Gramex employees. It is a place for them to re-connect with old friends and share stories of your time at GrandPa's. It can be found at: www.grandpasreunion.com