Heck's Department Store - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Heck's Department Store was a chain of West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

based discount department stores owned by business entrepreneur Fred Haddad that existed in West Virginia, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, and Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

until dissolved in September, 1990. It was founded by Fred Haddad in Charleston, West Virginia

Charleston, West Virginia

Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...

History

Heck's, Inc. was established in 1959 by Fred Haddad and between 1959 and 1990 served as a retail arm of automotive supplier Steel City Products, Inc.

Heck's stores were discount, stand alone department stores found in small cities throughout West Virginia, western Maryland, the Ohio Valley, and parts of Indiana & Kentucky. Its structure and product lines were similar to its competitors, Fisher's Big Wheel

Fisher's Big Wheel

Fisher's Big Wheel was a discount department store chain based in New Castle, Pennsylvania, United States. The company operated stores under the Fisher's Big Wheel and Buy Smart names. At its peak, the chain comprised more than 100 stores in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. The chain...

, Hills Department Stores

Hills Department Stores

Hills Department Store was a Canton, Massachusetts, based discount department store chain. It was founded in 1957 in Youngstown, Ohio, and existed until 1999 when it was acquired by Ames. Most stores were located in Ohio, Indiana, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, though the company had...

, and G.C. Murphy's Mart and Walmart. Walmart was a lot smaller chain back then not like the super centers of today, the locations were comparable to Hecks.

Part of Heck's expansion into the Midwest came after acquiring a smaller discounter, T-Way Stores.

By the mid-1980s the chain was losing money and market share. In February 1987 a $125 million merger agreement with New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

-Based Toussie-Viner Group was terminated due to weak performance by Heck's in the final months of 1986, and the company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. At the time of the filing, Heck's operated 140 stores.

In 1989 the company emerged from Chapter 11 with 55 stores and under a new name, as Take 10 Discount Club; a membership club costing $10 to join.

In September 1990 all of the assets of the Retail Division were sold to Retail Acquisition Corporation, Inc., and became L.A. Joe Department Store

L.A. Joe Department Store

L.A. Joe Department Store was a chain of Charleston, West Virginia based discount department stores that existed until June, 1992.-History:L.A. Joe was the retail brand name of Retail Acquisition Corporation which at its peak owned 70 discount department stores throughout West Virginia, Virginia,...

s. Two locations were sold to, and became, Fisher's Big Wheel

Fisher's Big Wheel

.
One Location was sold to Gabriel Brothers

Gabriel Brothers

Gabriel Brothers, commonly called Gabe's is an American regional chain of closeout retail stores that originated in Uniontown, Pennsylvania selling brand-name merchandise at significant discounts from typical department stores...

History

Further reading