Jacobson Stores
Encyclopedia
Jacobson's is an American regional department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...

 chain. Based in Jackson, Michigan
Jackson, Michigan
Jackson is a city located along Interstate 94 in the south central area of the U.S. state of Michigan, about west of Ann Arbor and south of Lansing. It is the county seat of Jackson County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534...

, the chain operated primarily in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, but also had stores in 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...

, 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...

, 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...

 and Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

. Jacobson's focused on apparel, fine jewelry and home furnishings. The chain entered bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

 in early 2002 after 134 years of service. One store in Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park is a suburban city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 24,090 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2006 estimates, the city had a population of 28,083. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 was re-established as Jacobson's in 2004.

History

The first Jacobson's store was opened by Abram Jacobson in Reed City, Michigan
Reed City, Michigan
Reed City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,430. It is the county seat of Osceola County.It is the home town of author Timothy James Bazzett.-Geography:...

 in 1838. It eventually expanded to Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...

, Battle Creek
Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...

 and Jackson, Michigan
Jackson, Michigan
Jackson is a city located along Interstate 94 in the south central area of the U.S. state of Michigan, about west of Ann Arbor and south of Lansing. It is the county seat of Jackson County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534...

 as well, moving its headquarters to Jackson in 1937. Two years later, brothers Zola and Nathan Rosenfeld purchased the company and began expanding it throughout the state. Zola held the title of company president at the time of his death in 1961, while Nathan remained chairman until his 1982 death.

In 1945, Nathan Rosenfeld hired J. Russell Fowler, a former manager for the Jordan Marsh
Jordan Marsh
Jordan Marsh & Company was a department store in Boston, Massachusetts, which grew to be a major regional chain in the New England area of the United States. In 1996, the last of the Jordan Marsh stores were converted to Macy's. The store was formerly part of Allied Stores and then Federated...

 chain, to manage Jacobson's as well. Under Fowler's management, Jacobson's saw a significant increase in sales and expanded into Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. Despite declining sales in the 1980s, the chain attempted two prototypes: a more upscale store at Laurel Park Place
Laurel Park Place
Laurel Park Place is an enclosed upscale shopping mall located in the city of Livonia, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The mall, which is managed by CBL & Associates Properties, features over 70 restaurants and stores, with Parisian and Von Maur as anchor stores...

 in Livonia
Livonia, Michigan
Livonia is a city in the northwest part of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Livonia is a very large suburb with an array of traditional neighborhoods connected to the metropolitan area by freeways. The population was 96,942 at the 2010 census, making it Michigan's 9th largest...

 and a discount store in Troy
Troy, Michigan
Troy is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan, and is a suburb of Detroit. The population was 80,980 at the 2010 census, making it the 11th-largest city in Michigan by population, and the largest city in Oakland County...

.

1990s

Jacobson's faced further retail decline in the early 1990s. In 1991, the store began operating on Sundays. Previously, Jacobson's stores were closed on Sundays, as it was believed that doing so would help to attract a higher clientele. Also that year, the chain opened a store in Naples, Florida
Naples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of July 1, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 21,653. Naples is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated total population of 315,839 on July 1, 2007...

, and moved its flagship from downtown Ann Arbor to a former Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor, colloquially known as L&T, or LT, based in New York City, is the oldest upscale, specialty-retail department store chain in the United States. Concentrated in the eastern U.S., the retailer operated independently for nearly a century prior to joining American Dry Goods...

 location at Briarwood Mall
Briarwood Mall
Briarwood Mall is a shopping mall in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. The mall's four anchor stores are Macy's, JCPenney, Sears, and Von Maur. Surrounded by office and other development, the mall anchors the southern Ann Arbor commercial area around Eisenhower Boulevard and I-94. It serves as...

. A location in Birmingham, Michigan
Birmingham, Michigan
Birmingham is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan and an affluent suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103...

 was also renovated to target upscale shoppers in their mid-twenties.

The chain made further changes to its retail line in the 1990s, expanding its plus-size clothing
Plus-size clothing
Plus size clothing is a general term given to clothing proportioned specifically for overweight people. Also called Outsize in some countries , this term has been losing favour since the 1990s...

 lines and adding other lines catered to younger shoppers. A decision was also made to control the growth of stores, by only opening one or two a year. The chain's first Kentucky location, in Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

, opened in 1994. In 1995, however, Jacobson's posted its biggest loss since 1977, and as a result, three Metro Detroit locations were closed and thirty-two workers were laid off. In addition, competitors Nordstrom
Nordstrom
Nordstrom, Inc. is an upscale department store chain in the United States, founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin. Initially a shoe retailer, the company today also sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and in some locations, home furnishings...

 and Parisian had begun opening locations in Detroit, increasing the chain's competition. Nonetheless, Jacobson's opened locations in Leawood, Kansas
Leawood, Kansas
Leawood is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. The city is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri and is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 31,867.-History:...

 and Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA, incorporated in May 1925. In the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 74,764; the 2006 population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 86,396. However, the majority of the people under the postal address of Boca Raton, about...

.

By 1997, Jacobson's had twenty-four stores in operation. The chain began to promote its customer service and quality through marketing, and although the Midwestern locations continued to lose money, the Florida stores remained profitable. An East Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located directly east of Lansing, Michigan, the state's capital. Most of the city is within Ingham County, though a small portion lies in Clinton County. The population was 48,579 at the time of the 2010 census, an increase from...

 location that opened in 1970 was relocated to a former Service Merchandise
Service Merchandise
Service Merchandise is an online retailer and former retailer chain of catalog showroom stores carrying fine jewelry, toys, sporting goods, and electronics that existed for 68 years...

 at Meridian Mall
Meridian Mall
Meridian Mall is a super-regional shopping mall located in Meridian Township, a suburb of Lansing, Michigan, United States. The mall is near Michigan State University. It opened in 1969, the same year that its main competitor, Lansing Mall, opened on the other end of the Lansing metropolitan area....

 in nearby Okemos
Okemos, Michigan
Okemos is an unincorporated community in Meridian Charter Township, Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a census-designated place for statistical purposes and does not have any separate legal existence as a municipality. Local government is provided by the township...

 in 2000.

In 2002, however, Jacobson's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and closed five stores, including one at The Fashion Mall at Keystone
The Fashion Mall at Keystone
The Fashion Mall at Keystone, known better as The Fashion Mall, is an upscale shopping center in the northeast section of the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. The mall is located off I-465 at 86th Street and Keystone. The mall is considered the heart of the district of Keystone...

 in Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

, as well as the Meridian Mall location. After failing to find a buyer, Jacobson's began liquidation on its last remaining stores, and was closed by the end of 2002. In early 2004, Longwood, Florida
Longwood, Florida
Longwood is a city in Seminole County, Florida, USA. The population was 13,745 at the 2000 census. As of 2006, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 13,491. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee-Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area....

-based Jake's Stores bought the naming rights and re-established Jacobson's in Florida.
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