MainStreet
Encyclopedia
MainStreet was a department store
chain based in Chicago, Illinois, United States
. The chain was launched in November 1983 by Federated Department Stores (now known as Macy's, Inc.). Throughout the 1980s, the chain expanded to twenty-nine stores in Illinois
, Michigan
and Minnesota
. By 1988, MainStreet was sold to the Wisconsin
-based chain Kohl's
, which converted most MainStreet locations to Kohl's that year.
and Mervyns
. MainStreet stores often featured a "racetrack" layout like a discounter, but checkouts were distributed around the store like a traditional department store. The first locations outside the Chicago area opened around Metro Detroit
in 1986.
The MainStreet chain was sold by Campeau Corporation
, then-owners of Federated, in order to reduce debts following Campeau's buyout of Federated. Kohl's acquired twenty-six of the twenty-nine MainStreet locations in 1988 for $90 million, and converted them to the Kohl's nameplate in March 1989.
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 Chicago, Illinois, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The chain was launched in November 1983 by Federated Department Stores (now known as Macy's, Inc.). Throughout the 1980s, the chain expanded to twenty-nine stores in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, 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 Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. By 1988, MainStreet was sold to the Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
-based chain Kohl's
Kohl's
Kohl's Corporation is an American department store chain headquartered in the Milwaukee suburb of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, operating , 1,089 stores in 49 states. In 1998, it entered the S&P 500 list, and is also listed in the Fortune 500...
, which converted most MainStreet locations to Kohl's that year.
History
Federated Department Stores, now known as Macy's, Inc., founded the MainStreet chain in 1983 with seven stores in the Chicago, Illinois area. The store was a middle-market chain focused primarily on softlines, similar to Kohl'sKohl's
Kohl's Corporation is an American department store chain headquartered in the Milwaukee suburb of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, operating , 1,089 stores in 49 states. In 1998, it entered the S&P 500 list, and is also listed in the Fortune 500...
and Mervyns
Mervyns
Mervyns was an American middle scale department store chain based in Hayward, California. It carried national brands of clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, and housewares. Many of the company's stores were in shopping malls...
. MainStreet stores often featured a "racetrack" layout like a discounter, but checkouts were distributed around the store like a traditional department store. The first locations outside the Chicago area opened around Metro Detroit
Metro Detroit
The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is the metropolitan area located in Southeast Michigan centered on the city of Detroit which shares an international border with Windsor, Ontario. The Detroit metropolitan area is the second largest U.S. metropolitan area...
in 1986.
The MainStreet chain was sold by Campeau Corporation
Campeau Corporation
Campeau Corporation was a Canadian real estate development and investment company founded by entrepreneur Robert Campeau. It was infamous from its ultimately unsuccessful acquisitions of American department store holding companies Allied Stores in 1986 and Federated Department Stores in 1988...
, then-owners of Federated, in order to reduce debts following Campeau's buyout of Federated. Kohl's acquired twenty-six of the twenty-nine MainStreet locations in 1988 for $90 million, and converted them to the Kohl's nameplate in March 1989.