View source for Younkers

{{Short description|Online retailer and former department store chain}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Younkers Inc.
| logo = Younkers Logo.png
| type = [[Subsidiary]]
| foundation = {{start date and age|1856|p=y}} in [[Keokuk, Iowa]], U.S.
| founders = [[Marcus Younker]]<br>Lipman Younker<br> Samuel Younker
| defunct = 
| location = [[Des Moines, Iowa]], U.S. (until 2003)<br>[[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]] (2003-2021)<br>[[New York City]], U.S. (2021 onwards)
| locations = 49 Until the parent company's liquidation in 2018<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/BONT/2863329968x0x666843/349415E4-505D-4531-AEB7-9C899D4E62CB/The_Bon_Ton_Stores_2012_Annual_Report.pdf|title=The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. 2012 Annual Report|access-date=Aug 13, 2019|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224509/http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/BONT/2863329968x0x666843/349415E4-505D-4531-AEB7-9C899D4E62CB/The_Bon_Ton_Stores_2012_Annual_Report.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| industry = [[Retail]]
| fate = Subsidized into online retail by BrandX.com
| products = Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, housewares
| parent = {{ubl |[[Proffitt's]] (1996–1998) |[[Saks, Inc.]] (1998–2006) |[[The Bon-Ton]] (2006-2018)}} CSC Generation (2018-2021)<br>BrandX.com (2021-present)
| homepage = {{url|younkers.com}}
}}
[[File:Younkers Old Logo.svg|thumb|Previous logo used by the chain before being replaced by the current one]]
'''Younkers Inc.''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|j|ɒ|ŋ|k|ər|z}})<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0V8kVpoeKU | title=Younkers Going Out of Business Commercial | website=[[YouTube]] | date=9 May 2018 }}</ref> is an American online retailer and former [[department store]] chain founded as a family-run dry goods business in 1856 in [[Keokuk, Iowa]]. The retailer had evolved over more than 150 years to include a presence in locations throughout Iowa and bordering states in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]] region of the United States. Younkers became influential as it acquired several rivals throughout the 20th century both inside and outside of Iowa. In the late 1990s, the chain was sold with ownership transferring out of state; further, its [[Des Moines, Iowa]]-based headquarters closed by 2003 as a part of a corporate consolidation. 

Following its last sale in 2006, Younkers operated as a subsidiary of [[The Bon-Ton]]; the chain had locations in seven Midwestern states, primarily in [[shopping mall]]s. {{As of|2013}}, the chain operated more than 50 locations in the region. On August 29, 2018, Younkers closed its doors one last time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kimt.com/content/news/Younkers-The-last-day-492026241.html|title=Younkers: The last day|website=KIMT News|access-date=Aug 13, 2019|archive-date=August 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813003458/https://www.kimt.com/content/news/Younkers-The-last-day-492026241.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>[[File:YounkersTraverseCity.jpg|thumb|Exterior of Younkers in [[Traverse City, Michigan]], located at the [[Cherryland Center]], in a former [[H. C. Prange Co.]] The interior of this store was never remodeled, and retained 1970's style decor until it closed in August 2018.]]
== History ==

===Beginnings===
{{see also|Younker Brothers Department Store}}
The company was founded by three [[Polish Jewish]] immigrant brothers Lipman, Samuel, and [[Marcus Younker]],<ref>[http://forward.com/culture/205922/iowas-fields-of-midwestern-jewish-dreams/ Jewish Daily Forward: "Iowa's Fields of Midwestern Jewish Dreams" by Stephen G. Bloom] September 23, 2014</ref> who opened a general store in [[Keokuk, Iowa|Keokuk]], [[Iowa]], in 1856. [[Herman Younker]], a younger half-brother to the three founders, opened a dry goods store in [[Des Moines, Iowa|Des Moines]], Iowa, in 1874. Following Samuel's death in 1879, the Keokuk store was closed and the Des Moines location became the main store. The future novelist and newspaper editor [[Eleanor Hoyt Brainerd]] worked as a clerk at the Younkers store in Des Moines in 1889.<ref>Bushnell's Des Moines City and Polk County Directory (Des Moines, 1889)</ref> In 1899 the Younker brothers' main store in downtown Des Moines was moved to 7th and Walnut Streets, and it operated at the same location for 106 years before closing on August 12, 2005. The downtown Des Moines store became known for its Tea Room restaurant, which opened in 1913 and closed shortly before the store did. It also installed [[Iowa]]'s first [[escalator]], known as the "electric stairs," in 1939.[[File:Des Moines Younkers 2.jpg|thumb|250px|The original [[Younker Brothers Department Store|Younkers store]] in downtown [[Des Moines, Iowa]]. The building was vacated when the store closed on August 12, 2005.  The eastern building was destroyed by fire in the early hours of March 29, 2014.|alt=|left]]

=== Younkers Incorporated ===
A series of additions, enlargements, and mergers resulted in the company changing its name to Younkers Incorporated. The department store in downtown Des Moines was purchased in 1912. The company started growing in the 1920s by acquiring other department stores throughout Iowa, including Wilkins Department Stores (1923), Harris-Emery (1927), and J. Mandelbaum and Sons (1928). The Iowa-based retailers Brintnall's of [[Marshalltown, Iowa|Marshalltown]] and Davidson's of [[Sioux City, Iowa|Sioux City]] were acquired in 1948 and Yetters of [[Iowa City, Iowa|Iowa City]] was acquired in 1949.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Renshaw |first=Eric |title=Looking Back: Younkers' history dates to 1856 Iowa, where goods came upriver |url=https://www.argusleader.com/story/life/2018/08/15/looking-back-younkers-history-dates-1856-iowa-where-goods-came-upriver/990630002/ |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=Argus Leader |language=en-US}}</ref> Younkers began expanding outside of Iowa during the 1950s and opened its first [[shopping mall]] store in [[Omaha, Nebraska]], in 1955. (It acquired another Omaha department store, Kilpatrick's, in 1961.) By 1978 Younkers had 28 stores in five states.

===Fires===
In November 1978, a fire broke out in the Younkers store in the [[Merle Hay Mall]] in Des Moines, killing 11 people.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gothner |first=Chris |date=2018-04-18 |title=Younkers going out of business after liquidation firms win bid |url=https://www.kcci.com/article/for-many-younkers-closures-mark-the-end-of-an-iowa-institution/19846081 |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=KCCI |language=en}}</ref> To date, it is the most devastating fire in [[Des Moines]]' history, and destroyed the original Younkers at the mall. It is also the third deadliest department store fire in US history. The fire was caused by faulty wiring.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Alex |first=Tom |title=Looking back: 1978 Merle Hay Mall Younkers fire one of most deadly in Iowa |url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2014/03/29/younkers-fire-1978-merle-hall-mall-deadly/7056287/ |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=The Des Moines Register |language=en-US}}</ref>

In the early hours of March 29, 2014, a fire ravaged the former [[Younker Brothers Department Store]] in downtown Des Moines while it was under renovation.<ref name="newsok-ap-claims">{{cite news | url = http://newsok.com/article/feed/667781 | title = Fire claims former Iowa department store building | date   =March 29, 2014 | agency = [[Associated Press]] | work = [[NewsOK]] | location = [[Oklahoma City]] | access-date = 2017-07-23 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.kcci.com/article/downtown-younkers-building-burns-1/6890749 | title = Downtown Younkers building burns | work = [[KCCI]] | location = [[Des Moines, Iowa]] | date = 2014-03-29 | access-date = 2017-07-23 }}</ref>  The eastern, original 1899 building partially collapsed in the fire and was demolished;<ref name="newsok-ap-claims"/> the western 1909 Wilkins Department Store building, that Younker's had expanded into in 1924, was still standing {{as of|2016|lc=on}} and undergoing renovation.<ref name="nyt-may-rise">{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/25/realestate/commercial/a-fire-ravaged-des-moines-landmark-may-rise-from-its-ashes.html | title = A Des Moines Landmark May Rise From Its Ashes | work = [[The New York Times]] | edition = online | date = May 24, 2016 | access-date = 2017-07-23 }}</ref>

===Acquisitions of Brandeis and H.C. Prange===
[[File:Younkers marquette.jpg|thumb|left|A Younkers in [[Marquette, Michigan]] which was converted from H.C. Prange]]Younkers was operated by the Equitable of Iowa insurance company from 1979 to 1992 after being a publicly traded company since 1948.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Archives |first=L. A. Times |date=1997-07-09 |title=Dutch Giant ING to Buy Insurer Equitable of Iowa |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-jul-09-fi-10938-story.html |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1989-06-01 |title=COMPANY NEWS; Equitable of Iowa To Sell Younkers |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/01/business/company-news-equitable-of-iowa-to-sell-younkers.html |access-date=2023-04-11 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Under Equitable's ownership, Younkers acquired all 11 locations of the Omaha-based [[Brandeis (department store)|Brandeis]] department store chain in 1987.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Younkers Announces Planned Purchase of Brandeis Department Stores |url=https://apnews.com/article/4d9fa2561a650a49755d5649d5f24869 |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}</ref> After returning to public ownership on the [[NASDAQ]] on April 22, 1992, Younkers purchased the 22 stores of the [[H.C. Prange]] chain in [[Wisconsin]] and [[Michigan]].<ref>{{Cite news |agency=Associated Press |date=1992-09-07 |title=Prange Stores Bought |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/07/business/prange-stores-bought.html |access-date=2023-04-11 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Acquisition by Proffitt's===
After a hostile [[takeover]] bid by [[Carson Pirie Scott]] was rejected in 1995, Younkers' shareholders agreed to a friendly merger by [[Proffitt's]], Inc., of [[Knoxville, Tennessee]]. The merger was completed in December 1996. Proffitt's would later acquire Carson Pirie Scott, and in 1998 Proffitt's acquired [[Saks Fifth Avenue]] to form [[Saks Incorporated]]. In 2003, Saks closed Younkers' headquarters in Des Moines and merged its operations with those of Carson Pirie Scott in [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]].

===Sale to The Bon-Ton===
Saks sold Younkers and its other Northern Department Store Group stores ([[Carson Pirie Scott]], [[Bergner's]], [[Boston Store (Wisconsin)|Boston Store]], and [[Herberger's]]) to [[Bon-Ton]] Stores in a $1.1 billion (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=1100000000|start_year=2006}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) deal that was completed on March 6, 2006.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bonton.com/investor_relations/pr030606.asp|title=Bon-Ton|access-date=Aug 13, 2019|archive-date=March 11, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311115314/http://www.bonton.com/investor_relations/pr030606.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On January 31, 2018, Bon-Ton announced that they were going to close 42 locations nationwide (including nine in the state of [[Wisconsin]]) between February and April 2018.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wallenfang |first=Maureen |url=http://www.postcrescent.com/story/money/companies/2018/01/31/younkers-close-fox-river-mall/1083719001/ |title=Younkers, an anchor store at Fox River Mall since 1992, to close |work=[[The Post-Crescent]] |publisher=[[Gannett Company]] |date=2018-01-31 |access-date=2018-02-01 }}</ref>

It was further announced on April 17, 2018 that Bon Ton Stores would be closing doors and began liquidating all 267 stores after two liquidators, Great American Group and Tiger Capital Group, won an auction for the company. The bid was estimated to be worth $775.5 million. This included all remaining Younkers locations after 162 years of operation. According to national retail reporter Mitch Nolen, stores closed within 10 to 12 weeks.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2018/04/bon-ton_stores_to_close_report.html|title=Bon-Ton Stores to close (report)|work=syracuse.com|access-date=2018-04-17|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/17/liquidators-to-wind-down-us-department-store-chain-bon-ton.html|title=Liquidators to wind down US department store chain Bon-Ton|work=[[CNBC]]|access-date=2018-04-18|language=en-US}}</ref>
[[File:YounkersSheboyganWisconsin.jpg|thumb|Exterior of a Younkers store in [[Sheboygan, Wisconsin]], a former H. C. Prange Co., in 2006, which was converted into [[Boston Store (Wisconsin)|Boston Store]] in 2008.]]
On August 29, 2018, Younkers closed its doors and shut down.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.kcrg.com/content/news/Younkers-closes-doors-in-eastern-Iowa-491986791.html|title=Younker's closes doors across the state of Iowa|work=kcrg.com|access-date=2018-08-29|language=en-US}}</ref>

===Sale to BrandX.com, Inc===
On September 10, 2018, of Merrillville, Indiana-based CSG Generation acquired all trademark and intellectual property assets of The Bon-Ton (York, Pa.).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vmsd.com/bon-ton-acquired-csc-generation/|title = Bon-Ton Acquired by CSC Generation|date = 19 September 2018}}</ref>  Subsequently, in early 2021, CSC Generation sold all the acquired assets of Bon-Ton to New York-based BrandX.com in a private sale.

In May 2022, BrandX.com announced that Younkers would reopen with a physical location in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bon-Ton, Carson's, Younkers: Company plans to bring back 12 disappeared department store brands - Bizwomen |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/news/latest-news/2022/05/bon-ton-carson.html?page=all |access-date=2022-11-04 |website=The Business Journals |language=en-us}}</ref> Those plans ultimately did not come to fruition; however, Younkers was revived as an online retailer.

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Younkers-Inc-Company-History.html |title=Younkers Inc. Company History |access-date=2007-06-07 |author=FundingUniverse.com}}
*{{cite news |first=Patt |last=Johnson |title=Younkers Gets New Owner |date=November 1, 2005 |publisher=[[Des Moines Register]]}}
*{{cite web |author=Saks Incorporated |year=2004 |title=Younkers History |url=http://www.saksincorporated.com/our_stores/store_histories/YNKhistory.html |access-date=2006-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040413173725/http://www.saksincorporated.com/our_stores/store_histories/YNKhistory.html |archive-date=2004-04-13}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{Cite web|title= An interview with Joseph Rosenfield about the history of Younkers department store, in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. Recorded August 8, 1989.   |publisher=[[Internet Archive]]|date= August 8, 1989|url=https://archive.org/details/083YounkersRosenfield  }}
*[https://web.archive.org/*/www.younkers.com Official website] (Archive)
*[http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/news/article_1d7c8318-2c92-50a9-9d58-5973cc525512.html Closing of Sioux City downtown Younkers]

{{Bon-Ton Stores}}
{{Department stores in the United States}}

[[Category:Economy of Des Moines, Iowa]]
[[Category:Companies based in Milwaukee]]
[[Category:Companies based in Iowa]]
[[Category:Economy of the Midwestern United States]]
[[Category:Defunct department stores based in Iowa]]
[[Category:1856 establishments in Iowa]]
[[Category:2018 disestablishments in Iowa]]
[[Category:Retail companies established in 1856]]
[[Category:Retail companies disestablished in 2018]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1956]]
[[Category:American companies disestablished in 2018]]
[[Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018]]
[[Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2018]]