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May Department Stores: Department Stores Company
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The May Department Stores Company is the second-leading upscale department store chain operator in the United States, just behind Federated Department Stores. The St. Louis-based company operates 11 department store chains and David's Bridal, the largest retailer of wedding apparel and accessories in the United States. Included in its holding are the well-known names of Lord & Taylor, Robinson's-May, Kaufmann's, Foley's, Filene's, Hecht's, Meier & Frank, Strawbridge's, L.S. Ayres, The Jones Store, and Famous-Barr. With nearly 600 retail outlets in 43 states, May recorded its 26th year of consecutive record sales and earnings during fiscal 2001.
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The May Department Stores Company was a department store chain founded in 1877 by David May in Leadville, Colorado. Its headquarters moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1905, and the company went public in 1911. David's grandson Morton May became the chairman in 1951 and headed the company for 16 years. Morton May was active in St. Louis civic affairs and was a patron of the St. Louis Art Museum.
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Built on a series of acquisitions, May Department Stores Company became a leading U.S. department store operator, maintaining its independence and financial strength. German immigrant David May started with his first store in Leadville, Colorado, in 1877 and expanded into Denver in 1888. In 1892, he and the Schoenberg brothers bought The Famous in St. Louis, and in 1898 they purchased a store in Cleveland. David May moved the company headquarters to St. Louis in 1905, and in 1911 bought Barr's, creating the flagship store Famous-Barr.
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The May Department Stores Company announced May 3 it would close two divisional stores and consolidate operations, resulting in 1,800 job cuts. The retailer said it would combine its Kaufmann’s and Filene’s divisions in the Northeast, as well as its Robinsons-May and Meier & Frank division in the West and Northwest, cutting its business divisions from eight to six.
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In 1911, one year after the May Department Stores Company was incorporated in New York, it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. May used proceeds to purchase a second St. Louis chain, the William Barr Dry Goods Company. To consolidate the firm's Missouri holdings, he merged the two St. Louis chains, forming the Famous-Barr Company. In spite of the large investment this move demanded, sales for the year reached $14.8 million, with net profits of $1.5 million.
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In 1877, David May opened the first store of what was to become The May Department Stores Company in Leadville, Colo., a silver-mining boom town. In 1892, May and three brother-in-law partners purchased The Famous Clothing Store in St. Louis. In 1898, May and partners purchased a department store in Cleveland and named it May Company.
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