LYCOS RETRIEVER 
May Department Stores
built 479 days ago
Originating from a small general goods store in Leadville, Colorado, in 1877, the May Department Stores Company is the second largest retail department store chain in the United States, right behind Federated Department Stores. May’s more than 500 stores operate nationwide under such names as Lord & Taylor, Foley's, Filene's, Hecht's, Strawbridge's, Robinsons-May, Famous-Barr, L.S. Ayres, Meier & Frank, The Jones Store, and Kaufmann's. These chains specialize in typical department store offerings including designer-brand apparel, housewares, health and beauty items, furniture, and footware. May ... operates a substantial bridal group that includes the After Hours Formalwear, David's Bridal, Gary's Tux Shop, Gingiss Formalwear, and Priscilla of Boston retail chains.
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The May Department Stores Company is one of the largest retailers in the United States with annual revenues of $14.2 billion. The company currently operates 439 department stores under the names of Lord & Taylor, Hecht's, Strawbridge's, Foley's, Robinsons-May, Filene's, Kaufmann's, Famous-Barr, L.S. Ayres, The Jones Store, and Meier & Frank, as well as 153 David's Bridal stores, 240 After Hours stores, and 10 Priscilla of Boston stores. May operates in 44 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and is headquartered in St. Louis, Mo.
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In 1898, David May, the founder of May Department Stores, acquired E. R. Hull & Dutton Co. of Cleveland on Ontario Street, renaming it May Company, Cleveland. In 1914 May added an additional landmark building on Euclid Avenue, fronting on the southeast corner of Public Square. In 1939 May Co. acquired majority control of another Cleveland store, William Taylor Son & Co., which maintained a separate identity until 1961. Expansion to the suburbs began in the 1950s, with Sheffield Shopping Center, Lorain in 1953, Cedar-Center Plaza at Cedar and Warrensville Roads in University Heights in late 1956, and in 1961 a branch was opened at Southgate Shopping Center in Maple Heights (the Southgate store having been originally opened in 1958 by William Taylor Son & Co.). Several mall stores followed in the 1960s and 1970s, including Westfield Great Northern in North Olmsted, Randall Park Mall in North Randall and Euclid Square Mall in Euclid.
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The May Department Stores Company has become part of the Federated Department Stores retail empire. May operates nearly 490 department stores coast-to-coast under a dozen names including Lord & Taylor, Marshall Field's, Foley's, Filene's, and Hecht's, as well as a large bridal division that includes David's Bridal. May's regional stores will all be renamed Macy's, its new parent company's flagship brand, in 2006. May primarily sells designer-label apparel, shoes, cosmetics, and home furnishings to middle- and upper-middle income buyers. Prolonged slumping sales growth and poor management paved the way for Federated's acquisition of the struggling department store group in mid-2005.
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The beginnings of The May Department Stores Company can be traced to 1877, when company founder David May opened his first store in the mining town of Leadville, Colorado, at the age of 29. An immigrant from Germany, May had settled in Indiana during his teen years, where he earned his living as a salesman in a small men's clothing store. Diligence and marketing flair won him a quarter-interest in the business, but ill health forced him to sell his stake and seek a drier, healthier climate in the West, where he tried prospecting. Inexperience brought swift failure, though, and ... he returned to the field he knew and opened a men's clothing store with two partners.
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Department store managers ... influenced other major American holidays. In the past, Thanksgiving was held on the last Thursday in November. In 1939, the holiday fell on the 30th, leaving only 24 days for Christmas shopping. Ohio merchant Fred Lazarus Jr. led a campaign to move the holiday to the fourth Thursday in November. President Franklin D. Roosevelt complied, and Thanksgiving remained on that date ever since.
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May Department Stores