Chess King was a United States men's clothing retailer created by the Melville Corporation. From its founding in 1968, it grew to over 500 locations by the mid-1980s, before an eventual decline, sale, and closure of the chain in 1995.
In 1967, traveling salespeople from Melville's Thom McAn shoe business noted a "wide open market" for young men's clothing, which gave birth to the idea of starting a young men's clothing and shoe store.[1] Market research reportedly found that chess and auto racing were popular interests of young men.[1]
The first Chess King branch opened in the Dedham Mall in Dedham, Massachusetts (just outside Boston), in March 1968.[2] In 1970, The New York Times described the store's concept as "teen-male apparel dress shops whose stores are highly identifiable, with bold coloring and designs aimed at appealing to the 12-to-20 male market."[2] Five additional locations were opened in 1968, and 21 more in 1969.[2] By late 1972, it had already grown to about 150 locations.[3] By 1978, it had 300 locations.[1] And by 1984, it had grown to over 500 stores.[4]
Chess King also experimented with three spin-off specialty stores in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The first, named "FreeFall", carried designer labels for men and women and was geared toward higher-end, designer, brand names. The second, named "The B Club", carried activewear for both men and women. The third, named "Garage", had a 1950s inspired decor along with a Nash Metropolitan automobile in most locations. The retailer was successful through the 1980s as a purveyor of wild 1980s fads and fashion,[5][6] but changing fashion trends contributed to the chain falling on hard times at the beginning of the 1990s.[5][6]
Melville agreed to sell Chess King in March 1993 to Maryland-based Merry Go Round Enterprises (MGRE),[7] with the sale being finalized in May of that year.[8] In January 1994, MGRE filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[9] In November 1995, the Chess King chain closed.[10]
Referencesedit
^ abc. Los Angeles Times. July 13, 1978. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
^ abcHammer, Alexander R. (August 4, 1970). "Catering to Affluent Youth Market Found Profitable". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
^Backalenick, Hirene (October 17, 1972). "Spreading Suburban Menace: Shoplifting, Mainly Among Young". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
^"Marshalls expanding young men's business". Daily News Record. August 16, 1984. Retrieved March 26, 2010.("Marshalls is a division of Melville Corp., which also owns Chess King, an operator of more than 500 young men's specialty stores.")
^ abSteinhauer, Jennifer (February 3, 1996). "Bankrupt Merry-Go-Round Decides to Go Out of Business". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2010.("Chess King, the mall store for young men in need of flashy shirts")
^ abSykes, Laura (July 7, 2000). "Well Suited". Triad Business Journal. Retrieved March 25, 2010.("At that time, he worked for Chess King, a mall-based staple of faddish clothes for young people. 'You remember the horrible clothes?' he said laughing.")
^Strom, Stephanie (March 18, 1993). "Melville to Sell Chess King To Merry-Go-Round Chain". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
^Strom, Stephanie (1993-03-18). "COMPANY NEWS; Melville to Sell Chess King To Merry-Go-Round Chain (Published 1993)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
^Strom, Stephanie (January 12, 1994). "Merry-Go-Round Files for Bankruptcy Protection". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
^Business, Bloomberg (November 14, 1995). "Merry-Go-Round to close third of its stores, including Chess King". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved March 25, 2010. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)("Merry-Go-Round Enterprises Inc. said it will close more than a third of its stores, including the entire Chess King men's clothing chain, as it struggles to emerge from bankruptcy court.")
chess, king, other, uses, disambiguation, united, states, clothing, retailer, created, melville, corporation, from, founding, 1968, grew, over, locations, 1980s, before, eventual, decline, sale, closure, chain, 1995, industryclothingfounded1968, years, 1968, d. For other uses see Chess King disambiguation Chess King was a United States men s clothing retailer created by the Melville Corporation From its founding in 1968 it grew to over 500 locations by the mid 1980s before an eventual decline sale and closure of the chain in 1995 Chess KingIndustryClothingFounded1968 56 years ago 1968 DefunctNovember 14 1995 28 years ago 1995 11 14 FateBankruptcyHeadquartersUnited StatesParentMerry Go Round Enterprises MGRE History editIn 1967 traveling salespeople from Melville s Thom McAn shoe business noted a wide open market for young men s clothing which gave birth to the idea of starting a young men s clothing and shoe store 1 Market research reportedly found that chess and auto racing were popular interests of young men 1 The first Chess King branch opened in the Dedham Mall in Dedham Massachusetts just outside Boston in March 1968 2 In 1970 The New York Times described the store s concept as teen male apparel dress shops whose stores are highly identifiable with bold coloring and designs aimed at appealing to the 12 to 20 male market 2 Five additional locations were opened in 1968 and 21 more in 1969 2 By late 1972 it had already grown to about 150 locations 3 By 1978 it had 300 locations 1 And by 1984 it had grown to over 500 stores 4 Chess King also experimented with three spin off specialty stores in the late 1980s and early 1990s The first named FreeFall carried designer labels for men and women and was geared toward higher end designer brand names The second named The B Club carried activewear for both men and women The third named Garage had a 1950s inspired decor along with a Nash Metropolitan automobile in most locations The retailer was successful through the 1980s as a purveyor of wild 1980s fads and fashion 5 6 but changing fashion trends contributed to the chain falling on hard times at the beginning of the 1990s 5 6 Melville agreed to sell Chess King in March 1993 to Maryland based Merry Go Round Enterprises MGRE 7 with the sale being finalized in May of that year 8 In January 1994 MGRE filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 9 In November 1995 the Chess King chain closed 10 References edit a b c How It All Started at Chess King Los Angeles Times July 13 1978 Archived from the original on June 4 2011 Retrieved March 25 2010 a b c Hammer Alexander R August 4 1970 Catering to Affluent Youth Market Found Profitable The New York Times Retrieved March 25 2010 Backalenick Hirene October 17 1972 Spreading Suburban Menace Shoplifting Mainly Among Young The New York Times Retrieved March 25 2010 Marshalls expanding young men s business Daily News Record August 16 1984 Retrieved March 26 2010 Marshalls is a division of Melville Corp which also owns Chess King an operator of more than 500 young men s specialty stores a b Steinhauer Jennifer February 3 1996 Bankrupt Merry Go Round Decides to Go Out of Business The New York Times Retrieved March 25 2010 Chess King the mall store for young men in need of flashy shirts a b Sykes Laura July 7 2000 Well Suited Triad Business Journal Retrieved March 25 2010 At that time he worked for Chess King a mall based staple of faddish clothes for young people You remember the horrible clothes he said laughing Strom Stephanie March 18 1993 Melville to Sell Chess King To Merry Go Round Chain The New York Times Retrieved March 25 2010 Strom Stephanie 1993 03 18 COMPANY NEWS Melville to Sell Chess King To Merry Go Round Chain Published 1993 The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2020 11 29 Strom Stephanie January 12 1994 Merry Go Round Files for Bankruptcy Protection The New York Times Retrieved March 25 2010 Business Bloomberg November 14 1995 Merry Go Round to close third of its stores including Chess King The Dallas Morning News Retrieved March 25 2010 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a last has generic name help Merry Go Round Enterprises Inc said it will close more than a third of its stores including the entire Chess King men s clothing chain as it struggles to emerge from bankruptcy court nbsp 1980s portal nbsp This United States retail business article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chess King amp oldid 1220590999, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
