Parisian Articles about
Parisian
 

Information About

Parisian





| Information

  Company Name Parisian
  Company Logo
  Company Type Department Store
  Company Slogan "You're Somebody Special"
  Foundation 1887 Birmingham, Alabama
  Location Birmingham, Alabama
  Industry Retail
  Products Clothing, footwear, bedding, jewelry, beauty products
  Homepage http://wwwparisiancom/


Parisian is a moderate to upscale U.S. chain of Department Store s, based in Birmingham, Alabama . It is a division of Saks Incorporated , the owners of the Saks Fifth Avenue (SFA) department store chain.


HISTORY

The chain was founded by sisters Bertha and Estella Sommers under the name Parisian Dry Goods & Millinery Company in 1887 in Birmingham . In 1945, Parisian adopted an aggressive program of brand-name merchandising and enhanced customer service as it expanded. In 1983 it became a publicly traded company and it joined Proffitt's Inc., in 1996. In September of 1998, Proffitt’s, Inc. and Saks Holdings, Inc. completed a merger transaction where Saks Fifth Avenue and its Off 5th outlet stores became the Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises division of Proffitt’s, Inc. At that time, Proffitt’s, Inc. was renamed Saks Incorporated .

Particularly in its larger markets, Parisian was placed in a marketing tier between the luxury-oriented SFA chain and the company's other more moderate nameplates. At its height, Saks Incorporated operated more than 250 mid-level to high end department stores under its Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises group, the Parisian division, the Northern Department Store Group ( Younkers , Herberger's , Carson Pirie Scott , Bergner's , Boston Store ), and its Southern Department Store Group ( Proffitt's and McRae's ) — plus more than 50 Club Libby Lu specialty shops.

Following the divesting of its Southern Department Store Group in July 2005 to Belk, Inc., and the March 2006 sale of its Northern Department Store Group (controlled under the divisional umbrella of Carson Pirie Scott) to Bon-Ton Stores , Inc., for $1.1 billion, Parisian survives as a division that emphasizes its service, fashion, and specialty items much like its New York-born corporate sibling. Though it shares several markets with SFA, many of Parisian's markets are comparatively smaller in scale.

Parisian currently operates 39 stores located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The chain plans to add two Arkansas stores in Little Rock and Rogers by late 2006.


CURRENT PARISIAN LOCATIONS



Alabama



Florida



Georgia



Indiana



Michigan



Mississippi



Ohio



South Carolina



Tennessee



NEW PARISIAN STORE OPENINGS


2006



2007




CLOSED PARISIAN LOCATIONS


Alabama



Ohio



South Carolina

  • Columbia - Columbiana Centre - Closed 2/06 - 95,000 square feet - to become JCPenney

  • Greenville - Greenville Mall - Converted to Proffitt's in 1999; closed in 2004 - 120,000 square feet



ADVERTISING SLOGANS

  • "You're Somebody Special"



EXTERNAL LINKS