is a
Department Store chain based in
Hayward, California . It carries national brands of clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, and housewares. Many of the company's stores are found in
Shopping Malls .
The first Mervyns store opened in
1949 in
San Lorenzo, California , named after the founder
Mervin G. Morris (and adopting the misspelling on the company's first sign). However, the
Dayton Hudson Corporation (later known as
Target Corporation ) acquired the company in
1979 . From the mid-
1990 s to the early
2000 s, the stores were rebranded as , in an effort to identify with their West Coast heritage. Mervyn's TV commercials and catelogs featured former
San Francisco 49er's Quarterback ,
Joe Montana in their advertising. After this, the company later reverted to the original name after seeing no marked improvements.
In July
2004 , Mervyn's was bought from the Target Corporation by a group of investors including private investment firm and turnaround specialist
Sun Capital Partners Inc. of
Boca Raton, Florida ,
Cerberus Capital Management of
New York , and real estate investment company
Lubert-Adler Management Inc. of
Philadelphia . The company announced in September
2005 that it would focus exclusively on
Western and
Southwestern markets, and planned to close its stores in
Michigan ,
Oklahoma ,
Colorado , and
Louisiana by February
2006 . In addition, the store has closed its location in the upscale
Washington Square mall in
Tigard, Oregon ; in January, the company announced plans to close its 17 remaining Oregon and Washington stores by 2007. A
Salt Lake City, Utah area store, located in Crossroads Plaza, will be closing by summer 2006.
In
1986 , Mervyn's made a major expansion into the
Southeast , especially the
Atlanta market. The chain had never previously been in
Georgia , but competed for mall space with
J.C. Penney and got top anchor spots at several area malls. Known Mervyn's locations in the Atlanta area were
Town Center Mall ,
Shannon Mall ,
North Dekalb Mall ,
Gwinnett Place Mall and
North Point Mall . The Akers Mill Crossing strip center across from
Cumberland Mall in
Smyrna was also a location.
The chain, however, failed to sustain itself in the Atlanta market and left the Atlanta area in
1995 . J.C. Penney converted the Town Center, Shannon and Gwinnett Place stores in 1986. The others became a movie theater at North Dekalb, a
Parisian and North Point and a
Sports Authority and the strip center.
