End of an era: Younkers stores to close by end of summer or sooner

The Des Moines Register

One of the most recognizable names in Iowa retail will be gone by the end of the summer.

The sale of Younkers' parent company Bon-Ton Stores Inc. to a liquidation company awaits a Delaware bankruptcy judge's signature to finalize the deal.

Rhonda Thomas of Des Moines shops for some good deals at Younkers at Southridge Mall in Des Moines in 2012.

Under the agreement, the company's 256 stores, including 49 Younkers stores, will close by the end of August and assets, including store merchandise and property, will be sold.

Outside the Younkers store in Valley West Mall on Wednesday, April 18, 2018, in West Des Moines. Bon-Ton Stores Inc., the owner of Younkers has filed for bankruptcy which could lead to the closure of the company's 250 stores, including 15 in Iowa.

It's the end of an era for Iowa shoppers used to seeing the Younkers name on shopping malls across the state. The company was founded in Keokuk in 1856 and grew to become the largest department store chain in Iowa and Nebraska.

There are 17 Younkers stores remaining in Iowa that will close with the liquidation.

More: What Iowa shoppers are saying about the Younkers closure on social media

Great American Group and Tiger Capital Group reportedly reached an agreement to purchase Bon-Ton for $775.5 million on Tuesday, according to the website Reorg Research.

A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon for the judge to sign off on the agreement terms, which would close all Bon-Ton stores by Aug. 31.

According to bankruptcy filings, Bon-Ton operates stores in 23 states that employ about 23,000 people. The company owns 22 locations and leases the remaining.

It operates stores under the names Younkers, Bon-Ton, Carson Pirie, Herberger's, Bergner's, Boston Store and Elder-Beerman.

Bon-Ton is the latest in a string of big-box retailers to close.

Toys R Us is closing all its stores while Macy's, Sears and Kmart are cutting back significantly on locations. Retailers have blamed online shopping in part on the demise of the brick and mortar stores.

► More:Younkers stores in Iowa could close as company heads to liquidation

► More:Younkers' parent company has filed for bankruptcy. What will happen to Des Moines stores?

Locally, Younkers has stores at four Des Moines-area malls, including Merle Hay Mall, Southridge, Jordan Creek Town Center and Valley West Mall. How soon those locations could close has not yet been announced.

There are 17 Younkers stores in Iowa that will close by the end of the summer.

And what does the Bon-Ton demise portend for department stores in general?

"This is not the end of department stores," said Richard Hurd, a longtime retail developer in the Des Moines area. "I think we'll see a continuation of a pruning, not an end. Some strong players in the high-end and middle- to high-end category will continue to thrive and be dominate."

But echoing the sentiments of hundreds of longtime Younkers shoppers, Hurd said closing the stores is a loss for the community.

"This is a big loss," he said. "It's part of our heritage here in Iowa. Anyone in their late 20s, early 30s and older, I think, has a warm place in their heart for Younkers."

The liquidation company's sale agreement outlines some of the rules for the liquidation sale, including:

Returns to be made 10 days from the start of the sale.
Gift cards and credits to be used within 10 days from the sale start.
Liquidation company can add outside items to the sale if they are similar to the stores' merchandise.
The company will continue online sales for four weeks.
Some current employees may be kept on to work at the liquidation sale.