Value Village Stores, Inc.
| Defunct | |
| ISIN | 🆔 |
| Industry | Retail (Department & Discount) |
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Founded 📆 | 1961, Nov. 21 Dalton, Illinois |
| Founder 👔 | |
| Headquarters 🏙️ | Dalton, Illinois |
Area served 🗺️ | |
Key people | Henry Hornet |
| Products 📟 | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, and housewares. |
| Members | |
Number of employees | 850 |
| 🌐 Website | [Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 665: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). ] |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
Value Village Stores, Inc. was a chain of retail stores aimed at the discount department-store market. Henry Horney, formerly of F.W. Woolworth Company founded a small, regional chain of discount stores located in the three states of Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois that opened in 1961 and operated into the 1980s. Horney also had a real estate company and often built small shopping malls adjoining the discount stores.
History
The chain was founded in 1961 when founder Henry Horney decided to convert his 8-year-old chain of smaller, five and dime variety store locations called both Horney Dime Stores and Horney Variety Stores into much larger “big-box store” locations. The former Woolworth employee had seen his former company open its first big box Woolco and S.S. Kresge and W.T. Grant were readying their Kmart and Grant City equivalents which would both launch in 1962.
The first two Value Village stores opened in Illinois in Dalton and Harvey, Illinois on November 21, 1961. The Dalton store replaced a Horney Variety Store and the Harvey Store was a new addition located in a closed Kroger grocery store. The architectural style was self-described as Swiss influenced with thatched wood fronts. Specific departments were leased out including the pharmaceutical and hardware areas.
By the late 1960s and early 1970s, the chain had expanded into Wisconsin and Indiana. Converted and new build stores were located in Portage, Indiana, Monroe, Watertown, Sun Prairie, and Elkhorn in Wisconsin along with Watseka and Macomb in Illinois. Small malls were built adjoining the Portage, Dalton and Macomb locations.
Downturn and Closure
The first of the Value Village stores to close was in Harvey, Illinois. By the late 1980s, the chain found that it was unable to compete against other retail chains, such as Kmart, Target and Walmart. Store liquidations reduced the chain one store at a time until the entire chain was defunct. A number of the adjoining malls were repurposed, as well.
References
External links
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