Hills Department Store is a Canton, Massachusetts, based discount department store chain. It was founded in 1957 in Youngstown, Ohio, and is owned by Ames Brands Corporation.
History[]
Hills opened its first location in Youngstown, Ohio in 1957. Originally, it was a full-scale department store, not a discount department store like it eventually became known to be.
Founder Herbert Goldberger sold the chain to the Shoe Company of America in 1964, but remained president of the company until his son succeeded him in 1981. In 1987, Hills went public and became the country's eighth-largest discount retailer.
In 1991, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and closed 63 stores. Previous choices, such as going public and acquiring the Gold Circle chain, as well as a recession in 1990, led to this filing. Michael Bozic, formerly of Sears, was brought in to improve the company. He ordered stores to be remodeled and opened new distribution centers. In 1993, Hills emerged from bankruptcy.
The first revival of Hills did not last long, however, as several resignations left former chief financial officer of Revco, Greg Raven, the CEO of the company in 1996. Only two years later, Ames acquired the chain. They considered making all Hills stores Ames locations, but decided to keep the name as it was recognizable to shoppers. In 2000, Ames filed for bankruptcy themselves, but recovered and began opening more locations in 2004. More Hills began opening in 2005.
See also[]
- Ames
- List of current Hills locations
- List of former Hills locations