Emporium, more formally known as Troutman's Emporium, was a chain of department stores founded in 1955 by Dallas Troutman in

North Bend, Oregon North Bend is a city in Coos County, Oregon, United States with a population of 9,695 as of the 2010 census.Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

. At its peak, Emporium operated at least 34 stores, in Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, California and Washington. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2002 and liquidated. The last stores closed in 2003.

History

Beginnings

Emporium was founded in 1955, when Dallas Troutman opened the first Emporium store, in

North Bend, Oregon North Bend is a city in Coos County, Oregon, United States with a population of 9,695 as of the 2010 census.Sorenson, Donald J. (February 22, 1978). "Emporium plans mall opening" (new store at

Mall 205 Mall 205 was an enclosed shopping mall located at the junction of Interstate 205 and S.E. Washington Street in Portland, Oregon's Hazelwood neighborhood, in the United States. The mall features over 20 stores and a food court; anchor stores in ...

). ''The Oregonian'', p. F3. in a building previously used as a grocery store.McCracken, Sue (February 27, 1983). "Eugene apparel chain ready with Albany link" (opening of Emporium's 13th store). '' The Oregonian'', p. D7. In 1963, Troutman's Emporium moved to a space in Pony Village Shopping Center, an enclosed shopping mall. Troutman's Emporium started growing when the company opened a second store at the Willamette Plaza in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, in 1968. A third store was built in 1972 in Mount Vernon, Washington.

Expansion

In 1973, Troutman's Emporium acquired two Alexander's stores in

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

and Florence, Oregon. Years earlier, Dallas Troutman had worked at the Springfield Alexander's store while in high school,Rojas-Burke, Joe (February 7, 2007). "Troutman's Emporium founder dies at 76". ''The Oregonian'', p. E6. working stock and sweeping floors. The company's headquarters was moved to the Springfield store after its acquisition, but when it was damaged by fire in 1977, the headquarters was relocated to Eugene, where Emporium also opened a new distribution center. The next several years were a period of major expansion, and by 1983, Emporium was a 13-store chain. The company's

gross sales In bookkeeping, accounting, and financial accounting, net sales are operating revenues earned by a company for selling its products or rendering its services. Also referred to as revenue, they are reported directly on the income statement as ''Sal ...

in 1984 exceeded $50 million, and as of 1985 the company had about 1,000 employees.Cour, Brian (March 10, 1985). "Chain founder traces Emporium growth". '' The Oregonian'', p. D10. Founder Dallas Troutman was still company president. Around 325,000 customers held Emporium charge accounts at that time. By this time, at least, the stores were all identified simply as Emporium, and the company name was alternatively given as Emporium Inc. or Troutman's Emporium. The average store size was 30,000–40,000 square feet (2,800–3,700 m²) at that time, following early 1980s remodeling of some stores. In 1986, Emporium acquired the then-40-year-old, eight-store Quisenberry's chain, which had five stores in Eastern Oregon and three in Idaho."E. Oregon chain bought by Emporium". (February 1, 1986). ''The Oregonian'', p. C2. Over the next two years Troutman's Emporium opened 5 stores, including a store in Chico, California. In 1988, Emporium acquired a

J.C. Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Girl ...

store in Nampa, Idaho, at the

Karcher Mall District 208, formerly Karcher Mall, is a shopping center located in Nampa, Idaho, United States. It originally opened as an enclosed shopping mall in August 1965 with Buttrey Food & Drug, Tempo, and Sprouse-Reitz as anchor stores. It was the lar ...

. The Chico store opened at

Chico Mall Chico Marketplace, formerly Chico Mall, is an enclosed shopping mall in Chico, California. Opened in 1988, it features J. C. Penney and Dick's Sporting Goods as its anchor stores. History The mall opened in 1988. Its original anchor stores were ...

in 1988, and was the only Emporium in California. That store was called "Troutman's", due to a trademark dispute with Emporium in California (Emporium-Capwell at the time of the Troutman's store's opening). In 1999, Emporium was in merger talks with

Lamonts Lamonts was a chain of department stores founded in Seattle, Washington. The chain was started in 1970 when Pay 'n Save renamed its suburban branches of Rhodes, a department store chain the company acquired in 1965. Lamonts remained a division of ...

, but it fell through."Lamonts ends merger talks with owner of Emporiums". (July 6, 1999). '' The Seattle Times'', p. C6. In 2000, Ron Schiff was hired as the new president and CEO of Troutman's Emporium. Ron Schiff added six new stores in fall 2000 including stores in

Aberdeen, Washington Aberdeen () is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population was 17,013 at the 2020 census. The city is the economic center of Grays Harbor County, bordering the cities of Hoquiam and Cosmopolis. Aberdeen is occasi ...

;

Brookings Brookings may refer to: Organizations * Brookings Institution, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. Places * Brookings, Oregon, USA * Brookings, South Dakota, USA * Brookings County, South Dakota, USA ...

, The Dalles and Cottage Grove, in Oregon; and Elko and Winnemucca, in Nevada.

Bankruptcy and liquidation

In 2002, faced with increasing debt with creditors, Troutman's Emporium filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Kosseff, Jeffrey (December 17, 2002). "Emporium files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy". ''The Oregonian'', p. 1. The company initially planned on closing one store but instead found themselves with far more debt than expected. Unable to secure financing or investment partners while in bankruptcy, Emporium announced it would be closing all of its stores and was formally going out of business. The last stores were closed in 2003. The company's remaining assets were liquidated, and it completed the remainder of its bankruptcy proceedings in 2004. When the closure was announced, the company had been operating 34 stores across five western U.S. states employing 1,600 people.

References

External links

Former Official Site (Retrieved by the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, Dec. 11, 2002)
{{FormerORCompanies Defunct department stores based in Oregon Retail companies established in 1955 Retail companies disestablished in 2003 Defunct companies based in Oregon Companies based in Eugene, Oregon Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2002 1955 establishments in Oregon 2003 disestablishments in Oregon