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. At its peak, Emporium operated at least 34 stores, in

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. The company filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

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). ''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 ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 18 ...

'', 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, in 1968. A third store was built in 1972 in

Mount Vernon, Washington Mount Vernon is the county seat of Skagit County, Washington, United States. The population was 35,219 at the 2020 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Mount Vernon- Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Ar ...

Expansion

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

Florence, Oregon Florence is a coastal city in Lane County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It lies at the mouth of the Siuslaw River on the Pacific Ocean and about midway between Newport and Coos Bay along U.S. Route 101. As of the 2020 census, the city had ...

. 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 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". ''

'', 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 Eastern Oregon is the eastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity; thus, the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost ...

and three in

."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 Chico ( ; Spanish for "little") is the most populous city in Butte County, California. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 101,475 in the 2020 census, reflecting an increase from 86,18 ...

. In 1988, Emporium acquired a J.C. Penney store in

Nampa, Idaho Nampa () is the largest city in Canyon County, Idaho. Its population was 100,200 at the time of the 2020 Census. It is Idaho's third-most populous city. Nampa is about west of Boise along Interstate 84, and six miles (10 km) west of Meridian. ...

, at the Karcher Mall. 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

. 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 o ...

, but it fell through."Lamonts ends merger talks with owner of Emporiums". (July 6, 1999). ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington ...

'', 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; Brookings,

The Dalles The Dalles is the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia River between the Portland Metropolitan Area, and Hermiston ...

and Cottage Grove, in Oregon; and Elko and Winnemucca, in

Bankruptcy and liquidation

In 2002, faced with increasing debt with creditors, Troutman's Emporium filed for

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