History
The first Globe Discount City opened in Houston in November 1960 by United Mercantile Inc. United had formed earlier in 1960 to operate the existing seven-store chain of Danburg's Department Stores which had existed since the 1930s and the forthcoming big-box Globe retail locations – the first three of which were each built with over 100,000 square feet of space. All but one of the Danburg locations was in the Houston, Texas market as were the first four Globe Discount City locations. Unlike the smaller Danburg department stores, the Globe City concept featured a full grocery store, a Sun Cafeteria utilizing the store's sun logo, and an expanded variety of more than 80 departments including live pets, firearms, and a Globe Auto Center housed in an outparcel building. With three Globe stores open in 1962, Walgreens acquired the United Mercantile portfolio in March 1962. Walgreens had seenDownturn and Closure
United Mercantile / Walgreens closed all of the Danburg locations in 1970 as its aging mid-sized department stores were under competition from shopping mall anchors and newer big-box stores. By 1976, Globe stores were underperforming and around 40% of sales were going to the leased areas of the stores. Walgreens ended the Globe-branded check cashing card and internal credit system in favor of bank credit cards to help efficiency. The final three stores were opened in San Antonio early in 1977 to double the number of stores from three to six in the city. But later that same year, Walgreens reported lower earnings partly due to the financial downturn of its Globe store unit. Losses were at $10 million in 1977 when Walgreens decided to exit the big-box space in 1978 closing or transferring all of its Globe Discount City locations by July 1978. Transactions were made to convert 14 locations to Kmarts and 8 locations became FedMart stores. A number of locations which weren't transferred hosted auction sales to dispense with fixtures and any remaining inventory. However, one location in McAllen remained as an independently-run Globe Discount City Store that operated for 20 more years closing at the end of 1999.Cannon, Steve. “Klinck, Globe Stores Go Under,” ''The Monitor,'' 2 November 1999, p.1.References