Jamesway Corporation, more commonly known as Jamesway, was a chain of discount

department stores A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appea ...

based in

Secaucus, New Jersey Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 16,264,Jamestown, New York Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamestown is the largest pop ...

, ultimately growing into a chain that, at its peak, operated 138 stores throughout the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

and mid-Atlantic regions. Despite its successes, Jamesway faced significant losses during its last years in business. This resulted in two bankruptcy filings, which ultimately put an end to the chain in 1995.

History

Jamesway began in 1961 with its first store by Herbert Fisher. The company got its name from the town in which the first store was located,

Jamestown, New York Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamestown is the largest pop ...

. At its peak in 1991, the company operated 138 stores throughout the mid-Atlantic region of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and employed nearly 6,000. The company had locations in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

and other states. Jamesway's headquarters was in

Secaucus, New Jersey Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 16,264,Two Guys Two Guys from Harrison (later shortened to Two Guys) is a former discount store chain founded in 1946 by brothers Herbert and Sidney Hubschman in Harrison, New Jersey, originally selling major appliances such as televisions. The chain acquired ...

Woolco Woolco was an American-based discount retail chain. It was founded in 1962 in Columbus, Ohio, by the F. W. Woolworth Company. It was a full-line discount department store unlike the five-and-dime Woolworth stores which operated at the time. At its ...

, King's, and one from Mays. They also acquired the Westons chain of discount stores in the late 1970s. The original store in Jamestown relocated to

Chautauqua Mall Chautauqua Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Lakewood, New York. Opened in 1971, the mall's anchor stores are Planet Fitness, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Dipson Theatres, and JCPenney. The mall is owned and managed by Kohan Retail Investment Group. Histor ...

in the late 1980s. Jamesway #20, located in

Monroe, New York Monroe is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 21,387 at the 2020 census, compared to 39,912 at the 2010 census; the significant fall in census population was due to the secession of the town of Palm Tree in 2019 ...

, was destroyed by a major fire on April 29, 1990.

Bankruptcy

Peter Hollis, former president and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Ames Ames may refer to: Places United States * Ames, Arkansas, a place in Arkansas * Ames, Colorado * Ames, Illinois * Ames, Indiana * Ames, Iowa, the most populous city bearing this name * Ames, Kansas * Ames, Nebraska * Ames, New York * Ames, Oklah ...

, joined Jamesway in 1991 and was named president in February of that year. In April 1991, in an effort to strengthen its financial position, the company secured a $40 million refinancing agreement and closed 11 unprofitable stores. In January 1993, Jamesway rolled out a new store format and planned to completely remodel the 127-store chain within the following three years. The remodel would include completely redoing 30 stores in 1993. The remodeling efforts included better lighting, store layouts, and signage improvements throughout the store. In June 1993, Joseph Ettore, most recently chairman of

Stuarts The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fi ...

, rejoined the company as president and CEO. On July 19, 1993 the company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Before the filing, the chain had sales of $1.05 billion and 7,400 employees. In August 1993, the discounter said it cut 70 headquarters jobs and implemented a management realignment. "We want to stay in business," Ettore emphasized. In January 1993, Jamesway closed 13 stores. In December 1993, Jamesway announced it would close 14 stores and remodel 11 stores as part of a plan to pull the company out of bankruptcy. Jamesway closed ten more stores in 1994, leaving the chain with 90 stores remaining. Jamesway faced competition from other large chains such as

, Bradlees, Caldor and Hills, which started to open new stores in areas where Jamesway stores were already located. The chain emerged from bankruptcy in January 1995. The company put itself up for sale in May 1995. Ames was viewed as the most likely suitor for the chain. Hills and Caldor were also considered as possible suitors. At the time it put itself up for sale, the company had 5,900 employees. Jamesway filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in October 1995 after it had emerged from its nearly two-year-long bankruptcy. Just days before its filing, the company laid off 3% of its workforce. The company decided it would close all of its remaining stores, and liquidation sales began immediately, running from October to December 1995. It was believed that its continued weak sales, along with operating losses and constricted trade credit, contributed to its

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

. During that time, Wal-Mart had begun to open new stores in the same areas as Jamesway stores, making Jamesway's fate inescapable.

purchased 11 former Jamesway stores and reopened them as Ames stores, but Ames would end up meeting the same fate as Jamesway - declaring bankruptcy in 2001 and then closing all of its stores in 2002.

References

{{reflist

External links

Jamesway Corporation profile
Companies based in Hudson County, New Jersey Retail companies established in 1961 Retail companies disestablished in 1995 Defunct discount stores based in New Jersey Defunct companies based in New Jersey Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1993 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1995 Secaucus, New Jersey 1961 establishments in New York (state) 1995 disestablishments in New Jersey