Strouss was a

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

serving the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

s of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

History

The company was founded as Strouss-Hirshberg Co. by Isaac Strouss and Bernard Hirshberg, two young Americans of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

descent. It was long the leading

in the Mahoning and Shenango Valleys. Under the ownership of

May Department Stores The May Department Stores Company was an American holding company of department stores founded in 1877 by David May. It operated several regional department stores throughout the United States, which were managed as distinct business divisions ...

, which purchased Strouss in 1947, its name was shortened to Strouss and was expanded throughout northern Ohio and western Pennsylvania under the leadership of C.J. Strouss, then president of Strouss. In 1986, May Company made a corporate decision to consolidate the Strouss division into

Kaufmann's Kaufmann's was a department store that originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The store was owned in the early 20th century by Edgar J. Kaufmann, patron of the famous Fallingwater house. In the post-war years, the store became a regional chain ...

. May promptly shut down many of its former locations in 1987 in part due to the depressed economy of the Youngstown metropolitan area and a strategic decision by May Company to focus on mall-only retail locations within the

division.

References

* EXECUTIVE CHANGES. (29 April 1982).

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

. * THE MAY DEPARTMENT STORES CO. ANNOUNCES ELECTIONS. (15 July 1985).

PR Newswire PR Newswire is a distributor of press releases headquartered in Chicago. The service was created in 1954 to allow companies to electronically send press releases to news organizations, using teleprinters at first. The founder, Herbert Muschel, ...

. * MAY STORES COMBINES TWO RETAIL DIVISIONS. (3 January 1986).

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

. * MAY DEPT STORES COMBINES STROUSS, KAUFMANN'S DIVISIONS. (2 January 1986). Dow Jones News Service. * Store Consolidation Seen at Federated. (18 January 1986).

. * MAY DEPARTMENT STORES REPORTS RECORD FIRST QUARTER NET EARNINGS AND SALES. (20 May 1986).

. * MAY DEPARTMENT STORES CO reports earnings for Qtr to May 3. (21 May 1986).

. * THE MAY DEPARTMENT STORES CO. REPORTS THIRD QUARTER AND FIRST NINE MONTHS SALES AND EARNINGS. (18 November 1986).

. * Old department stores see new development. (11 August 1990). ''

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio; it is a major national newspaper. In the fall of 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily an ...

''. * Old stores get new look. (11 August 1990). ''

''. * May Department Stores Co. (26 September 1990).

Advertising Age ''Ad Age'' (known as ''Advertising Age'' until 2017) is a global media brand that publishes news, analysis, and data on marketing and media. Its namesake magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930. ''Ad Age'' appears in ...

. * Fred L. Gronvall Sr. (11 October 1997).

The Patriot Ledger ''The Patriot Ledger'' is a daily newspaper in Quincy, Massachusetts, that serves the South Shore. It publishes Monday through Saturday. History The paper was founded on , as the weekly ''Quincy Patriot'' by John Adams Green and Edmund Butl ...

. * Dillard's edit on database. (16 November 2001). The Youngstown Vindicator. * Youngstown, Ohio, Department Store Keeps Kaufmann's Name despite Consolidation. (10 August 2002). The Youngstown Vindicator. * Kaufmann's to keep name despite consolidation. (10 August 2002). The Youngstown Vindicator. * City awards contract for razing of parking deck. (21 April 2000). The Youngstown Vindicator. {{Macy's history Defunct department stores based in Ohio Companies based in Youngstown, Ohio Defunct companies based in Ohio Retail companies disestablished in 1986

History

See also

References