G. R. Herberger Inc. is a digitally native retailer. It was established in 1927 in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

as 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 ...

History

Herberger's began in Osakis, Minnesota, when G.R. "Bob" Herberger opened his first store in 1927. Herberger's was incorporated for the purpose of acquiring additional stores and expanding into other communities in 1943. By 1972, it grew to 11 stores in four states, with its headquarters in downtown St. Cloud, Minnesota. G. R. Herberger's, Inc., by then an employee-owned company, merged with

Proffitt's Proffitt's was a department store chain based in Alcoa, Tennessee. The chain was founded in 1919 by David W. Proffitt and James Ellis. In 2006, the Proffitt's and McRae's stores were converted into Belk after Belk had acquired the two chains in ...

Inc. in 1997 in stock deal valued at approximately $160 million (~$ in ). As Proffitt's Inc. evolved into Saks Incorporated with the company's acquisition of

Saks Fifth Avenue Saks Fifth Avenue (Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain founded in 1867 by Andrew Saks. The first store opened in the F Street and 7th Street shopping districts, F Street shopping distric ...

, Herberger's eventually became part of the corporation's Northern Department Store Group, an assortment of store locations initially acquired by Proffitt's Inc. as

Carson Pirie Scott Carson Pirie Scott & Co. (also known as Carson's) is an American department store that was founded in 1854, which grew to over 50 locations, primarily in the Midwestern United States. It was sold to the holding company of Bon-Ton in 2006, but sti ...

& Company. On October 31, 2005, Saks announced that it was selling Herberger's and its other Northern Department Store Group stores (

, Bergner's, Boston Store, and

Younkers Younkers Inc. () is an American online retailer and former department store chain founded as a family-run dry goods business in 1856 in Keokuk, Iowa. The retailer had evolved over more than 150 years to include a presence in locations throughout ...

) to Bon-Ton Stores in a $1.1 billion deal; the transaction was completed on March 6, 2006. Bon-Ton announced on April 17, 2018, that they would be closing doors and began liquidating all 267 stores after two liquidators, Great American Group and Tiger Capital Group, won an auction for the company. The bid was estimated to be worth $775.5 million. This included all remaining Herberger's locations after 91 years of operation. According to national retail reporter Mitch Nolen, stores were closed within 10 to 12 weeks. The Fargo Forum reported in 2018 that the Herberger's website had returned online with the text "Herberger's is coming back", coinciding with the last location closing on August 31, 2018. The article did not disclose the financing or ownership of the brand or if the retirement liabilities of former employees remains lost after the transfer of assets. 2009-0610-012-Roseville-Herbergers

Herberger's was relaunched when CSC Generations purchased Bon Ton, Inc. and their associated brands and customer lists. On October 1, 2018, it was revealed that multiple Herberger's locations would potentially open or reopen around Minnesota, with the first store likely being in Rochester. Sometime in 2021, CSC Generations sold Herberger's to BrandX, and indicated that Herberger's would open soon; however, as of 2024 this has yet to materialize.

References

External links

Official website
(Archive)
The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. investor relations home page
{{Department stores in the United States Companies based in Milwaukee Economy of the Midwestern United States Economy of the Northeastern United States Clothing retailers of the United States Defunct department stores based in Minnesota Retail companies established in 1927 Retail companies disestablished in 2018 1927 establishments in Minnesota 2018 disestablishments in Minnesota American companies established in 1927 American companies disestablished in 2018 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018 Companies that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2018