G.C. Murphy was a chain of

five and dime A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, auto parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, furniture, and a selection of groceries. It usually sells th ...

variety store A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, auto parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, furniture, and a selection of groceries. It usually sel ...

s in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

from 1906 to 2002. They also operated Murphy's Mart (full-scale discount stores), Bargain World (closeout merchandise), Terry & Ferris and Bruners (junior department stores), and Cobbs (specialty apparel) stores. In April 1985, the company was acquired by Ames Department Stores Inc. Ames converted many of the larger "Murphy's Mart" stores and in 1989, sold the variety store division to former competitor

McCrory Stores McCrory Stores or J.G. McCrory's was a chain of five and dime stores in the United States based in York, Pennsylvania. The stores typically sold shoes, clothing, housewares, fabrics, penny candy, toys, cosmetics, and often included a lunch coun ...

History

Origins of chain

The chain was founded in 1906 by George Clinton Murphy in the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

suburb of

McKeesport, Pennsylvania McKeesport is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. A suburb of Pittsburgh, it is situated at the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers. The population was 17,727 as of the 2020 census. History Early history ...

. Murphy had gotten his start in retail as a manager of a

McCrory's McCrory Stores or J.G. McCrory's was a chain of five and dime stores in the United States based in York, Pennsylvania. The stores typically sold shoes, clothing, housewares, fabrics, penny candy, toys, cosmetics, and often included a lunch co ...

store in 1896. Murphy later moved to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, to manage several stores there and then returned to the

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, area to launch his stores. His namesake chain was founded in 1906. It was one of several large retailers that originated in Pennsylvania. Murphy died in April 1909, three years after the chain's launch. Two former McCrory executives,

John Sephus Mack John Sephus Mack (March 9, 1880 – September 27, 1940), was an American businessperson and philanthropist. He was the president of the G. C. Murphy Company, a prominent variety-store chain during the early 20th century. Biography Mack was th ...

and Walter C. Shaw, bought the G.C. Murphy chain, which was at the time about 12 stores, that same year. The chain quickly expanded through new stores and the purchase of competitors, growing to 173 stores by 1932. Murphy's expanded cautiously during the 1920s, letting it cope with the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

better than other retailing chains: Sales in 1930 were reported to have risen about 9% ($17 million). By 1932, however, sales had dropped 3.7%. The retailing company never let go of their employees during this time, although they did have to get rid of overtime pay and dock employees for absences.

Overview of features

Murphy's stores became popular partly because of their locations; many were in small and medium-sized towns that had previously been served only by stores owned by whatever mining company was based there. The lunch counters in the stores were a popular destination for quick and inexpensive meals (before the rise of fast food). Murphy's stores were designed in-house and to a high standard, led by architects like

Harold Ellsworth Crosby Harold Ellsworth Crosby (January 22, 1899 – January 12, 1958) was an American architect who supervised the construction of many G. C. Murphy Co. discount department stores across the United States. Born in Maryville, Missouri, he graduated ...

Growth and expansion

G.C. Murphy expanded through the 1950s by acquiring 91 Morris stores in the Midwest and 92 Morgan & Lindsey stores in the South and Southwest. The chain also began testing more prominent locations, opening a significant location at Cermak Plaza in

Berwyn, Illinois Berwyn () is a suburban city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, Coterminous municipality, coterminous with Berwyn Township, Illinois, Berwyn Township, which was formed in 1908 after breaking off from Cicero Township, Cook County, Illinois, ...

, in 1957. When company President James Stephen Mack (son of

) died in 1968, the chain was up to 511 stores.(23 May 1968)
J.S. Mack, Head of Variety Chain
''

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 ...

'', p.47 (paywall) In 1970, it opened its first large-scale store, branded as "Murphy's Mart," in

. The stores were similar in size and concept to

Kmart Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...

and were often located in the suburbs. By 1980, they had grown to 448 stores.

Changes and suspension of business

In April 1985, the company was acquired by Ames Department Stores Inc. for $48 per share. Ames rebranded many of the larger "Murphy's Mart" stores. In 1989, Ames sold the G. C. Murphy and Bargain World divisions to E-II Holdings, parent of McCrory's, to help offset debt incurred during their recent acquisition of

Zayre Zayre () was a chain of discount stores that operated in the eastern half of the United States from 1956 to 1990. The company's headquarters were in Framingham, Massachusetts. In October 1988, Zayre's parent company, Zayre Corp., sold the store ...

. The McCrory's chain filed for bankruptcy in 1992, closed many of its stores (including former G.C. Murphy's outlets) in 1997 and ceased its remaining operations in 2002.

Current activities

Although the stores ceased business operations some time ago, the chain's foundation, the G.C. Murphy Foundation, still exists. Retirees and former employees of the stores have a volunteer organization that allows them to keep in touch. In 2005, the ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

'' reported that the Murphy Foundation had commissioned a writer to compile the G.C. Murphy Company's history. That history, titled ''For the Love of Murphy's: The Behind-the-Counter Story of a Great American Retailer'', by Jason Togyer, was published in 2008 by Pennsylvania State University Press.

References

External links

Website featuring history of G.C. Murphy chain (source for much of this article)

G.C.Murphy Memories
{{Authority control Defunct discount stores of the United States Five and dimes Retail companies disestablished in 1985 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1992 Defunct companies based in Pennsylvania McCrory Stores Retail companies established in 1906 1906 establishments in Pennsylvania 1985 disestablishments in Pennsylvania