Harts Stores
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Harts Stores, Inc. | |
 |
|
| Type | Discount stores |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1954 Columbus, Ohio |
| Headquarters | Columbus, Ohio |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, and housewares. |
| Parent | Big Bear Stores Inc. |
| Website | None. |
Harts Stores was a regional general merchandise chain in the midwestern United States, headquartered for many years in Columbus, Ohio.
[edit] History
In 1954, Big Bear Stores Co. purchased Harts Stores, a department store that was operating at the time in the basements of two Big Bears. Harts experienced rapid growth, as Big Bear often opened grocery stores along with a Harts Department Store in an adjacent space.
At its high point, there were 29 Harts Stores, but towards the end of 1990 the company decided to favor the Big Bear Plus store format over the Harts general merchandise format and started to slowly shutter or convert all remaining Harts locations. In 1991, ten side-by-side Big Bear and Harts locations were converted to the Big Bear Plus format.
[edit] Former locations
- Ashland, Kentucky - No. 934 - (opened 1982, closed Jan. 1990, now Kroger)
- Springfield, Ohio - No. 965 - (opened ?, closed 1991, now Kroger)
- Fairfield, Ohio - No. 967 - (opened ?, closed 1991)
- Ceredo, West Virginia - No. ??? - (opened in 1974, merged into Big Bear Plus store in 1993. Big Bear Plus closed on Jan. 15, 2004)
