Parisian

Parisian is a chain of department stores, founded in Birmingham and has recently been sold by Birmingham-based Saks, Inc. to Belk Inc. of Charlotte, North Carolina.

History

The chain was founded by sisters Bertha and Estella Sommers under the name Parisian Dry Goods & Millinery Company in 1887. In 1945, Parisian adopted an aggressive program of brand-name merchandising and enhanced customer service as it expanded. In 1983 it became a publicly traded company and it joined Proffitt's Inc., in 1996. In September of 1998, Proffitt’s, Inc. and Saks Holdings, Inc. completed a merger transaction where Saks Fifth Avenue and its Off 5th outlet stores became the Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises division of Proffitt’s, Inc. At that time, Proffitt’s, Inc. was renamed Saks, Inc.

Particularly in its larger markets, Parisian was placed in a marketing tier between the luxury-oriented Saks chain and the company's other more moderate nameplates. At its height, Saks, Inc. operated more than 250 mid-level to high end department stores under its Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises group, the Parisian division, the Northern Department Store Group (Younkers, Herberger's, Carson Pirie Scott, Bergner's, Boston Store), and its Southern Department Store Group (Proffitt's and McRae's) — plus more than 50 Club Libby Lu specialty shops.

Following the divesting of its Southern Department Store Group in July 2005 to Belk, Inc., and the March 2006 sale of its Northern Department Store Group (controlled under the divisional umbrella of Carson Pirie Scott) to Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., for $1.1 billion, Parisian survives as a division that emphasizes its service, fashion, and specialty items much like its New York-born corporate sibling. Though it shares several markets with SFA, many of Parisian's markets are comparatively smaller in scale.

Parisian currently operates 38 stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The President and CEO of Parisian is Toni Browning. In August 2006, Saks announced that Charlotte, North Carolina-based Belk Inc. would purchase its Parisian division for $285 million, including 38 stores, a 125,000 square foot distribution center on Lakeshore Parkway, and a 180,000 square foot distribution center in Steele. They plan to close the distribution center in Steele and convert all the stores to the "Belk's" nameplate in 2007, most likely closing stores in locations where both are represented. Belk had previously purchased the Proffitt's and McRae's brands from Saks in 2005.

Current Parisian Locations

• Alabama
  • Birmingham - Amsouth-Harbert Plaza (flagship), Summit
  • Homewood - Brookwood Village,
  • Hoover - Riverchase Galleria
  • Trussville - Pinnacle at Tutwiler Farm (planned, 100,000 SF)
  • Decatur - Colonial Mall Decatur
  • Dothan - Wiregrass Commons
  • Florence - Regency Square
  • Gadsden - Gadsden Mall (formerly McRae's)
  • Huntsville - Madison Square, Parkway Place
  • Mobile - Bel Air Mall
  • Montgomery - Eastdale Mall
  • Tuscaloosa - University Mall (formerly McRae's)
• Arkansas
  • Rogers - Pleasant Crossing (100,000 SF)
  • Little Rock - Pleasant Ridge Town Center (120,000 SF)
• Florida
  • Jacksonville - The Avenues
  • Pensacola - Cordova Mall
  • Tallahassee - Tallahassee Mall
• Georgia
  • Alpharetta - North Point Mall
  • Atlanta - Northlake Mall, Phipps Plaza
  • Columbus - Peachtree Mall
  • Douglasville - Arbor Place Mall, (opened 1999)
  • Duluth - Gwinnett Place Mall
  • Kennesaw - Town Center Mall
  • Lithonia - The Mall at Stonecrest
  • Macon - Macon Mall
• Indiana
  • Indianapolis - Circle Centre, The Fashion Mall
• Michigan
  • Clinton Township - Partridge Creek Fashion Park (120,000 SF, opening 2007)
  • Livonia - Laurel Park Place
  • Rochester Hills - The Village of Rochester Hills (opened 2002)
• Mississippi
  • Ridgeland - Renaissance Colony Park (130,000 SF, opening 2007)
  • Tupelo - The Mall at Barnes Crossing
• Ohio
  • Beavercreek - Fairfield Commons
  • Cincinnati - Kenwood Towne Centre
• South Carolina
  • Charleston - Citadel Mall
  • Columbia - Richland Mall
• Tennessee
  • Chattanooga - Hamilton Place Mall
  • Collierville - The Avenue Carriage Crossing (124,000 SF, opened October 2005)
  • Franklin - Coolsprings Galleria
  • Knoxville - West Town Mall

Former locations

• Birmingham - Western Hills Mall - (129,000 SF, closed March 2005), Eastwood Mall (1969-January 2005, 130,000 SF), and Five Points West (closed July 1999)
• Montgomery - Montgomery Mall (closed March 2006)
• Cincinnati, Ohio - Beechmont Mall (closed July 1999), and Forest Fair (closed June 1998)
• Columbia, South Carolina - Columbiana Centre (95,000 SF, closed February 2006)
• Greenville, South Carolina - Greenville Mall (120,000 SF, became Proffitt's in 1999; closed in 2004)

References

• "Parisian." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 3 May 2006, 01:26 UTC. 16 May 2006, 19:03 [1].
• "Saks sells Parisian to Belk for $285M" (August 2, 2006) Birmingham Business Journal

Trivia

• Jon Coffelt, while living in Birmingham, Alabama, was commissioned by store designer, Jim Mitchell to paint over 100 works for the Parisian Department Store chain beginning in 1988 helping to launch his career as a visual artist. Coffelt currently lives and works in New York City.

External links

• Parisian website
• Saks, Inc. corporate website