Weiner's
Encyclopedia
Weiner's Stores, Inc., was a clothing retailer with its headquarters in Spring Branch and in Houston, Texas
.
, Lithuania
. The first shop was located on what was then the outskirts of Houston. In 1932 the firm filed for bankruptcy during the Great Depression
.
Greg Hassell and Deidra M. Lemons of the Houston Chronicle
said that Weiner's achieved "its zenith" in 1994, when it had 158 locations. Its locations were in Texas and Louisiana. In 1995 the company received a lot of debt and began cutting locations. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 1995, ended 27 locations, and unloaded $40 million worth of old merchandise that was in its warehouses. In August 1997 the company emerged from bankruptcy protection.
In October 2000 the company declared bankruptcy again. The company announced that it was closing 44 of the 141 stores that it was operating at the time. The bankruptcy protection filing was due to decreasing sales of name brand products. According to Weiner's spokesperson Lee Butler, since 1995, Weiner's had not achieved profitability at all. The Houston Business Journal said in an editorial that Weiner's "struggled to emerge from the shadows of big-box competitors like Wal-Mart and Target, which attracted customers with one-stop retail shopping." In 2001 Weiner's announced that it was changing its name to Weiner's Plus.
On Tuesday June 26, 2001, after 75 years of operation, the company announced that it was liquidating; all 97 of its stores would close, and all 2,900 employees would be laid off. Tropical Storm Allison
, which had flooded seven of its stores, was the final factor that caused the liquidation, since the company did not have flood insurance
. At the time of liquidation the company had 97 stores in four states, including 24 stores in Houston and 9 stores in other places in Greater Houston
. Some of the 200 people working at the company headquarters and distribution center were laid off on the Tuesday that the announcement was made.
After Weiner's closed, National Stores
(Fallas Paredes) took over many of the store locations that were held by Weiner's. National Stores acquired 31 of the 97 Houston-area Weiner's leases.
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
History
Weiner's was founded by Isidore Weiner in 1926. Weiner was an immigrant from VilniusVilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. The first shop was located on what was then the outskirts of Houston. In 1932 the firm filed for bankruptcy during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
Greg Hassell and Deidra M. Lemons of the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
said that Weiner's achieved "its zenith" in 1994, when it had 158 locations. Its locations were in Texas and Louisiana. In 1995 the company received a lot of debt and began cutting locations. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 1995, ended 27 locations, and unloaded $40 million worth of old merchandise that was in its warehouses. In August 1997 the company emerged from bankruptcy protection.
In October 2000 the company declared bankruptcy again. The company announced that it was closing 44 of the 141 stores that it was operating at the time. The bankruptcy protection filing was due to decreasing sales of name brand products. According to Weiner's spokesperson Lee Butler, since 1995, Weiner's had not achieved profitability at all. The Houston Business Journal said in an editorial that Weiner's "struggled to emerge from the shadows of big-box competitors like Wal-Mart and Target, which attracted customers with one-stop retail shopping." In 2001 Weiner's announced that it was changing its name to Weiner's Plus.
On Tuesday June 26, 2001, after 75 years of operation, the company announced that it was liquidating; all 97 of its stores would close, and all 2,900 employees would be laid off. Tropical Storm Allison
Tropical Storm Allison
Tropical Storm Allison was a tropical storm that devastated southeast Texas in June of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season. The first storm of the season, Allison lasted an unusually long period of time for a June storm, remaining tropical or subtropical for 15 days...
, which had flooded seven of its stores, was the final factor that caused the liquidation, since the company did not have flood insurance
Flood insurance
Flood insurance denotes the specific insurance coverage against property loss from flooding. To determine risk factors for specific properties, insurers will often refer to topographical maps that denote lowlands, floodplains and floodways that are susceptible to flooding.-Hidden floods:Nationwide,...
. At the time of liquidation the company had 97 stores in four states, including 24 stores in Houston and 9 stores in other places in Greater Houston
Greater Houston
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...
. Some of the 200 people working at the company headquarters and distribution center were laid off on the Tuesday that the announcement was made.
After Weiner's closed, National Stores
National Stores
National Stores Inc. is a chain of clothing retail stores with headquarters in the Harbor Gateway area of Los Angeles, California; the headquarters is located near the City of Gardena. The chains operated by National Stores include Factory 2-U, Fallas Discount Stores, Fallas Kids, and Fallas Paredes...
(Fallas Paredes) took over many of the store locations that were held by Weiner's. National Stores acquired 31 of the 97 Houston-area Weiner's leases.
External links
- Weiner's (Archive)