Mercantile Stores

About Mercantile

Mercantile Stores Company Inc. was a traditional department store retailer operating 102 fashion apparel stores and 16 home fashion stores in 17 states. The stores are operated under 13 different trade names and vary in size, with the average store approximating 170,000 square feet. Each store offers a wide selection of merchandise with special emphasis placed of fashion apparel, accessories and fashion home furnishings. This is aimed at middle and upper-middle income consumers. In addition to its department store operations the company maintains a partnership position in five operating shopping center ventures. Each of these centers has a retail outlet of the company. In 1998 they were bought out by Dillard's stores.

Mercantile's Divisions

Castner Knott, Root's, McAlpin's, Lion's and Bacon's (Midwest)
J.B. White, Maison Blanche, and Gayfers (South)
Jones Stores Co. and Joslins (West)
De Lendrecies, Glass Block and Hennessy's (Northwest)

Becoming Dillard's

Dillard's Inc., Little Rock, Ark., will buy Mercantile Stores Co., Fairfield, Ohio, for $80 per share or approximately $2.9 billion in cash. Mercantile operates 103 predominantly fashion apparel stores and 16 home fashion stores in 17 states, primarily in the South, Southeast and Midwest. Operating under 13 different names and managed by five regional divisions, Mercantile's sales for fiscal year 1997 exceeded $3 billion. "The stores are a great fit for the Dillard's location strategy, ranging from urban to less populated areas. They have achieved the No. 1 market position in 70% of their markets," said William Dillard II, CEO.