Defunct Business Tapestries
Description: Bradlees Department Store, more commonly known as Bradlees, was a discount department store chain based in Braintree, Massachusetts, which operated primarily in the Northeastern United States. Bradlees sold various retail items in its stores, including clothing, jewelry, health care, beauty products, footwear, furniture, electronics, housewares, and bedding. At its peak in 2000, Bradlees operated over 105 stores in seven states across the Northeast, with close to 10,000 employees. The chain went through Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2000, with all of its stores eventually closed by March 15, 2001.
Description: Caldor was a discount department store chain founded in 1951 by husband and wife Carl and Dorothy Bennett, hence the name, Cal-Dor. Referred to by many as an upscale discounter, Caldor grew from a second story “Walk-Up-&-Save” operation in Port Chester, New York, into a regional retailing giant. Its stores were earning over $1 billion in sales by the time Mr. Bennett retired in 1985, by which time Caldor was a subsidiary of Associated Dry Goods. Despite its successes, Caldor suffered from financial issues by the ’90s, and the company was liquidated, with all 145 stores closing by May 1999.
