Marshalls, Inc., is a chain of American department stores owned by TJX Companies.
Marshalls has over 750 conventional stores, as well as larger stores named Marshalls
Mega Store, covering 42 states and Puerto Rico. Marshalls is the U.S.'s
second largest off-price family apparel and home fashion retailer, behind its sister
company, TJ Maxx. Since Summer 2006, actress Wendie Malick has provided the
voice over for Marshalls' commercials.
Marshalls traces its history
to 1956, when Alfred Marshall gathered a band of innovative entrepreneurs on
the East Coast. Contemplating the dual postwar phenomena of a boom in the economy
and growth in the suburbs, Marshall and associates came upon a way to meet
it profitably. Together, they opened a self-service department store in Beverly,
Massachusetts, offering apparel and homewares at alluringly low prices.
The concept proved extremely successful; ten years later, Marshalls had become
the leading off-price retail chain in the nation. Given the volatility of the
American economy in the 1970s, with recession affecting the spending habits of
most shoppers, the off-price industry gathered speed. By buying up manufacturers’
post-season, over-run, and close-out stock, Marshalls was able to offer fashionable,
high-quality “designer” items at prices 20 to 60 percent less than those
of the department stores.
In 1975, Marshalls was acquired by the
Melville Corporation (owner of CVS). By 1993 Marshalls had expanded throughout
42 states including Hawaii, and had opened several downtown locations. In 1995,
Marshalls was purchased by TJX, the parent company of its main rival, TJ Maxx,
from the Melville Corporation for US$606 million. |
