Mervyns is a department store chain based in Hayward, California. It carries national
brands of clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products,
electronics, and housewares. Many of the company's stores are found in shopping
malls. As of December 2006 Mervyns had 189 stores in 10 states. However, Mervyns
closed all of their locations in Oregon and Washington by February 2007, reducing
its store count to 172 stores in 8 states. The company said it closed underperforming
locations that did not contribute to the company's success. Based
on 2005 revenue, Mervyns is the eighty-third largest retailer in the United States.
Mervin
G. Morris was born in Delano, California. His family had
a small department store in Delano where he worked during his youth. Though
he started college at U.C. Berkeley, he soon had to return home when his father
became ill. He never returned to college. He eventually left Delano, however,
to become a captain in the United States Army during World War II. After the war,
Mervin Morris married Roslyn ("Roz") Grossman. Mervin and Roz Morris have four
children and thirteen grandchildren.
The first Mervyns store opened
in 1949 in San Lorenzo, California, named after the founder Mervin G. Morris
(and adopting the misspelling on the company's first sign). However, the Dayton
Hudson Corporation (later known as Target Corporation) acquired the company in
1978. |
