Dearden's

Dearden's was a chain of furniture stores based in Los Angeles, that operated for 108 years. It was founded in 1909 by Edgar Dearden, an immigrant from England. Dearden's sold furniture, appliances, cookware, other home goods, watches, and perfume. It also provided services such as check cashing, travel planning, tax preparation and bill paying. In its last decades, it targeted lower-income Latino clients, especially immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.[1] Dearden's offered its own credit, which it extended to many Latino immigrant customers for whom it was the first credit, and for many of whom it was difficult to get regular credit cards. For some undocumented immigrants in the 1990s, documents from Dearden's established that they were present in the country and helped in the process of receiving amnesty in order to become legal residents of the U.S.[2]

Dearden's newspaper ad, 1920

The flagship was at 700 S. Main Street (Los Angeles), with five stories and 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2). In 2006 the chain had sales of $100 million[3]

In its last decades the Dearden's jingle proclaimed on its commercials on Spanish-language television: "Dearden's, es la tienda más grande, al servicio de usted" ("Dearden's is the largest store at your service").

At the time it closed, it had 420 employees and branch locations, including many area Latino strongholds, in Anaheim, Chino, Commerce, Huntington Park, La Puente, Santa Ana, and Van Nuys.[1]

References
  1. Vincent, Roger (June 1, 2017). "Dearden's furniture stores to close after 108 years in Los Angeles area". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  2. "Good Credit: For immigrant Latinos, Dearden's department store is bank and benefactor". Los Angeles Times advertising supplement. October 19, 1997. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  3. "Dearden's joins 100 club". Los Angeles Times. March 5, 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
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