K's Merchandise Mart

K's Merchandise Mart, Inc.
Former type	Corporation (privately held)
Industry	Retail
Fate	Liquidated
Founded	Decatur, Illinois, U.S. 1957
Founder	Kay and Raymond "Ray" Eldridge Sr.[1][2]
Defunct	January 2007
Headquarters	Decatur, Illinois, U.S.
Number of locations	17 stores (at closing)[1]
Area served	Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky[1]
Key people	Bill Weinstein (last president)[1]
Services	Catalog merchant
Owner	family owned (until 2000s); Gordon Brothers Group[1]
Divisions	Bargain's Only

K's Merchandise Mart, Inc. (usually known as simply K's Merchandise) was a catalog showroom department store based in Decatur, Illinois.[2] It offered furniture, jewelry, and general merchandise, including electronics, at 17 locations in 5 Midwestern states at the time of its closing.[1][3]

K's was founded in 1957 by Raymond "Ray" Eldridge Sr. and his brother Kay.[1][2] However, by the 2000s, competition from big box stores had eroded K's sales for years, though it had 17 locations in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, and Kentucky. Boston's Gordon Brothers Group took over the company from the original family, appointing Bill Weinstein as president. After an attempt at turning around the stores' operations, K's announced on October 3, 2006 that it would liquidate and close to pay off its creditors in full.[1]

K's Merchandise also operated four chain stores by the name of Bargains Only, with locations in Mt Zion, Champaign, Springfield and Peoria, Illinois. These stores closely resembled a TJ Maxx style offering, with clothing, household goods and furniture. They closed in front of their parent stores, with the final store closing in October 2006 in Mt. Zion.

References

Reid, Tony (2006-10-03). "K's Merchandise closing". The Pantagraph. Bloomington, Illinois: Lee Enterprises. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
Murphy, H. Lee (2009-12-18). "Liquidation closes book on K's chain; Catalog showroom victim of big retailers". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
"K's Merchandise Mart, Inc". BusinessWeek-Capital IQ Company Insight Center. McGraw-Hill. Retrieved 2009-09-21.

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[pant-closing-1] Reid, Tony (2006-10-03). "K's Merchandise closing". The Pantagraph. Bloomington, Illinois: Lee Enterprises. Retrieved 2009-09-21.

[crain-liq-2] Murphy, H. Lee (2009-12-18). "Liquidation closes book on K's chain; Catalog showroom victim of big retailers". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 2009-09-21.

[bw-shapshot-3] "K's Merchandise Mart, Inc". BusinessWeek-Capital IQ Company Insight Center. McGraw-Hill. Retrieved 2009-09-21.