Search this site
Embedded Files
Zayre88
  • Home
    • BonanzaPonderosa
  • About us
  • Retail Timeline
  • Closed store list
  • Closed store chains
    • Almys
    • Ames
    • Ann & Hope
    • Bradlees
    • Caldor
    • Giant
    • Globe
    • Jamesway
    • JM Fields
    • Hills
    • King's
    • Mammoth Mart
    • Mars
    • Rich's
      • richs-pictures
    • Stuart's
    • Woolco
    • Woolworth
    • WT Grant
    • Zayre
  • Current retailers
    • Home Depot
    • kohls
    • target
    • Lowes
    • walmart
    • kmart
    • Sears
    • Costco
  • New England Malls
    • Airport Mall
    • Airport Plaza
    • Ames Plaza Dover
    • Ames Plaza Brunswick
    • AmesPC_Plaza
    • Apple Tree Mall
    • Aroostook Centre Mall
    • Auburn Mall
    • Auburn Plaza
    • Auburndale Plaza
    • Augusta Plaza
    • Bangor Mall
    • Bangor Parkade
    • Barre Plaza
    • Bedford Mall
    • Belknap Mall
    • Bradlees Plaza
    • Bradlees Plaza Concord
    • Broadway Plaza
    • Caldor Plaza
    • Capitol Shopping Center
    • Capitol Shopping Plaza
    • Center for Shopping
    • Center Street Plaza
    • Champlain Centre North
    • Champlain Centre South
    • Christmas Tree Shops Plaza
    • Christmas Tree Shops Center
    • Cooks Corner Mall
    • Crossroads Plaza
    • Derby Plaza
    • Diamond Run Mall
    • Dollar Tree Plaza
    • Dover Plaza
    • Durgin Square
    • East Side Plaza
    • Ellsworth Shopping Center
    • Elm Plaza
    • Exeter Commons
    • Fairbanks Plaza
    • Falmouth Shopping Center
    • Fairgrounds Markeplace
    • Five Point shopping center
    • Fort Eddy Plaza
    • Fox Run Mall
    • Globe Plaza Nashua
    • Globe Shopping Mall
    • Green Mountain Mall
    • Harbor Plaza
    • Hatch Plaza
    • Hood Commons
    • Indian Brook Commons
    • JFK Plaza
    • Kennebec Village
    • Key Road Plaza
    • Kings Hy-Way Plaza
    • Kings Plaza
    • Kmart Plaza West Lebanon
    • Kmart Plaza Salem
    • Lafayette Crossing
    • Lafayette Plaza
    • Lake Shore Marketplace
    • Lewiston Mall
    • Lilac Mall
    • Maine Coast Mall
    • Maine Crossing
    • Maine Mall
    • Mall of NH
    • Mall Plaza
    • Mallside Plaza
    • Mardens Plaza
    • Marshalls Mall
    • Market Basket Plaza
    • Merrymeeting Plaza
    • Merrimack 360
    • Millcreek Plaza
    • Miromar Outlet Mall
    • Mount Auburn Plaza
    • Mount Blue Plaza
    • Mountain Valley Mall
    • Nashua Mall
    • Newington Mall
    • Newport Plaza
    • Northport Plaza
    • Northway Plaza
    • Orion Center
    • Pentucket Plaza
    • Pine Tree Shopping Center
    • Plattsburgh Plaza
    • Port Plaza Portsmouth
    • Port Plaza
    • Renys Plaza
    • River Valley Crossing
    • Riverside Plaza
    • RKPlaza
    • Rochester Mall
    • Rochester Market Place
    • Rock Row
    • Rockland Plaza
    • Rockingham Mall
    • Royal Ridge Center
    • Rutland Mall
    • Saco Valley Shopping Center
    • Sanford Plaza
    • Salem Plaza
    • Scarborough Gallery
    • Seabrook Commons
    • Seabrook Plaza
    • Seabrook Southgate
    • Seacoast Plaza
    • Shaws Plaza
    • Skowhegan Plaza
    • Skowhegan Village
    • Somerset Plaza
    • Shops at Biddeford Crossing
    • Shops at Clarks Pond
    • South Willow Plaza
    • Southgate Plaza
    • Southgate Plaza nashua
    • Steeplegate Mall
    • Stateline Plaza
    • Stuarts Plaza
    • The Concourse
    • The Promenade
    • Tilton Center
    • Topsham Fair Mall
    • Topsham Landing
    • Townline Plaza
    • Tri City Plaza
    • Turner Street Center
    • Turnpike Mall
    • Turnpike Plaza
    • University Mall
    • Upper Valley Mall
    • Valley Square Plaza
    • Waterville Commons
    • Walmart Plaza
    • Wells Plaza
    • West Gate Plaza
    • Westbrook Plaza
    • Westgate Mall
    • West Side Plaza
    • West Street Shopping Center
    • Whiteholm Farm Plaza
    • Windham Mall
    • Winnipesaukee Crossing
  • Closeout stores
    • Christmas Tree Shops
    • Chapter11
    • Big Lots
    • Building 19
    • Marden's
    • Ocean State Job Lot
    • Renys
    • Wisebuys
    • Ollies
  • Discount retail in Canada
  • Links
  • Contact us
Zayre88
  • Headquarters: Norwalk, CT

  • President: Warren D. Feldberg

  • Employees: 22,000

  • Stores: 145

  • Slogan: Bring home the difference

  • Founded: 1951

  • Closed: 1999

COMMENTARY:

Unfortunately, I have never visited a Caldor store before. I have learned about the chain online and through a past co-worker of mine who worked there. Apparently Caldor was a neat discount store chain. It had about 145 stores in 9 states of the east coast at the end. Looking at pictures of Caldor stores of the past, one could see that it was standing out in a crowd of aging discount store chains. Caldor had many modern-looking stores, nice logo and color scheme. Even if the chain was larger than Bradlees, it bankrupted sooner due to increased competition from Walmart and others. 22,000 employees lost their job with the Caldor closure in 1999. Caldor only had one store in New Hampshire, in Bedford near Manchester.

 OVERVIEW:

Caldor was founded in 1951 by Carl and Dorothy Bennett, who combined their first names to form "Caldor'' and opened one small store in Port Chester, N.Y.  The Bennetts sold Caldor to Associated Dry Goods Corp., and in 1986, ADG merged with the May Department Stores Co. In 1991, Caldor went public and grew into a company with $2.5 billion in annual sales. In later years, Caldor failed to distinguish itself from other regional discounters, like Ames Department Stores, and couldn't compete with retail giants like Walmart, Kmart and Target. Caldor once had 166 stores and 24,000 employees.

Caldor's slide into liquidation was nothing if not gradual. When it entered Chapter 11 in September 1995, the move was widely viewed as strategic, a way to deal with vendors and factors that had grown nervous concerning Northeastern discount chains in the wake of Bradlees' bankruptcy filing, and to ensure adequate stocks for the Christmas season. Shortly before its filing, Caldor's balance sheet included $1.2 billion in assets and $883 million in liabilities.  In February 1998, Caldor announced they would close twelve stores.

In February of 1999, it was the end of the road for the 4th. largest retail chain in America. Caldor's 22,000 workers took home pink slips for their trouble. 145 stores in nine states were put up for lease. After 48 years, and annual sales of $2.49 billion, the going out of business sales at Caldors began.

Ironically, Caldor's one-time sister chain under the May Co. umbrella, Venture Stores, had a few months earlier announced its liquidation owing to myriad problems that it could not overcome. Some observers on that fall morning believed that similar challenges still faced Caldor. Yet here, once again, as Caldor was gearing up for a 1999 turnaround and perhaps anticipated celebrating a half-century of retailing in 2001, the same old story is being told about a retailer once hailed for its success and innovation that fought like a champion to survive.

 PICTURES:

Caldor cart spotted at a Building 19 store.

A Caldor cart seen at Building 19 in Nashua NH.

 This website is not affiliated with the former Caldor chain.

 © 2000-2025 Zayre88 unless otherwise noted, All Rights Reserved. This website is not affiliated with any retailers or shopping centers. For the most accurate and current information about stores and malls, visit their official websites. All company names are property of their respective owners. Disclaimer
Almy's  Ames   Ann&Hope   Bradlees   Caldor   Giant  Globe   Hills   Jamesway  JM Fields   King's   Mammoth Mart  Rich's   Stuart's  W.T.Grant  Woolco   Woolworth   Zayre
Google Sites
Report abuse
Google Sites
Report abuse