T-R PHOTO BY SARA JORDAN-HEINTZ After months of speculation, it was announced this week Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., the parent company of Younkers, will go out of business. All its stores, including the Younkers, located at the Marshalltown Mall, will close within the next three months.

After months of speculation, it was announced this week Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., the parent company of Younkers, will go out of business with liquidation firms Great American Group and Tiger Capital Group being the highest bidders for the company’s assets, at $775.5 million. All of its stores, including the Younkers in Marshalltown, will close within the next three months.

Bon-Ton, which is headquartered in York, Pa. and Milwaukee, Wis., operates 250 stores under the Bon-Ton, Bergner’s, Boston Store, Carson’s, Elder-Beerman, Herberger’s and Younkers names. This week, it was revealed eight Younkers stores in Iowa would be closing by June 5. This news came after it was reported that Bon-Ton sent a notice to the Iowa Workforce Development on April 5 announcing store closures were coming, in accordance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

“Bon-Ton expects to provide more details about the liquidation plans and going out of business sales at its stores following approval of the winning bid by the Bankruptcy Court,” said Christine Hojnacki, vice president of public relations and special events with Bon-Ton.

In a statement released to the press, Bon-Ton CEO Bill Tracy said: “While we are disappointed by this outcome and tried very hard to identify bidders interested in operating the business as a going concern, we are committed to working constructively with the winning bidder to ensure an orderly wind-down of operations that minimizes the impact of this development on our associates, customers, vendors and the communities we serve. We are incredibly grateful to all of our associates for their dedicated service to Bon-Ton and to our millions of loyal customers who we have had the pleasure to serve as their hometown store for more than 160 years.”

Younkers in Marshalltown began its journey in the late 1800s. F.R. Benedict and Elias Lee were partners in a store located at 10 E. Main St. in Marshalltown. Herbert Grant (H.G.) Brintnall became their partner in 1901 and the store was renamed Benedict & Brintnall. It then relocated to 13-15 W. Main St. In 1919, W.L. Brintnall purchased Benedict’s interest in the business and the store became known as Brintnall & Brintnall. Brother Ken Brintnall joined as a partner in 1930. The store was known for its selection of women and children’s clothing, shoes, millinery (hats) and general dry goods. It also had a bargain basement. Lee Brintnall, Ken’s son, worked for the store from 1940-46.

In 1948, Younkers purchased Brintnalls, along with several other Iowa-based departments stores. The downtown store was closed and moved out to its current location at the Marshalltown Mall in the 1970s. Bon-Ton has owned the Younkers chain since 2006. Younkers was founded in Keokuk in 1856, with the first store opening in Des Moines in 1874.

Lynn Olberding, executive director of the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce, said the Younkers closing is bound to have a negative impact on the community.

“Anytime there’s a loss of a business — whether retail or service — in the community, it certainly has a negative economic impact,” she said. “Retail has been such a changing environment. Now, more than ever, the Chamber encourages people to ‘Think Local First’ and determine if the purchases for goods and services can be made locally. If they can, we must support these local businesses to ensure they stay in our community, providing jobs for our friends and neighbors.”

To help consumers stay up to date with the latest information, Bon-Ton created this website: www.bontonrestructuring.com.

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Contact Sara Jordan-Heintz at 641-753-6611 or sjordan@timesrepublican.com