Strouss'

Strouss'
Southern Park Mall location. Opened 1970, Converted to Kaufmann's in 1986; considered to be flagship Strouss, at opening.
Formerly	Strouss-Hirshberg
Type	Private
Industry	Retail Department Store
Defunct	1986
Fate	Merged by the May Company with Kaufmann's
Successor	Kaufmann's
Headquarters	Youngstown, Ohio
Number of locations	12 at peak
Area served	Northeastern Ohio, Western Pennsylvania
Key people	C.J. Strouss
Products	Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products and housewares
Parent	May Company

Strouss' was a department store originating in Youngstown, Ohio, serving North-Eastern Ohio, and North-Western Pennsylvania. At its peak the chain operated approximately 12 locations in the form of malls, downtown spaces, and strip plaza locations.

History

The company was founded as Strouss-Hirshberg Co. by Isaac Strouss and Bernard Hirshberg, two young Americans of Jewish descent. It was long the leading department store in the Mahoning and Shenango Valleys. Under the ownership of May Department Stores, which purchased Strouss in 1947, its name was shortened to Strouss' (from Strouss' - Hirshberg) and was expanded throughout northern Ohio and western Pennsylvania under the leadership of C.J. Strouss, then president of Strouss.

In 1966, Strouss' opened at Boardman Plaza in Boardman Township, Ohio. In 1986, May Company made a corporate decision to consolidate the Strouss division into Kaufmann's. May Company promptly shut down many of its former locations in May of that year in part due to the depressed economy of the Youngstown metropolitan area and a strategic decision by May Company to focus on mall-only retail locations within the Kaufmann's division. Locations to be closed by May 30, 1986 included Austintown Plaza, downtown New Castle, Pennsylvania, and the long standing downtown Youngstown, Ohio stores.

Locations

• Austintown Plaza, Austintown, Ohio - Operated 1967-1987 (Closed Following May Company Merger)
• Boardman Plaza, Boardman, Ohio - Operated 1966-1970 (Moved to Southern Park Mall)
• Downtown New Castle, Pennsylvania - Operated -1986 (Closed following May Company Merger)
• Downtown Sharon, Pennsylvania - Operated 1954-1979 (Closed by Strouss)
• Downtown Salem, Ohio - Operated 1948-1985 (Closed by Strouss)
• Downtown Warren, Ohio - Operated 1940-1983 (Closed by Strouss)
• Downtown Youngstown, Ohio - Operated until 1986 (Closed following May Company Merger)
• Eastwood Mall, Niles, Ohio - Operated 1969-1986 (Converted to Kaufmann's)
• Liberty Plaza, Liberty, Ohio - Operated until 1987 (Closed following May Company Merger)
• Shenango Valley Mall, Hermitage, Pennsylvania - Operated 1977-1986 (Converted to Kaufmann's)
• Southern Park Mall, Boardman, Ohio - Operated 1970-1986 (Converted to Kaufmann's)

See also

• List of department stores converted to Macy's

References

• EXECUTIVE CHANGES. (29 April 1982). The New York Times.
• THE MAY DEPARTMENT STORES CO. ANNOUNCES ELECTIONS. (15 July 1985). PR Newswire.
• MAY STORES COMBINES TWO RETAIL DIVISIONS. (3 January 1986). Wall Street Journal.
• MAY DEPT STORES COMBINES STROUSS, KAUFMANN'S DIVISIONS. (2 January 1986). Dow Jones News Service.
• Store Consolidation Seen at Federated. (18 January 1986). The New York Times.
• MAY DEPARTMENT STORES REPORTS RECORD FIRST QUARTER NET EARNINGS AND SALES. (20 May 1986). PR Newswire.
• MAY DEPARTMENT STORES CO reports earnings for Qtr to May 3. (21 May 1986). The New York Times.
• THE MAY DEPARTMENT STORES CO. REPORTS THIRD QUARTER AND FIRST NINE MONTHS SALES AND EARNINGS. (18 November 1986). PR Newswire.
• Old department stores see new development. (11 August 1990). The Plain Dealer.
• Old stores get new look. (11 August 1990). The Plain Dealer.
• May Department Stores Co. (26 September 1990). Advertising Age.
• Fred L. Gronvall Sr. (11 October 1997). The Patriot Ledger.
• Dillard's edit on database. (16 November 2001). The Youngstown Vindicator.
• Youngstown, Ohio, Department Store Keeps Kaufmann's Name despite Consolidation. (10 August 2002). The Youngstown Vindicator.
• Kaufmann's to keep name despite consolidation. (10 August 2002). The Youngstown Vindicator.
• City awards contract for razing of parking deck. (21 April 2000). The Youngstown Vindicator.

Further reading

• Welsh, Thomas (2012). Strouss': Youngstown's Dependable Store. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781614238102.