Chess King
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| Industry | Clothing |
|---|---|
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Defunct | November 14, 1995 |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Parent | Merry Go Round Enterprises (MGRE) |
Chess King was a United States men's clothing retailer created by the Melville Corporation. From its founding in 1968 it grew to over 500 locations by the mid 1980s, before an eventual decline, sale, and closure of the chain in 1995. Despite its name it never had anything to do with chess.
Since 2009, the Florida company Chessqueen, Inc. DBA Chess King has trademarked the term "Chess King" in several categories, all related to the game of chess, in the USA and internationally. Their main product is the chess analysis software "Chess King".
In 1967, traveling salespeople from Melville's Thom McAn shoe business noted a "wide open market" for young men's clothing, which gave birth to the idea of starting a young men's clothing and shoe store. Market research reportedly found that chess and auto racing were popular interests of young men.
The first Chess King branch opened in the Dedham Mall in Dedham, Massachusetts (just outside Boston), in March 1968. In 1970, The New York Times described the store's concept as "teen-male apparel dress shops whose stores are highly identifiable, with bold coloring and designs aimed at appealing to the 12-to-20 male market." Five additional locations were opened in 1968, and 21 more in 1969. By late 1972, it had already grown to about 150 locations. By 1978, it had 300 locations. And by 1984, it had grown to over 500 stores.
The retailer was successful through the 1980s as a purveyor of wild '80s fads and fashion, but changing fashion trends contributed to the chain falling on hard times at the beginning of the 1990s.
Chess King was sold in 1993 to Merry Go Round Enterprises (MGRE), and in January 1994, MGRE filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. In November 1995, the Chess King chain was closed.
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