Lechmere, Inc.
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| Industry | Retail |
|---|---|
| Fate | Liquidation |
| Founded | June 5, 1913 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. later Woburn, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Defunct | November 7, 1997 |
| Headquarters | New England, U.S. |
| Products | Electronics, housewares, appliances, exercise equipment, footwear and music |
Lechmere (/ˈliːtʃmɪər/; sometimes described as Lechmere's) was a New England retail store that closed in 1997. It had 24 stores located throughout New England and New York, offering electronics and appliances.
The chain began in June 1913 when Abraham "Pop" Cohen opened a harness shop in Cambridge, Massachusetts. When his three sons Maurice, Philip and Norman and daughter Nan entered the business in the 1940s, it evolved into a tire and automotive store and later into a consumer appliance store. Household goods, televisions, and other goods were added to the merchandising mix in the 1950s, as were luggage, sporting goods, toys, and lawn and garden accessories. The first store moved to a former bus garage on 88 First Street in 1956, furthering the expansion of merchandise mix. Lechmere also began advertising on television in the 1950s, and ended all of its prices in 88 to represent the store's address.
The First Street building was expanded in 1962 to a 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) store, to which office equipment, jewelry,hardware and further goods were added. A second store later opened in 1965 in Dedham. In order to capitalize further growth, the Cohens sold the chain to Dayton's, a department store based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that later became Target Corp. Dayton maintained Lechmere as a separate subsidiary, and opened stores in Danvers and Springfield.
As the Cohens withdrew control of the chain, its merchandise mix changed to a discount department store line. Due to declining sales, the chain began cutting prices as well. Stores in Framingham and Manchester, New Hampshire followed in 1977.
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