Stix, Baer, Fuller

Grand--Leader (Stix, Baer & Fuller Dry Goods Co.) Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Show map of St. Louis Show map of Missouri Show map of the US
Location	601 Washington Ave., St. Louis, Missouri
Coordinates	38°37′57″N 90°11′23″W / 38.63250°N 90.18972°W / 38.63250; -90.18972Coordinates: 38°37′57″N 90°11′23″W / 38.63250°N 90.18972°W / 38.63250; -90.18972
Architect	Mauran, Russell & Crowell
Architectural style	Early Commercial
NRHP Reference #	03000650
Added to NRHP	July 17, 2003

Stix, Baer and Fuller (sometimes called "Stix" or SBF or the Grand Leader) was a department store chain in St. Louis, Missouri that operated from 1892 to 1984. Originally called the Grand Leader, the original central downtown store was located on the north side of Washington Avenue between Sixth and Seventh street and by 1920 had grown to encompass the entire city block.

The store was founded in 1892 by Charles Stix, brothers Julius Baer and Sigmond Baer, and Aaron Fuller. It was a public company, with its traded on the . The company was a longtime member of the American Merchandising Companies ("AMC"), a trade association of important, locally owned department stores across the United States. For many years the company was known as the leading high-end fashion store in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area, although a smaller competitor, Scruggs, Vandervoort and Barney, also vied for that position.

In 1937 Arthur B. Baer (1895-1970), the only son of Julius Baer (1861-1940), became President. At one point, Stix's largest shareholders were Arthur B. Baer, Sidney Baer and Leo C. Fuller, who were also the senior officers of the company. However, they hired a series of more experienced retailers to run the business as general managers. Those with the longest tenure were first, Morris Jelenko and later, Frank P. Wolff. The last general manager and president was J. Arthur Baer, son of Arthur B. Baer.

In 1966 the company was purchased by Associated Dry Goods (ADG) and eventually expanded into the Kansas City market.

Unable to compete against Famous-Barr, ADG sold the 13-store division in 1984 to Dillard's, which also re-branded the stores to the Dillard's name. The flagship store in downtown St. Louis, designed by John Mauran and built in stages between 1906 and 1991, was briefly closed and reopened in 1985 as part of the St. Louis Centre Mall, but would be shuttered in September 2001, amidst the mall's failure. The River Roads store was demolished along with the rest of shopping center. The store at the former Crestwood Plaza was demolished in Fall, 2016. (The remainder of the former Crestwood Plaza will also be demolished Winter 2016, and into 2017 for a new development.)