White Front
 |
|
| Discount store | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1929 |
| Defunct | 1975 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California |
| Products | clothing, footwear, housewares, sporting goods, hardware, toys, electronics, groceries |
White Front was a chain of discount stores in Southern California and the western United States from 1959 through the mid-1970s. They were noted for the architecture of their store fronts which was an enormous, sweeping archway with the store name spelled out in individual letters fanned across the top.
The name White Front was said to refer to the practice of lining up appliances (so-called "white goods") like washers, dryers and stoves in front of the store, giving it a "White Front." Another feature of each store was that each had a separate key booth located in the parking lot.
The company was founded in 1929 in Los Angeles and opened its first store at 7651 S. Central Ave. Their second store open in October 1957 at 16040 Sherman Way in Van Nuys. In April 1959, the two stores were acquired by Interstate Department Stores, Inc. for $1,650,000 in cash and shares. Interstate expanded the chain to other California locations and broadened its retail mix beyond the original housewares. In September 1960, Interstate also acquired Topps, which at the time had ten stores. For several years, White Front was the leading discount store in the United States.
In 1970, the company made an abortive attempt to expand into Oregon at the Mall 205 in Portland, Oregon. A television ad campaign to introduce the store featured Allen Ludden of Password fame (most store openings were promoted by Hollywood stars). The Portland store failed largely due to complications with coordinating sale ads printed in Southern California with deliveries of the advertised merchandise to Portland. White Front lacked a distribution warehouse outside of California, which caused logistics problems. Frustrated by the inability to buy advertised specials at the remote suburban store, traffic diminished, numerous complaints were filed, and the store closed in 1974.
White Front entered the Seattle/Tacoma market of Washington State October 19, 1967 with the North Seattle location in a 155,000 square foot building and a parking lot with a 1,000 vehicle capacity. The grand opening was hosted by the stars of Petticoat Junction, Howard Duff, and the former Miss Washington of 1958, Sharon Vaughn (who was known as Miss White Front for the opening). It was televised live for three hours on KING-TV. Four additional stores were built in high-traffic areas in Burien, Tacoma, Bellevue, and Everett. All but the Everett location were all closed by January 19 of 1973 (along with locations in Northern California and Oregon). The last White Front ad appeared in The Seattle Times on December 9, 1972. The Everett and Portland stores remained open (the only two locations to remain open outside of California) while the remaining stores' merchandise was liquidated until February 1973. According to a December 14 article in The Seattle Times, the company stated that "the five stores hadn't begun to turn a profit". Due to the struggling economy of the "Boeing Bust" of the late 1960s and early 1970s, this could have played a role in the downturn of the chain in the area as well as the lack of a local distribution center. Three of the four closed stores were acquired by Weisfields to become Valu-Mart/Leslie's stores by the end of 1973. The grocery sections were leased to Associated Grocers. The Tacoma White Front store has seen many ownership changes: first as a Valu-Mart/Leslie's store (acquired in February 1973), later a Jafco and then a Best store (currently Michael's). The Burien store became the flagship store for Valu-Mart/Leslie's (currently Fred Meyer). It was acquired from White Front in February 1973. The Burien location is one of the larger Fred Meyer stores in the chain. The North Seattle store became a Kmart (closed in January 2013). The Everett store (appears to have remained opened until the company's complete liquidation in 1974 according to Everett Mall leasing records) was integrated into Everett Mall in 1977 to become a Bon Marché and then Macy's. The Bellevue store was acquired by Valu-Mart/Leslie's as well in November 1973 and became a Fred Meyer as well. The towering store signs used for their locations remain visible at the North Seattle and Tacoma sites.
...
Wikipedia