Gadzooks (retailer)

Gadzooks, Inc. was a mall-based teenage clothing retailer.[1] It was acquired by Forever 21 in 2005 and then shut down. Gadzooks stores had a life-size version of part of a Volkswagen Beetle inside.[2] Dozens of the cars were sawed in half for use as displays throughout its locations during the 1990s.[3]

This article is about the defunct clothing retailer. For other uses, see Gadzooks.
Gadzooks, Inc.
Founded1983 (1983)
FounderJerry Szczepanski
Larry Titus
DefunctMarch 17, 2005 (2005-03-17)
FateAcquired by Forever 21 and shut down
HeadquartersCarrollton, Texas

History

The company was founded in 1983 as a T-shirt business[4] by brothers-in-law Jerry Szczepanski and Larry Titus, and inspired by the shopping habits of Szczepanski's teenage sons.[5] The first store was in Mesquite, Texas.[6] In order to fill floorspace, the founders displayed an "old, white Volks-wagen bug" in the store.

By 1992, the company had 33 stores in Texas.[6] In 1995, the company became a public company via an initial public offering and within three months, the share price quadrupled from $15 to $61.[6] That year the company had 195 stores.[7] In 2000, the company operated 330 Gadzooks in 35 states.[8]

In 2003, in response to heightened competition, the company retooled, shifting from being a "mini-department store", and dropping its male clothing line,[5] to focus exclusively on 16- to 22-year-old females,[9] which proved a fatal shift in its viability.[1] Gadzooks was one of the first national retail chains to adopt the teenage shopper as its target market.[5]

In February 2004, the company filed bankruptcy and announced plans to reduce its store count from 410 to 252.[10] In March 2005, Forever 21 purchased the chain[11][12] for $33 million.[11][13] The stores were eventually phased out.[4]

References
  1. Pacheco, George (2022-12-27). "Top 10 Stores From Your Childhood That Don't Exist Anymore". MissMojo. WatchMojo. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  2. Nelson, Emily (December 1998). "Underground Tastemakers: Delia's, Gadzooks and Others". Wall Street Journal.
  3. Lucsko, David N. (2016). Junkyards, Gearheads, and Rust : Salvaging the Automotive Past. JHU Press. p. 44. ISBN 9781421419435.
  4. Starkey, Ted (May 15, 2018). "U.S. chains that no longer exist". Newsday.
  5. Hartford, James (2003-04-21). "Gadzooks to Only Focus on Teen Girl Consumer". www.sgbonline.com. SGB Media. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  6. HOLLANDSWORTH, SKIP (June 1999). "It's Like, You Know". Texas Monthly.
  7. Lewis, Casey (August 27, 2014). "Where Are They Now: The Great Suburban Mall Store Demise". Vox Media.
  8. Stevens, Liz (2000-08-01). "GADZOOKS STORES ZOOM IN ON HIP TEENAGERS' FICKLE TASTES\ THE CLOTHING STORE/HANGOUT STAYS CLOSE TO THE CUTTING EDGE, BUT NOT CLOSE ENOUGH TO SCARE AWAY AVERAGE ADOLESCENTS". www.greensboro.com. Greensboro News & Record. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  9. "Gadzooks to sell only women's clothing". American City Business Journals. Dallas Business Journal. January 9, 2003.
  10. "Gadzooks files for bankruptcy protection". American City Business Journals. St. Louis Business Journal. February 3, 2004.
  11. "Mall stalwart Forever 21 files for bankruptcy as e-commerce cuts into sales". Dallas News. 2019-09-30. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  12. Lewis, Casey (2014-08-27). "Where Are They Now: The Great Suburban Mall Store Demise". Racked. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  13. "Forever 21 wraps up Gadzooks deal". American City Business Journals. Dallas Business Journal. March 17, 2005.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.