Ames (store)

Ames was an American chain of discount stores based in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, USA. The company was founded in 1958 with a store in Southbridge, Massachusetts, and at its peak operated 700 stores in 20 states, including the Northeast, Upper South, Midwest, and the District of Columbia, making it the fourth largest discount retailer in the United States.

Despite some success in its later years, Ames was plagued by debt and a slow decline in sales. This resulted in two bankruptcy filings that ultimately put an end to the chain. The company, despite expanding into other markets and taking over many closed stores that had been abandoned by competitors, went out of business in 2002.

History

Ames began in 1958 when two Connecticut brothers, Milton and Irving Gilman, opened their first store in the Ames Worsted Textile Co. mill in Southbridge. The Gilmans simply used the old sign of the textile mill for the new business.

Ames' original business strategy brought discounting to the smaller towns and rural areas of the Northeast. The company's success in serving a largely rural customer base in smaller, less-competitive markets resulted in consistently strong financial performance and steady growth combining acquisitions and an aggressive store-building program through the late 1980s.

Ames

Ames may refer to:

Places in the US:

Places in Europe:

Other:

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Ames (surname)

The surname Ames is usually either French or Hebrew in origin. The French name comes from the noun amie, meaning a friend or a beloved. In Hebrew it literally means burden, but is actually derived from the eponymous Hebrew prophet Amos. The name may also be a contraction of Ambrose or Eames.

List of people surnamed Ames

Ames (automobile)

The Ames, originally established in 1881 by Frederick A. Ames, was a buggy manufacturer and later an American automobile manufacturer in Owensboro, Kentucky, from 1910 to 1925. A beetle-backed "gentleman's roadster" and a five-passenger tourer were the first models offered for sale by the company. The company also produced replacement bodies for the Ford Model T. At its peak the company produced approximately 30,000 vehicles. The last model the company made was called "The Kentucky Thoroughbred." In 1922, the company again remade itself, manufacturing furniture under the name F. A. Ames Corporation until 1941 when F.A. Ames Corp. filed for bankruptcy and most of its assets were purchased by the Whitehall Furniture Co. of Owensboro.

Frederic A. Ames died in 1925 at the age of 60. At the time of his death, Ames was reported to have vast real estate holding in Owensboro and Atlanta, Georgia. His widow, the former Mary M. McMannon, died in 1933. Although the Ames had no children of their own, Mary's niece, Marie had been raised in their home as an adopted child, and inherited most of Ames' fortune.