TG&Y was a five and dime, or chain of variety stores and larger discount stores in the United States. At its peak, there were more than 900 stores in 29 states. Starting out during the Great Depression in rural areas and eventually moving into cities, TG&Y stores were firmly embedded in southern culture as modern-day general stores with a bit of everything. The chain used the advertising slogan, "Your best buy is at TG&Y." The founders articulated their business philosophy as "...have what people want at a price they can afford to pay." The owners' initials were ordered according to the ages of the three, with Tomlinson being the oldest. Raymond Young, the only partner remaining with the chain, oversaw operations until his retirement in 1970. Gosselin's 35 stores were the last to rebrand from his Gosselin's Store moniker to TG&Y 5¢ to $1 Stores.

In 1957, the 125-store TG&Y chain was acquired by Butler Brothers of Chicago, with the stipulation that Young's leadership remain unchanged. After Young's retirement, leadership changed frequently.

TG&Y's Family Center served as the company's first anchor tenant or anchor store in shopping centers as opposed to their secondary, interior stores and downtown locations that existed previously. City Products approach on TG&Y was similar to variety chains Woolworth's big box Woolco store and S.S. Kresge and W.T. Grant strategy with Kmart and Grant City anchor stores with food and drugs. The first two Family Center branded stores were in Oklahoma and were the first to have expanded food and drug departments. The 60,000 square foot store in Oklahoma City's Southern Hills Shopping Center was by far the chain's largest and most expensive store at $4 million.

In the Fall of 1965, Household Finance Corporation (HFC) acquired City Products and HFC then also controlled Coast to Coast Hardware and Ben Franklin stores.

In 1986, when it had over 700 stores, TG&Y was acquired by competitor McCrory Stores. For a brief period, McCroy / Rapid allowed TG&Y to remain an independent subsidiary retaining its Oklahoma base and employees; that decision was rethought as the company reorganized which, in turn, would begin TG&Y's descent.

At its peak, the chain had nearly 1000 stores in 29 states, from Florida to California.

Demise

After its heyday in the 1960s, unsuccessful attempts were made to expand and rebrand TG&Y under the trade names TG&Y Dollar, Aim for the Best, and Dollar-T. In 1981, under intense pressure especially from Walmart and Kmart, TG&Y began closing large market Family Center locations while focusing on upgrading and rebranding existing stores in less competitive markets. The larger city stores of around 30,000 to 40,000 square feet were among the first to be eliminated failing to compete against their larger big box counterparts.

By March 1986, McCrory announced that it would sell about 200 of the 743 TG&Y operations it had so recently acquired.

Shortly after acquiring the struggling chain, McCrory's cut over 8,000 TG&Y employees and closed 205 stores, including 23 in its former home state of Oklahoma. McCrory's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1992 forcing further reductions in TG&Y stores, as well as McCrory, Kresge and J. J. Newberry stores within its portfolio of just over 800 stores. In a five-year period from 1992 to 1997 and during its Chapter 11 bankrputcy, McCrory would close 600 stores leaving it with just under 200 total stores. In 2001 TG&Y's owner McCrory Stores announced it would liquidate its entire portfolio of Dollar Zone, McCrory, G.C. Murphy, J.J. Newberry, and TG&Y. stores effective February of 2002.

A former TG&Y manager, Tom Clinton, decided to open a new version of the old store on January 6, 2003, in Sapulpa, Oklahoma. His opportunity arose when he learned in 2001 that the last TG&Y had closed. He bought the rights to the company name and a former Drug Warehouse building, which provided of space. The short-lived store's emphasis was on craft items and household goods, but aisles contained food products, toys, pet supplies, stationery, yarn, ceramics, tools and hardware, and health and beauty aids.

See also

  • McCrory Stores
  • Meshulam Riklis

Notes

References

  • TG&Y Images (Google images)