CSC Plans To Open More Than 100 Bon-Ton Stores

After acquiring Bon-Ton’s intellectual property and trademarks, CSC Generation’s CEO, Justin Yoshimura, has revealed his plans for the retailer — including opening more than 100 stores in the next few years.

Years of decreasing sales and mall traffic led to Bon-Ton shuttering all of its brick-and-mortar stores at the end of August. The news came after the retailer had already voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware and was exploring a sale.

In September, Indiana-based CSC bought the bulk of the department store’s intellectual property, outbidding apparel retailer Christopher & Banks for Bon-Ton’s IP. CSC won with a $900,000 offer, according to Retail Dive.

Yoshimura has revealed that CSC is talking with landlords about reopening stores in Colorado, Illinois, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Minnesota. In an interview with Star Tribune, he said that two-thirds of the stores will be in former locations, while one-third will be nearby.

“Our first Minnesota store will probably be in Rochester, but we haven’t signed a lease yet. We hope to open 100-plus stores [nationwide] in the next few years and see many possibilities in Minnesota. But, we haven’t completed our first store reopening yet. It depends on how [the] first few perform,” he added.

The company has already placed orders with some of Bon-Ton’s former vendors, and has also taken orders that Bon-Ton backed out of when they filed for bankruptcy.

The new stores will also be smaller than the original Bon-Ton locations — between 10,000 and 100,000 square feet compared to the previous 40,000 to 250,000 square feet.

“We don’t want to look like every other department store. We want to differentiate ourselves around service and flexibility of payment. The average Bon-Ton customer spent $700 a year on items to look good. What if we could help you live a healthier lifestyle instead of just selling you more?” said Yoshimura.