The mall opened in 1972, and had four anchor stores: JCPenney, Richard's (later Zayre/Ames), Burdines and Jordan Marsh.
Zayre began to feature appearances from celebrities such as Sherman Hemsley and Robert Guillaume in "Grand Re-openings" of their major stores, but even these events failed to improve their market share.
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Zayre Corp. first attempted to buy the Marshalls chain, already established as a retailer of off-price apparel for the whole family.
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That same year, Zayre Corp. became a public company and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Zayre |
Fisher's Big Wheel primarily located in smaller towns which were not already served by other discount retailers, while in other markets, it competed directly with such discounters as Zayre, Kmart, Wal-Mart and Hills Department Store.