Early years In 1954, Bob Lapidus opened Bob's Surplus on Main Street in Middletown,
Connecticut. His original business strategy was to "Treat all customers with respect and dignity and they will return again and again". In the 1970s and early 1980s, the Bob's Surplus circular logo was featured on a line of very popular t-shirts that were sold inexpensively or given away for free at their stores. Both the t-shirts themselves and the Bob's Surplus logo that was printed on them were available in a large variety of color combinations.
Melville Corporation acquisition and sale , pictured in 2011. This location closed in 2018, and is now a Public Lands. In 1990, the chain had expanded to five stores; that year, it was acquired by the
Melville Corporation (now
CVS Corporation). Bob's expanded rapidly under the corporation; by March 1, 1996 the chain had grown to 34 stores across the northeastern United States. During this period, Melville considered Bob's Stores a key company, stating that they were spending time to "lay a solid base for rapid expansion for Bob's Stores in the years ahead". In 1999, the upper executive level of the chain experienced numerous changes in personnel. Many others in the company became concerned with competition from stores like
Kohl's, which began entering Bob's market area in late 1999 by acquiring many former
Caldor locations following that chain's liquidation (as well as other stores). Dick's had intended to close most of the Bob's Stores locations. TJX felt that this was unfair to the employees and TJX brought it to court in Maine. The courts sided with TJX to save the thousands of jobs that would have been lost and TJX was allowed to purchase the chain. Bob's Stores launched an online store June 1, 2012. In April 2016, Versa Capital's Vestis Retail Group, which owns Bob's,
Sport Chalet, and
Eastern Mountain Sports, announced that it had filed for
bankruptcy protection and reorganization under
Chapter 11 of the United States
Bankruptcy Code. Vestis said it would reorganize and focus on the operations of Eastern Mountain and Bob's, while all Sports Chalet stores would close. A new holding company, Eastern Outfitters, was created to manage EMS and Bob's stores.
2017 bankruptcy and Sports Direct acquisition By February 2017, Eastern Outfitters filed for bankruptcy. The company planned to close 48 of its 86 stores in the Northeast. On April 19, 2017, after expanding to nearly 50 stores at its peak,
Sports Direct International plc received permission to acquire Bob's Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports for $101 million. Nine out of 13 stores in Connecticut alone were scheduled for closure. In May 2024, 150 employees based in Meriden, Connecticut were laid off after its bank refused to provide funding for payroll and benefits. The company will look for alternative funding in order to avoid a complete shutdown. In June 2024, SDI Stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, marking Bob's Stores fourth time in bankruptcy protection. The filing came after the company announced that up to 10 stores would close from Bob's Stores and EMS. SDI Stores owed millions of dollars in unpaid debt to many of its creditors. As a result of the bankruptcy, the Meriden warehouse will close and all future online ordering purchases will be directed to stores. However, in July 2024, SDI Stores announced that it would permanently close all of its remaining Bob's Stores locations and a select number of Eastern Mountain Sports locations, with liquidation sales beginning immediately after the announcement. Stores were set to close on July 14, 2024, but as of September 2024, liquidation sales are still ongoing. As a result of the announcement, future locations in
Fairfield and
Norwalk, both located in former
Bed Bath & Beyond locations, never opened, amongst a planned remodel at its
Manchester location that was supposed to include Eastern Mountain Sports. ==References==