So what would Mr. Harbert be thinking about the pending name change of long-time Birmingham-based department store chain Parisian as part of its pending sale to Belk? He and other fans of the name should not be that upset; they would only need to go to Detroit, MI (or at least the metro area).
There are three Parisian locations that will retain the name after the changeover is complete next month. The reason: they are owned by Bon Ton Stores, who just happened to acquire the rights to use the name when they acquired the locations last year. (UPDATE: Previous link added thanks to visitor comment)
As to how long they will keep the name, we don’t know. We do know that one of the locations was scheduled to be changed to Carson Pririe Scott & Co. in the near future (Circle Centre location) (Editor’s note: please click here to learn more about corrrection).
We just thought it would make you a little less sad about it. We’ll be posting about the nameplate changing event at The Summit later on this afternoon Friday morning.
4 comments so far ↓
1 Friend of all // Aug 22, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Thanks for the photo. Ya know, Parisian hasn’t been owned by the Hess family for many years. And it’s always mentioned that Saks owned Parisian, as if that were some big deal. Saks is owned by an overseas investment firm located in Bahrain.
So the way I see it, Belk buying Parisian returns our Parisian stores to a family that specializes in hands on involvement and a solid commitment to customer service, much like the Hess family did.
That can only be a good thing. For Parisian, and Birmingham.
2 Andre // Aug 22, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Editor’s Note: Bahrain-based Investcorp sold its majority interest in Saks in July 1998 for $2.1 billion, when the store was acquired by Birmingham-based Profitt’s. The sale was completed in October 1998.
Investcorp - Answers.com
Saks Incorporated - Answers.com
Saks Incorporated Completes Sale of Its Northern Department Store Group; Company Declares $4 Per Share Special Cash Dividend - Saks Incorporated
3 Friend of all // Aug 22, 2007 at 9:38 pm
Thanks for that information about the overseas investors. My information is that they did not divest of the holdings until 2006.
Either way, it is a much better situation for Parisian to be owned by a service oriented family than outside investors. In my humble opinion that is.
4 From the Stationmaster: Corrections from yesterday’s Parisian post // Aug 23, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Please visit to see editor’s note about this post.
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