Founder's Sons Plan to Revive Mervyns

By Tom Ryan

Three sons of the founder of Mervyns have purchased the department store's name, intellectual property and online properties with plans to revive the brand. John Morris, along with his two brothers Jeff and Jim, agreed to purchase the assets in bankruptcy court for about $162,000.

"It’s great to have it back in our family after 31 years," John Morris, principal of Morris Management, a private-equity and real estate investment company, told the Wall Street Journal. "We strongly believe we have a very strong, loyal base of families in the Western states that would support Mervyns."

Mervyns filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July of last year and in October said it would liquidate its remaining 149 stores after the holiday season.

The buyers are still exploring options, whether solely focusing on reestablishing an online presence or reopening stores.

"Real estate won't be an issue," Mr. Morris told Inside Bay Area. "There is plenty of real estate out there."

Mervin Morris, who founded the chain in 1949, had told CBS 5 in San Francisco last December that he felt Mervyns had been "raped" by equity investors, Sun Capital Partners, who bought the chain in 2004.

Last week, the founder told CBS 5 that he told his sons not to buy on emotion: "I advised them not to invest the family fortune, but they are smart enough they don't need my advice on that!"

But his sons appear to agree that the chain had been seriously mismanaged in recent years.

"It was tough to watch what happened," John Morris said. "Mervyns had always performed well. The demise of the retail operation was caused by factors other than the performance of the stores."

While certainly challenged by the current economy, analysts were mostly positive about a re-launch of Mervyns.

"It's a great idea," said George Whalin, president and CEO of Retail Management Consultants.  "If they could get back in business it would be terrific. There is some real value in that name."

Discussion Questions: What do you think of bringing back Mervyns? If you were to design a department store chain from scratch these days, what would it look like?

• Family Aims For a Return Of Mervyn's - The Wall Street Journal
• Mervyn's trademarks find buyers - Inside Bay Area
• Family Retakes Mervyn's Name, May Make Comeback - CBS 5