Who Were Christopher & Banks?

During the pandemic a company called "Christopher & Banks" declared its final bankruptcy and closed 451 stores.

Although I never shopped at this chain I had imagined it to be some sort of venerable brand from the golden age of fashion; So, I decided to research the history of the brand to see if it revealed any interesting stories.

My research seems indicates that the name "Christopher & Banks" was never anything more than a brand created by big finance to sell clothes in malls.

The corporate history did expose an interesting love story which I will recall at the end of this post.

It appears that the brand "Christoper & Banks" was created by a private equity firm in 1986 as an investment vehicle to buy out a mall based chain called "Braun's Fasions."

Braun's was founded in 1956 and had grown to 110 stores in 11 states.

The company continued its rapid rate of expansion after the acquisition. They held an IPO on the NASDAQ with the symbol BFCI.

BFCI held the company's first bankruptcy 4 years later. BFCI cited the high cost of goods. The bankruptcy allowed the firm to break its contracts with clothing providers and it began outsourcing production to China after the bankruptcy.

NOTE: At some point a company called G-III Apparel became the primary provider for the brand. G-III was started by a holocaust survivor named Anton Goldfarb. G-III is the source of clothes for numerous iconic clothing brands.

The company that provided the clothes was different from the company that sold the clothes.

In 2000 BCFI rebranded its stores as "Christopher & Banks." They also launched a side chain named "CJ Banks" to sell plus size clothing.

The company had a period of rapid growth. They grew to over 500 stores in malls throughout the United States.

The company moved from the NASDAQ to the NYSE and adopted the symbol CBK.

The internet reduced mall traffic.

For a brief period CJBanks.com was one of the top affiliate programs on Commission Junction and it looked like CBK would successfully transition to an internet marketing channel.

In the early 2000s, plus-size shoppers were happy to shop at stores that catered to their needs.

However, this trend was short lived. The plus size store soon lost its appeal. My guess is taht plus size shoppers did not like feeling excluded from the premiere brands.

Christoper & Banks responded by re-integrating its CJ Banks line with its regulars stores.

The downfall of CBK came during the Trump administration. Trump's posturing against the CCCP triggered a small trade war that increased the price of CBK's products.

It turns out that the brand was simply the end point of a supply chain that stretched from China to suburban malls in the United States. The company rented all of its stores. Any disruption in the supply chain guaranteed that the company would fold.

In 2019 the company's market value dropped below $15. The NYSE delisted CBK and the company was in a free fall.

CBK declared bankruptcy during the pandemic. The 2019 delisting showed the company was already on the ropes. The pandemic simply destroyed the ability of the company to re-emerge from bankruptcy.

Eseentially the company was a brand with store leases and an expensive workforce.

After the bankruptcy, an entity called iMedia bought the IP assets of Christopher & Banks. iMedia re-opened some stores with the CB brand.

iMedia owns a network of shopping channels that includes ShopHQ. iMedia is a media company. The company has a history of changing its brand name. They have a need for an iconic sounding brand.

Now for the Love Story

In 2004 CBK aquired a company called "Gilmore Brothers." Gilmore Brothers was started in 1881 by Irish immigrants. The Gilmore Brother's gradually grew their store until it was a six story department store in the heart of Kalamazoo.

James Gilmore passed away in 1908. His wife took reigns and continued to expand the Kalamazoo landmark.

In 1913, Carrie married her neighbor Dr. William Erastus Upjohn who had become a widower in 1905.

Dr Upjohn received a patent for the friable pill in 1885. He started a pharmaceutical company and was doing well.

Shortly after this first marriage Carrie's son David married Erasmus's daughter Genevieve.

Hmmm, David married his step sister.

Okay, the children were already adults when their parents married; so the situtation was not as scandalous as it first sounds.

David took control of the Gilmore Store.

Upjohn's oldest son Harold died suddenly in 1928. David left the store became the head of Upjohn. David led the pharmaceutical company through its massive post war expansion.

Upjohn Pharmaceutical eventually merged into Pfizer.

Pfizer did well during the pandemic.

The Gilmpore Department store closed in 1999. The building was transformed into the Kalamazoo Center.

The corporate history of Christopher & Banks provides an interesting juxtaposition of the Gilmore Department Store and the CBK brands.

The Gilmore Department stores provides a classic example of a store which grew with its community. Christopher & Banks appears to be the creation of big finance to role out cookie cutter stores in malls around a nation.

Personally, I prefer the economic structure where businesses grow with their community to this structure where big finance roles out brands to domination national markets.

The Picture

We had our first mentionable snow in Salt Lake. The leaves to the oak trees failed to fall in autumn. I suspect that there will be a few snapped branches this winter.