When is Elder-Beerman not like Elder-Beerman? When it's like Bon-Ton.
Seriously, though, I'm not sure what happened here. I've shopped (and worked from 1978-1980 at) Elder-Beerman and I've shopped at The Bon-Ton (I lived in Philadelphia for 8 years) and this store is like neither.
I've tried to shop at the store and even with a $10 off coupon and $10 items on which I could use it, I didn't get anything. That's crazy, right? It's as though the merchandise they have is often not good enough to give away.
Those who remember Beerman's in Dayton would tell you how cheap the store was--not how inexpensive it was. The Home Store (Elder's), was upscale. They combined to create a good brand with some budget stores, including the one in the basement of the Courthouse Plaza store.
Somewhere along the line, Federated Dept. Stores (Rike's, Shillitos, Lazarus, Burdines, Macy's), decided to push harder. Elder-Beerman bought Mabley & Carew in Cincinnati. This helped their reach but didn't help their sales. When I visited in 2005, they'd been consumed by The Bon-Ton, a slightly discount retailer out of York, Pennsylvania. What I've seen recently is that the name is changing to Carsons for whatever reason.
In any case, the store is odd now. Sure, the cosmetics are in the same place. They still have many clothes in stock, but most of the ancillary departments seem minimized. Everything is still rather expensive, more than I'd expect from The Bon-Ton and I haven't seen much to interest me.
I have to admit that I bought a Sharp Blu-Ray player just after Christmas 2010, which was about half the retail price and I bought a pair of Cuisinart shears/scissors (Sheartoku) in 2008. That's it. However, if I go into a Macy's store, I can find half a dozen things rather quickly.
I hope Elder-Beerman/The Bon-Ton get their act together. read more