 | |
 Former Shopko Store | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | April 5, 1962 (as ShopKo) |
| Founder | James Ruben |
| Defunct | June 23, 2019[1] |
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Successor | Shopko Optical |
| Headquarters | Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S. |
Area served | United States |
Key people | James Ruben (founder) |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, market, housewares, contact lenses. |
| Revenue |  US$ 3.3 billion (FY 2018)[2] |
Number of employees | 18,000 (2018)[2] |
| Website | Shopko.com at the Wayback Machine (archived January 5, 2019) |
Shopko (stylized as SHOPKO, formerly stylized as ShopKo) was a chain of department stores based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. All locations closed on June 23, 2019, with the exception of the Shopko Optical locations,[3] which continue to operate.
The company was founded in 1962 by James Ruben as ShopKo Corporation (with upper-case "K"). It opened its first store in 1962 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
From 1991 to 2005, the company was publicly held, with stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SKO. In December 2005, the company was acquired by an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners and reverted to private ownership. Starting that year it opened a number of smaller stores named ShopKo Express. In June 2007, the company changed its name to Shopko Stores Inc. (with lower-case "k").
In 1999, Shopko purchased Pamida, a regional discount chain that operated mainly in smaller communities of 3,000 to 8,000 people. Shopko operated Pamida as a separate division until 2007, when Pamida was separated from Shopko and reestablished as a separate company. In 2012, Shopko and Pamida merged into one company. Shortly after, most Pamida stores were rebranded as Shopko Hometown.
Shopko filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 16, 2019.[4] On March 18, 2019, Shopko announced it would close all of its stores by summer 2019. All stores closed on June 23, 2019.
- ^ "Shopko's last day: Shoppers scour stores for final deals as bankrupt company shuts down". Post-Crescent Media. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
- ^ a b "America's Largest Private Companies". Forbes.
- ^ "Find a Shopko Optical Eye Care Center & Schedule an Exam". www.shopko.com. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
- ^ "Shopko to close more than 250 stores amid bankruptcy filing". MSN. Retrieved February 9, 2019.