History
Goody's was founded in 1953 in Athens, Tennessee, by M.D. Goodfriend as an offshoot of a family retail business, The M. Goodfriend Store, that the founder's father, Mike Goodfriend, had started in Athens in 1913. The new store, Athens Outlet Store, focused on the sale of closeout, irregular, and previous-year merchandise. The business grew, operating 20 stores by 1970.
In 1978, the name was changed to "Goody's". "Goody" was the college nickname of M.D. Goodfriend's son Bob, who had joined the family business in 1972. In 1979 Bob Goodfriend became president of the business and the company changed its merchandise focus from the outlet model to offering current, first-quality, brand-name merchandise. With this new strategic direction, the chain expanded rapidly. A private-label clothing line was launched in 1993. By 1998 the chain recorded $1 billion in annual sales, and in 2000 it opened its 300th store. By 2004 there were more than 350 stores recording annual sales of $1.3 billion. In 2006 Goody's became a privately held company again when it was acquired by GMM Capital and Prentice Capital Management in January 2006. Sales in 2006 totaled $1.6 billion.
On June 9, 2008, Goody's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced that it would close 69 of its 355 stores. The company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 20 of that year, but on January 2, 2009, Goody's filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and announced that it would liquidate all of its remaining stores. Goody's was unable to survive due to slow holiday 2008 sales resulting in the final closure. Also, Goody's claimed it was unable to come to terms with its creditors, and the downturn in the U.S. economy was cited as undermining the company's ability to continue operating.
A subsidiary of Stage Stores Inc. acquired the Goody's name in July 2009, and announced plans to re-open several former Goody's stores. As of March 2010 Stage Stores has re-opened Goody's stores in a few states.
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