Building #19 was a New England chain of discount closeout retailers that operated from 1964 until it declared bankruptcy in 2013. At the time of its bankruptcy, it had thirteen stores. The family that owned the chain later reopened two of the former locations as a part of a new business, The Rug Department, that was limited to rugs and related merchandise. However, these locations in Norwood and Burlington closed in 2014.
 Branch store in Burlington, Massachusetts (2010) | |
| Industry | Discount retail |
|---|---|
| Founded | Hingham, Massachusetts (1964) |
| Founder | Jerry Ellis (born Gerald Elovitz) Harry Andler |
| Defunct | 2013 |
| Fate | Bankruptcy; 2 stores reopened as "The Rug Department", assets acquired by Ollie's Bargain Outlet |
| Headquarters | Hingham, Massachusetts , |
Number of locations | 10 stores (2013) |
Area served | New England |
Key people | William Elovitz (President) |
| Revenue | $79.2m (2013) |
The “closeout stores” had been known throughout New England for selling an eclectic assortment of items at drastically discounted prices, as well as self-effacing advertising that made fun of the founder, Jerry Ellis. Many of the items were factory irregulars, discontinued models, post-expiration-date, damaged, or less than perfect in some other way, but some new merchandise was offered as well. The stores capitalized on the quick cash flow needs of other businesses, obtaining most of their merchandise from fire sales, overstocks, customs seizures, liquidations, bankruptcy courts, and dumpster diving.
On November 1, 2013, Building #19 Inc. and a number of affiliated companies voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts. Ellis said that the business had been "on a downhill slope for 10 years", and attributed its failure to Internet competition, overseas manufacturing, and improved fire protection of warehouses. The latter two factors reduced the supply of salvage and surplus products to sell.
History
Jerry Ellis (born Gerald Elovitz) founded the original store in 1964 with Harry Andler, when the two joined together to sell a stock of appliances. The original Building #19 was located at the former Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard, where the buildings were numbered, and the store retained the nondescript name on the building rather than pay for a new sign. Harry Andler was doing surplus and salvage business in the shipyard for several years. The unique combination of Ellis' advertising flair and Andler's expertise in finding and buying distressed merchandise accounts for the early success of the business. Andler bought "good stuff cheap" and Ellis let everyone know about it with amusing advertising.
In 1971, when the windows began to fall out of the John Hancock Tower in Boston, Jerry and Harry were offered and bought the defective window panels that were scheduled to be replaced. This got the company national press and attention.
In 1979, retailers Building #19 and Bloomingdales both appeared as contrasting locations in the movie Starting Over, starring Burt Reynolds, Candice Bergen, Jill Clayburgh, and Charles Durning. The movie was directed by Alan Pakula.
In the 1980s, the original Building #19 moved to the former GEM (Government Employee Merchandise) building on Derby Street in Hingham, Massachusetts. Later, Building #19 1/8 opened in the old Stuart's store in the Harborlight Mall on Rt 3A in Weymouth, Massachusetts; still later that store was closed to build a Lowe's Store. The main store Building #19 moved from Derby Street in Hingham and was situated in Weymouth at the old Caldor/Zayre's/Ames building on Massachusetts Route 18.
In 2002, Building #19 bought out the independent discount store Spag's in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, and renamed the acquisition "Spag's 19". The store format and configuration were changed after the purchase, to more closely resemble the other Building #19 operations. However, the store was closed in May 2013.
Several years after the chain shut, formerly competing Ollie's Bargain Outlet opened a store in Worcester, Massachusetts which is branded as "Ollie's Bargain Outlet @ Building #19.” It is an actual former Building #19 location and is intended to pay homage to the now-defunct chain. Additionally, the Plymouth, MA store has the same branding as the Worcester location, even though the location is in a former Kmart store. The assets of Building #19 were acquired by Ollie's Bargain Outlet.
As of June 2022, nearly all Building #19 locations have been demolished or redeveloped into supermarkets, storage facilities, or other discount stores. The Pawtucket location and its signage still stands, although without any identifiable Building #19 characteristics. The signage in Haverhill, featuring cartoon figures from locally inspired Archie comics, remained until at least October 2015, and the location still retains an awning and exterior paint job in the chain's color scheme.
Corporate culture
The chain was known for its often self-deprecating humor, both in their advertising and throughout their store interiors. Their weekly ad circulars often featured caricatures of founder Jerry Ellis with a number of sarcastic captions, many of which were repeated in their in-store advertising. The early circulars featured the "free-spirit" Ellis sternly commanded to work harder by the "skinflint" Andler. As of 2012[update], Ellis still wrote most of the ad copy used in the ad flyers.
Each Building #19 location offered free coffee with "free fake cream". Signs near the free coffee stand warned customers not to make fun of the poor quality of the coffee, because "someday you'll be old and weak too". Their price guarantee awarded a bottle of "Chateau du Cheapo" champagne if a competitor beat their price.
In 2006, Building #19 put a cartoon in their President's Day advertising flier showing A-shirts (athletic style undershirts) labeled as being "Wife-Beater" shirts. Building #19 was criticized, and promptly apologized. Two years later, a flier poked fun at the 2006 controversy, and was similarly criticized.
The main Building #19 store was located in Hingham, Massachusetts; other stores had a numerical fraction appended to their name (such as Building #19½, in Burlington or Building #19¾, in Norwood). Building #19 1/9, in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, used the old grandstand portion of Narragansett Park - a former horse racing venue that had closed in 1978.
Slogans
- "Good Stuff... Cheap"
- "Suffer a Little, Save a Lot"
- "The Humble Department Store"
- "Support the three-day work week"
- "America's messiest department store"
- "Please leave with at least as many children as you came with"
- "Our business is like sex. When it’s good, it’s wonderful. And when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good."
- "Free admission on all days ending with the letter Y"
- "We Now Accept Credit Cods"
See also
- Christmas Tree Shops
- Ocean State Job Lot
- The Akron
- Tuesday Morning
- Ollie's Bargain Outlet
References
- Goodison, Donna L. (2001-05-11). "King of Cheap". Boston Business Journal.
Founded in 1964, Building #19 is now a collection of 13 stores in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
- https://wbsm.com/ollies-building-19-true-connection/
- "Building #19: About Us". Building #19. Archived from the original on 2014-05-14.
- "Profile: Building 19 Inc". Hoover's.
- Luna, Taryn (November 5, 2013). "The fun runs out at Building #19". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
- Herman, Colman M. (January 25, 2014). "Bankrupt Building 19 reinvents itself as a rug store". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
- "Building 19".
- "Building #19 – New England Discount Store Chain – Files Bankruptcy, Plans Liquidation and Going-Out-of-Business Sales". Chapter 11 Cases. November 2, 2013. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
- Ramos, Dante (November 17, 2013). "Building #19: Twilight of the mishap-based economy". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
- Herman, Colman (November 12, 2013). "Building #19 owner looks back, ahead". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
- "Building 19 to buy Spag's". Boston Business Journal. 2002-10-09.
- Nicodemus, Aaron (May 15, 2013). "Building 19 to Close Former Spag's Store". Telegram & Gazette.
- "Worcester's Ollie's Bargain Outlet to Use Building #19 Name". September 2019.
- https://wbsm.com/ollies-building-19-true-connection/
- Wojahn, Ellen (June 1986). "The Forces Of Conformity". Inc. Magazine. p. 119.
- Derr, Greg (February 15, 2012). "Jerry Ellis of Building 19 still loves a bargain after all these years". EnterpriseNews.com. Gatehouse Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
- "Flier Describes T-Shirts As 'Wife-Beaters'". WCVB-TV. 2006-02-21. Archived from the original on 2012-03-06.
- "Building 19 Again Apologizes For Ad". WCVB-TV. 2008-04-16. Archived from the original on 2012-03-06.
- "Good Stuff Cheap (or Free) The Building #19 Story". The Shoestring. 2003-10-17. Archived from the original on 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
- Oakley, Robert. "R.I.P. Building 19 1/2". Burlington Retro. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- Morgan, William. "Around New England: Building #19 at Narragansett Park, Another Race Lost". Boston.com. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
Further reading
- Vega, Gina (May 2007). "Business succession at Building #19: overall, it is better to be the father than the son". Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. 31 (3): 473–488. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6520.2007.00183.x. S2CID 153976234.
External links
- Mat Brown (cartoonist for the Building #19 fliers)
The correct title of this article is Building 19 The omission of the is due to technical restrictions Building 19 was a New England chain of discount closeout retailers that operated from 1964 until it declared bankruptcy in 2013 At the time of its bankruptcy it had thirteen stores The family that owned the chain later reopened two of the former locations as a part of a new business The Rug Department that was limited to rugs and related merchandise However these locations in Norwood and Burlington closed in 2014 Building 19Branch store in Burlington Massachusetts 2010 IndustryDiscount retailFoundedHingham Massachusetts 1964 1964 FounderJerry Ellis born Gerald Elovitz Harry AndlerDefunct2013FateBankruptcy 2 stores reopened as The Rug Department assets acquired by Ollie s Bargain OutletHeadquartersHingham Massachusetts United StatesNumber of locations10 stores 2013 Area servedNew EnglandKey peopleWilliam Elovitz President Revenue 79 2m 2013 The closeout stores had been known throughout New England for selling an eclectic assortment of items at drastically discounted prices as well as self effacing advertising that made fun of the founder Jerry Ellis Many of the items were factory irregulars discontinued models post expiration date damaged or less than perfect in some other way but some new merchandise was offered as well The stores capitalized on the quick cash flow needs of other businesses obtaining most of their merchandise from fire sales overstocks customs seizures liquidations bankruptcy courts and dumpster diving On November 1 2013 Building 19 Inc and a number of affiliated companies voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts Ellis said that the business had been on a downhill slope for 10 years and attributed its failure to Internet competition overseas manufacturing and improved fire protection of warehouses The latter two factors reduced the supply of salvage and surplus products to sell HistoryJerry Ellis born Gerald Elovitz founded the original store in 1964 with Harry Andler when the two joined together to sell a stock of appliances The original Building 19 was located at the former Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard where the buildings were numbered and the store retained the nondescript name on the building rather than pay for a new sign Harry Andler was doing surplus and salvage business in the shipyard for several years The unique combination of Ellis advertising flair and Andler s expertise in finding and buying distressed merchandise accounts for the early success of the business Andler bought good stuff cheap and Ellis let everyone know about it with amusing advertising In 1971 when the windows began to fall out of the John Hancock Tower in Boston Jerry and Harry were offered and bought the defective window panels that were scheduled to be replaced This got the company national press and attention In 1979 retailers Building 19 and Bloomingdales both appeared as contrasting locations in the movie Starting Over starring Burt Reynolds Candice Bergen Jill Clayburgh and Charles Durning The movie was directed by Alan Pakula In the 1980s the original Building 19 moved to the former GEM Government Employee Merchandise building on Derby Street in Hingham Massachusetts Later Building 19 1 8 opened in the old Stuart s store in the Harborlight Mall on Rt 3A in Weymouth Massachusetts still later that store was closed to build a Lowe s Store The main store Building 19 moved from Derby Street in Hingham and was situated in Weymouth at the old Caldor Zayre s Ames building on Massachusetts Route 18 In 2002 Building 19 bought out the independent discount store Spag s in Shrewsbury Massachusetts and renamed the acquisition Spag s 19 The store format and configuration were changed after the purchase to more closely resemble the other Building 19 operations However the store was closed in May 2013 Several years after the chain shut formerly competing Ollie s Bargain Outlet opened a store in Worcester Massachusetts which is branded as Ollie s Bargain Outlet Building 19 It is an actual former Building 19 location and is intended to pay homage to the now defunct chain Additionally the Plymouth MA store has the same branding as the Worcester location even though the location is in a former Kmart store The assets of Building 19 were acquired by Ollie s Bargain Outlet As of June 2022 nearly all Building 19 locations have been demolished or redeveloped into supermarkets storage facilities or other discount stores The Pawtucket location and its signage still stands although without any identifiable Building 19 characteristics The signage in Haverhill featuring cartoon figures from locally inspired Archie comics remained until at least October 2015 and the location still retains an awning and exterior paint job in the chain s color scheme Corporate cultureThe chain was known for its often self deprecating humor both in their advertising and throughout their store interiors Their weekly ad circulars often featured caricatures of founder Jerry Ellis with a number of sarcastic captions many of which were repeated in their in store advertising The early circulars featured the free spirit Ellis sternly commanded to work harder by the skinflint Andler As of 2012 update Ellis still wrote most of the ad copy used in the ad flyers Each Building 19 location offered free coffee with free fake cream Signs near the free coffee stand warned customers not to make fun of the poor quality of the coffee because someday you ll be old and weak too Their price guarantee awarded a bottle of Chateau du Cheapo champagne if a competitor beat their price In 2006 Building 19 put a cartoon in their President s Day advertising flier showing A shirts athletic style undershirts labeled as being Wife Beater shirts Building 19 was criticized and promptly apologized Two years later a flier poked fun at the 2006 controversy and was similarly criticized The main Building 19 store was located in Hingham Massachusetts other stores had a numerical fraction appended to their name such as Building 19 in Burlington or Building 19 in Norwood Building 19 1 9 in Pawtucket Rhode Island used the old grandstand portion of Narragansett Park a former horse racing venue that had closed in 1978 Slogans Good Stuff Cheap Suffer a Little Save a Lot The Humble Department Store Support the three day work week America s messiest department store Please leave with at least as many children as you came with Our business is like sex When it s good it s wonderful And when it s bad it s still pretty good Free admission on all days ending with the letter Y We Now Accept Credit Cods See alsoChristmas Tree Shops Ocean State Job Lot The Akron Tuesday Morning Ollie s Bargain OutletReferencesGoodison Donna L 2001 05 11 King of Cheap Boston Business Journal Founded in 1964 Building 19 is now a collection of 13 stores in Massachusetts New Hampshire and Rhode Island https wbsm com ollies building 19 true connection Building 19 About Us Building 19 Archived from the original on 2014 05 14 Profile Building 19 Inc Hoover s Luna Taryn November 5 2013 The fun runs out at Building 19 Boston Globe Retrieved 2014 09 20 Herman Colman M January 25 2014 Bankrupt Building 19 reinvents itself as a rug store Boston Globe Retrieved 2014 09 20 Building 19 Building 19 New England Discount Store Chain Files Bankruptcy Plans Liquidation and Going Out of Business Sales Chapter 11 Cases November 2 2013 Archived from the original on November 2 2013 Retrieved November 2 2013 Ramos Dante November 17 2013 Building 19 Twilight of the mishap based economy Boston Globe Retrieved 2014 09 20 Herman Colman November 12 2013 Building 19 owner looks back ahead Boston Globe Retrieved 2014 09 20 Building 19 to buy Spag s Boston Business Journal 2002 10 09 Nicodemus Aaron May 15 2013 Building 19 to Close Former Spag s Store Telegram amp Gazette Worcester s Ollie s Bargain Outlet to Use Building 19 Name September 2019 https wbsm com ollies building 19 true connection Wojahn Ellen June 1986 The Forces Of Conformity Inc Magazine p 119 Derr Greg February 15 2012 Jerry Ellis of Building 19 still loves a bargain after all these years EnterpriseNews com Gatehouse Media Inc Archived from the original on 10 January 2014 Retrieved 16 March 2013 Flier Describes T Shirts As Wife Beaters WCVB TV 2006 02 21 Archived from the original on 2012 03 06 Building 19 Again Apologizes For Ad WCVB TV 2008 04 16 Archived from the original on 2012 03 06 Good Stuff Cheap or Free The Building 19 Story The Shoestring 2003 10 17 Archived from the original on 2012 07 16 Retrieved 2009 05 29 Oakley Robert R I P Building 19 1 2 Burlington Retro Retrieved 21 September 2022 Morgan William Around New England Building 19 at Narragansett Park Another Race Lost Boston com Retrieved 21 September 2022 Further readingVega Gina May 2007 Business succession at Building 19 overall it is better to be the father than the son Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 31 3 473 488 doi 10 1111 j 1540 6520 2007 00183 x S2CID 153976234 External linksMat Brown cartoonist for the Building 19 fliers
