Filene's Basement Corp., the nearly century-old institution where shoppers have been known to change in the aisles to nab a discount on designer goods, is opening a store in Towson next month.
The Woburn, Mass.-based company is moving into a 40,000-square-foot space that was formerly home to DSW Shoe Warehouse at Towson Place Shopping Center. The store is scheduled to open the last week of March at the shopping complex at Putty Hill Avenue and Goucher Boulevard.
The move is part of an expansion plan by the 21-store retailer as it seeks to rebuild after a 1999 bankruptcy reorganization that shuttered 35 of its stores. Although the chain fell on hard times, it has long held a magical name in retail and its flagship store is among the top tourist attractions in Boston.
Filene's Basement is now owned by Retail Ventures Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, formerly known as Value City Department Stores Inc.
Filene's officials said they chose the Towson location because of the upscale demographics in the area - part of a continuing strategy. Filene's opened in Atlanta's tony Buckhead section last year and plans to also open stores this spring in White Plains, N.Y., and Schaumburg, Ill.
"This company does really well historically in downtown locations where there are a lot of office workers and people can shop everyday on their lunch hour," spokeswoman Patricia Boudrot said. "The other place we do really well is in upscale suburbs."
Edward A. Filene founded Filene's Basement in 1908 as a way to sell off excess merchandise from his father's store, Filene's. Over the years "the basement" has become a place where customers can dress as if they shopped on Rodeo Drive, at department store prices.
The store's annual spring wedding gown sale draws throngs of brides-to-be looking for dresses for a few hundred dollars that were originally marked at several thousand dollars.
Although Filene's installed its first dressing room in Boston more than a decade ago, shoppers can still be seen changing in the aisles in a throwback to the store's beginnings.
But facing increased competition from outlet stores and other discounters, Filene's in 1999 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It closed more than half of its 54 stores, including the chain's only Maryland store, in Rockville. The chain also closed four stores that traded under the name Aisle 3 stores. The weekends-only, warehouse-style chain included a store at the same Towson location where Filene's will open.
