Value City Department Stores was an American department store chain with 113 locations. It was founded in 1917 by Ephraim Schottenstein, a travelling salesman in central Ohio. The store was an off-price retailer that sold clothing, jewelry, and home goods below the manufacturer suggested retail price. The chain focused on buyout and closeout merchandise, and occasionally irregular apparel and factory seconds. The stores were branded Schottenstein's in the Columbus, Ohio, market. The Schottenstein name was dropped in 2008.[1] Also, three stores in Metro Detroit were co-branded as Crowley's Value City. From 1984 to 1995, Schottenstein also owned Shifrin-Willens, a jewelry store.[2]
The first store was located in Columbus, Ohio, at 1887 Parsons Avenue on the corner of Parsons Avenue and Reeb Avenue, and has been closed since 2006. It was formerly affiliated with Value City Furniture, which has 130 stores and was founded in 1948. (VCF is corporate sponsor of Value City Arena, home of the Ohio State University women and men's basketball programs.)
They entered the St. Louis, MO market in 1995, opening in Webster Groves in St. Louis County. At that time, Value City had 79 stores.