Best Products

Best Products Company, commonly known as Best or Best Products, was an American discount retailer that operated for roughly four decades and became one of the best-known practitioners of the catalog-showroom format. Sydney Lewis and Frances Lewis founded the business in Richmond, Virginia, in 1957. Sydney Lewis had worked with his father in an encyclopedia-sales operation and saw an opportunity to promote additional merchandise through the billing and catalog infrastructure already used for encyclopedia customers. The Lewises mailed their first merchandise catalog in 1957 and opened their first showroom at 4909 West Marshall Street in Richmond, near Willow Lawn Shopping Center. The company’s retail model separated product display from most inventory. Customers could examine display models, particularly in categories such as consumer electronics, appliances, and housewares, and then place an order with store employees. Staff retrieved packaged merchandise from storage for collection or customer-service processing. Other categories, including toys and sporting goods, were sold through more conventional self-service aisles. This hybrid approach allowed Best to present a broad assortment without placing every saleable unit on the shop floor, while also giving shoppers the opportunity to handle and test display merchandise. Best sold jewelry, consumer electronics, appliances, housewares, toys, sporting goods, clothing, and other general merchandise. It also operated a mail-order business. During the 1980s, the company expanded through acquisitions and regional consolidation. In 1982 it acquired Basco, a 19-showroom catalog retailer concentrated in the Northeast and Ohio, and Modern Merchandising, whose 76 showrooms operated under names including LaBelle’s, Dolgin’s, Jafco, Miller Sales, Rogers, and Great Western. Best also acquired Ashby’s, a nine-store women’s clothing chain, and expanded its Best Jewelry format in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The company had previously shared catalog production with Service Merchandise and Modern Merchandising and used regional non-compete arrangements with those operators. Best distinguished itself not only through merchandising but also through design and cultural patronage. During the 1970s it commissioned the SITE architecture firm, led by James Wines, to create a group of unconventional retail buildings. Examples included Richmond’s Peeling Wall showroom, a Richmond Forest showroom incorporating apparent trees into its facade, and the Indeterminate Facade in Houston, whose deliberately damaged-looking exterior challenged conventional ideas about commercial architecture. Other locations used moving or tilted architectural elements. These projects made Best a notable case study in late twentieth-century commercial architecture, although many of the buildings were later altered, converted, or demolished. The Lewis family also developed a significant twentieth-century art collection, and the company’s association with art and architecture became part of its public identity. Much of the Lewis Collection is held or displayed through the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, which opened a Best Café in 2010. Best’s Richmond headquarters on Parham Road, completed in 1981 and designed by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer, was itself architecturally notable and included Art Deco eagles salvaged from a New York building. The retailer faced increasing financial pressure as competition, operating costs, and changes in consumer retailing weakened the catalog-showroom model. Best entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 1991 and remained in that first reorganization period until June 16, 1994. It filed again in September 1996. At the time of the second filing, Best operated 169 Best stores and 11 Best Jewelry stores across 23 states and maintained a nationwide mail-order service. Its shares traded on NASDAQ under the symbol BESTQ until delisting on November 29, 1996. The last stores closed on February 9, 1997. Most assets had been liquidated by May 1997; the company vacated its Richmond headquarters in January 1998 and sent final checks to unsecured creditors in December of that year. Best therefore represents both the expansion and eventual decline of the American catalog-showroom retail format.

Best Products began in Richmond, Virginia, in 1957 when Sydney and Frances Lewis adapted experience from the family encyclopedia-sales business into a broader merchandise operation. The Lewises mailed their first catalog and opened a showroom on West Marshall Street. Rather than stocking every saleable unit on the sales floor, Best displayed merchandise for inspection and experimentation, accepted customer orders, and retrieved boxed goods from storage. This catalog-showroom system became the foundation of the chain’s operating model. The assortment expanded well beyond its origins to include jewelry, electronics, appliances, housewares, toys, sporting goods, clothing, and other general merchandise. Some departments used self-service aisles, but high-value and bulky items were commonly represented by display models. Best also supplemented its stores with mail-order catalogs and operated separate Best Jewelry locations. To improve catalog economics and manage competition, Best jointly published catalogs with Service Merchandise and Modern Merchandising and maintained regional non-compete arrangements with those chains. The company grew substantially in the 1980s. In 1982 it purchased Basco, which had 19 showrooms in the Northeast and Ohio, and Modern Merchandising, a Minnesota-based operator with 76 locations trading under several regional names. Best subsequently acquired Ashby’s, a nine-store women’s clothing chain, and opened additional Best Jewelry stores in the Washington, D.C., area. Its physical expansion was accompanied by an unusually strong emphasis on visual identity and architecture. In the 1970s, Best commissioned SITE, the experimental architecture practice associated with James Wines, to design nine retail facilities. The resulting buildings used apparent damage, movement, tilted forms, and simulated natural elements to make shopping centers part of a visual spectacle. Richmond’s Peeling Wall showroom appeared to have a facade coming loose, while the Forest showroom incorporated trees into its entrance. The Houston Indeterminate Facade used a deliberately distressed exterior, and the Sacramento store had a moving brick corner that opened in the morning and closed at night. These structures received extensive attention in architectural writing, although most were later conventionalized, repurposed, or demolished. Best’s cultural profile was closely tied to the Lewises’ support for art. The family assembled an important twentieth-century collection, portions of which became associated with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The company’s Parham Road headquarters, built in 1981 and designed by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer, also reflected this design orientation. It received an American Institute of Architects award and incorporated Art Deco eagles salvaged from a New York building. Despite its growth, Best encountered the broader difficulties affecting catalog and discount retailers. Competitive pressure and financial strain led to a Chapter 11 filing in January 1991. The first reorganization continued until June 16, 1994. Best returned to bankruptcy court in September 1996, when it still had 169 Best stores and 11 Best Jewelry stores in 23 states, plus nationwide mail order. Its NASDAQ-listed securities traded under BESTQ but were delisted on November 29, 1996. The final stores closed on February 9, 1997, and most assets had been liquidated by May. Best vacated its Richmond headquarters in January 1998, while final payments to unsecured creditors were mailed in December. The company thus disappeared as a retailer by 1997 but remained influential in the history of catalog showrooms, commercial architecture, and the Lewis family’s cultural philanthropy. In 2010, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts opened a café named for Best, reflecting the continuing institutional legacy of the brand and its founders.

• 2010

  Best Café opens at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

  [1]Best Productsen.wikipedia.org

  The museum opened a café named for Best, reflecting the continuing institutional association with the Lewis Collection.

• 1998

  Corporate wind-down completed

  [1]Best Productsen.wikipedia.org

  Best left its Richmond headquarters in January and mailed final checks to unsecured creditors in December.

• 1997

  Retail operations end

  [1]Best Productsen.wikipedia.org

  The remaining Best stores closed on February 9, and most assets were liquidated by May.

• 1996

  Second Chapter 11 filing and NASDAQ delisting

  [1]Best Productsen.wikipedia.org

  The company filed again in September, and its BESTQ securities were delisted on November 29.

• 1991

  First Chapter 11 filing

  [1]Best Productsen.wikipedia.org

  Best entered bankruptcy protection in January; the first reorganization ended on June 16, 1994.

• 1982

  Basco and Modern Merchandising acquired

  [1]Best Productsen.wikipedia.org

  Best expanded its catalog-showroom network by acquiring Basco and Modern Merchandising and their regional banners.

• 1981

  Richmond headquarters completed

  [1]Best Productsen.wikipedia.org

  The Parham Road headquarters designed by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer became a prominent part of Best's Richmond identity.

• 1970

  Experimental SITE showrooms commissioned

  [1]Best Productsen.wikipedia.org

  Best began developing a group of unconventional retail buildings with James Wines's SITE architecture practice.

• 1957

  Company founded in Richmond

  [1]Best Productsen.wikipedia.org

  Sydney and Frances Lewis founded Best Products, mailed its first catalog, and opened its first showroom on West Marshall Street.

American discount catalog-showroom retailer combining hands-on product displays, centralized inventory retrieval, mail-order catalogs, and broad general-merchandise selection.

• Retail format · 1957

  Catalog-showroom merchandise

  Best’s principal offering was a broad general-merchandise assortment sold through catalog showrooms. Customers could inspect display models, especially for electronics, appliances, and housewares, then order packaged products from store staff. Inventory was generally held in back-of-store storage rather than placed entirely on the selling floor. The model combined elements of discount retail, mail order, and showroom selling.

• Jewelry retail

  Best Jewelry

  Best Jewelry was a separate store format specializing in jewelry and related merchandise. The chain expanded this format in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and operated 11 Best Jewelry stores at the time of its second bankruptcy filing in 1996.

• Mail-order retail · 1957

  Best catalogs and mail order

  Catalogs were central to Best’s customer-acquisition and selling system from its founding. The company used printed catalogs to present merchandise beyond the physical showroom and maintained a nationwide mail-order service during its final operating period.

• 1996

  File second and final Chapter 11 caseOther

  Background

  Best remained a large multistate retailer but was unable to sustain its operations after the earlier reorganization.

  Action taken

  The company filed for Chapter 11 protection again in September 1996.

  Aftermath

  NASDAQ delisted BESTQ on November 29, 1996; the last stores closed in February 1997 and the corporate wind-down continued through 1998.

  Source

• 1991

  Enter Chapter 11 protectionOther

  Background

  The catalog-showroom retailer faced financial pressure after its expansion period.

  Action taken

  Best filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 1991.

  Aftermath

  The first bankruptcy period continued until June 16, 1994, but the company later required another restructuring.

  Source

• 1982

  Acquire Basco and Modern MerchandisingM&A

  Background

  Best sought to expand its catalog-showroom footprint and regional coverage during the growth phase of the format.

  Action taken

  The company acquired Basco, with 19 showrooms, and Modern Merchandising, whose 76 locations operated under several regional banners.

  Aftermath

  The acquisitions broadened Best’s store network and added brands including LaBelle’s, Dolgin’s, Jafco, Miller Sales, Rogers, and Great Western.

  Source

1. 1Best Productsen.wikipedia.org