Ben Schumin

Back room at the Gordmans store at the Wayne Heights Mall shopping center in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. This store had been converted to the Gordmans nameplate in February 2020 as part of a companywide rebranding by parent company Stage Stores to reposition the company as an off-price retailer, and consolidate the company's various brands under the Gordmans name. This store had previously operated for many years in a more traditional department store format under the Peebles nameplate. Much to my surprise, this visit to the back room revealed that this store had been an Ames at one time prior to becoming Peebles, as that red, white, and orange wall decor with the "A" is classic Ames styling. It also told me that this area used to be part of the salesfloor when it was Ames, and Peebles converted it into back room space.

At the time that this photo was taken, Gordmans was conducting a going-out-of-business sale, following an extended shutdown of all of the company's stores, due to their being considered "non-essential" in the pandemic and therefore ordered to close, ostensibly to combat the spread of COVID-19. During this shutdown, the company ran out of money and declared bankruptcy, which led to the winding-up of the company's operations.

More at The Schumin Web:
www.schuminweb.com/2021/05/07/gordmans-we-hardly-knew-ye/

Ben Schumin is a professional photographer who captures the intricacies of daily life. This image is all rights reserved. Contact me directly for licensing information.