[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by basehead617

Was there a Caldor in Seymour or Shelton or somewhere down there? I think I remember going to one in that area.

I'm thinking somewhere on 34 in Derby. My memory is very hazy though. I can only remember Ames being in Seymour. I am certain that there was a Bradlees on Pershing in Derby, where ShopRite is currently located.

Now that i'm thinking about it, i'm remembering a ton of Bradlees locations, but the Caldor locations not so much.

[AntonioR]

Originally Posted by sskink

I was a cashier at the one in Stamford while in HS in the early 70s. Awful place, awful customers. I was making minimum wage working part time and still got a shakedown from the union reps. Luckily for me I sprained my wrist, so I couldn't manage a regular register or stock shelves, so they put me in the parking garage booth. Got a lot of homework done there :-)

They used to be where Burlington Coat Factory is now next to the Ferguson Library.

The owners of Caldor are responsible for the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Cancer Center at the Stamford Hospital. In fact that was their names and the cancer center was started with a generous donation from them. Today its one of the top cancer research and treatment center in the nation.

[Mike 75]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

I'm thinking somewhere on 34 in Derby. My memory is very hazy though. I can only remember Ames being in Seymour. I am certain that there was a Bradlees on Pershing in Derby, where ShopRite is currently located.

Now that i'm thinking about it, i'm remembering a ton of Bradlees locations, but the Caldor locations not so much.

It's was where the Wal Mart is now on 34 in Derby.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by AntonioR

They used to be where Burlington Coat Factory is now next to the Ferguson Library.

The owners of Caldor are responsible for the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Cancer Center at the Stamford Hospital. In fact that was their names and the cancer center was started with a generous donation from them. Today its one of the top cancer research and treatment center in the nation.

Carl Bennett was called Cal which is why the store was named Caldor not Carldor. They lived in Greenwich and had ties to Stamford. That is about all I know about them. Maybe I will ask my aunt since she knew him. Jay

[AntonioR]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Carl Bennett was called Cal which is why the store was named Caldor not Carldor. They lived in Greenwich and had ties to Stamford. That is about all I know about them. Maybe I will ask my aunt since she knew him. Jay

The obituary of his wife:

Paid Notice - Deaths <br> BENNETT, DOROTHY BECKER - Paid Death Notice - NYTimes.com

[RogerAnthony]

The Caldors I always remember going to are the on Route 44 in Avon (currently Walmart) and at Bishops Corner in West Hartford (currently Walmart Neighborhood Market, Marshalls, and some smaller retailers),

[Wilton2ParkAve]

Caldor failed because it underwhelmed versus the cheap chic and higher quality target provided. Period. Full stop. They have also tried to resurrect CompUSA and circuit city as online only merchants but both efforts have floundered. This will also go nowhere.

[nep321]

Service Merchandise and The Wiz also have online retail web sites up and running. I don't know anyone who ever even mentions these vendors anymore, let along making a purchase from them.

However, I would say that Caldor was much more popular and recognizable than these other defunct retailers. If a new Caldor opened in real life, I would always shop there. I'm tired of Walmart.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve

Caldor failed because it underwhelmed versus the cheap chic and higher quality target provided. Period. Full stop. They have also tried to resurrect CompUSA and circuit city as online only merchants but both efforts have floundered. This will also go nowhere.

The funny thing is that Caldor was originally a more upscale discount store before they were sold. They sold better quality merchandise not junk like they did later. They could have become another Target but the new owners decided to go the Walmart route which meant certain death. I knew someone who was in Caldors upper management at that time and he said that there was a lot of turmoil at that time. The old management wanted to maintain the original philosophy while the new wanted to go cheap. It is obvious who won and what the decision did to the company. I wonder what would have happened if they stayed a more upscale discounter. Maybe they would still exist if they did. Jay.

[AntonioR]

Originally Posted by JayCT

The funny thing is that Caldor was originally a more upscale discount store before they were sold. They sold better quality merchandise not junk like they did later. They could have become another Target but the new owners decided to go the Walmart route which meant certain death. I knew someone who was in Caldors upper management at that time and he said that there was a lot of turmoil at that time. The old management wanted to maintain the original philosophy while the new wanted to go cheap. It is obvious who won and what the decision did to the company. I wonder what would have happened if they stayed a more upscale discounter. Maybe they would still exist if they did. Jay.

Probably they would had become a national chain. Its amazing how good opportunities are wasted when the wrong people take control of something.