Dillard's - Fashion Company Profile
Dillard's is the Little Rock, Arkansas department store chain founded by William T. Dillard in 1938 and still run by his family - one of the largest fashion and home retailers in the United States, with stores concentrated in the South and Midwest. It trades on the New York Stock Exchange as DDS.
Company Snapshot
- Status
- Operating - one of the largest American department store chains, still controlled by the Dillard family
- Type
- Public - NYSE: DDS
- Headquarters
- Little Rock, Arkansas, United States
- Founded
- 1938, in Little Rock, Arkansas, by William T. Dillard
Shop Dillard's Now
Shop Dillard's on Amazon Shop Dillard's on eBayThe Amazon and eBay links on this page are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, Apparel Search may earn a commission.
Company Profile
The revenue figures in the record below belong to their period; the through-line that has not changed is family control and the store-first model William Dillard built by acquisition. His Texarkana-to-the-malls expansion and the acquisition decades are summarised below and kept in full on the history page.
William Dillard, the founder and Chairman, developed a keen interest in retailing at an early age: by the time he started his success story he had better than 12 years of part-time and summer experience working in his father's Mineral Springs, Arkansas store. After college at the University of Arkansas (1935) and graduate school at Columbia University School of Business (1937), he began as a management trainee for Sears Roebuck & Company, left after a seven-month training course, and in 1938, with $8,000 borrowed from his father, opened a small store in his wife's hometown of Nashville, Arkansas. Even in the beginning, the original stresses, he was well aware of the value of effective advertising in building a business, and with each expansion the company stressed value in its advertising.
Dillard's History
The earlier record for this company - its history, past brand line-ups, figures and photographs from the periods described - is kept on a separate page for historical reference.
Dillard's History & Historical Profile →Common Questions
When and how was Dillard's founded?
William Dillard opened a small store in Nashville, Arkansas in 1938 with $8,000 borrowed from his father, after working in his father's Mineral Springs store, graduating from the University of Arkansas (1935) and Columbia Business School (1937), and training at Sears, in the historical record.
How large is Dillard's in this filing?
Annual revenues exceeding $7.7 billion and approximately 330 Dillard's locations spanning 29 states, all under the one Dillard's nameplate, in the historical record.
What was Dillard's largest acquisition?
Mercantile Stores Company, Inc. in 1998 - a chain of 103 traditional stores based near Cincinnati, tender offer announced May 18 and completed August 18, 1998, with approximately 75 locations retained, in the historical record.
More Apparel Companies D
Start from the D letter hub, or compare this filing with its closest neighbours in the letter:
More to Explore on Apparel Search
References & Further Reading
Looking for More Fashion Companies?
This profile is one filing in the Apparel Search company names directory. Browse the full A-to-Z listing on the Fashion Company Names directory, or shop by category in the Apparel Search shopping directory.