May Co. will buy Desmonds Formalwear

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Sep 20, 2003

ST. LOUIS (Dow Jones/AP) -- The May Department Stores Co. said Friday it agreed to acquire Desmonds Formalwear, which rents and sells tuxedos in the Midwest, for an undisclosed cash sum.

Desmonds, which operates 66 stores in 10 states, has annual sales of about $20 million.

May, based in St. Louis, said it will operate the Desmonds stores as part of its After Hours Formalwear unit within May's Bridal Group, which includes David's Bridal, After Hours Formalwear and Priscilla of Boston.

Major markets for Desmonds include Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; Kansas City; Minneapolis; Omaha, Neb.; and St. Louis.

John Desmond, owner and operator of Desmonds, will serve as a consultant to the Bridal Group.

Department store retailer May, whose units include Lord & Taylor and Filene's, acquired the 25-store Modern Tuxedo chain in June.

May plans to open 18 additional David's Bridal stores, 13 After Hours stores and two Priscilla of Boston stores this year.

The retailer owns 193 David's Bridal stores, 331 After Hours stores and 10 Priscilla of Boston stores.

For the latest fiscal year ended Feb. 1, May posted sales of $13.49 billion.