Von Maur

Von Maur is an independent, family-owned department store chain that operates full-line fashion and home stores across the central and southeastern United States, along with a national e‑commerce business. The company offers better to premium apparel, footwear, accessories, cosmetics, and home goods, emphasizing service and convenience through features like free gift wrapping, interest‑free charge accounts, and free standard shipping online. Its stores are typically positioned as anchors in regional malls and open‑air lifestyle centers, often alongside other national fashion retailers.

The company began in 1872 when German immigrant J.H.C. Petersen opened a dry goods store in Davenport, Iowa. Over time, the business evolved and expanded, eventually becoming Petersen Harned Von Maur. A major turning point came in 1989 when the chain adopted the Von Maur name and began a more deliberate push beyond its Quad Cities roots into regional malls across the Midwest. That shift laid the foundation for its current identity as a stable, upscale soft‑goods anchor in well‑performing shopping environments.

As of October 2024, Von Maur operates 38 locations across 15 states, including Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Georgia, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, and several others. The company has maintained a deliberate pace of growth, typically opening one to three new stores per year, with recent and announced openings in markets such as Rochester, New York; Alpharetta, Georgia; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. These new locations are often large, multi‑level department store spaces, frequently in redeveloped mall environments or new mixed‑use centers where an established, traffic‑generating anchor is needed.

Over the past five years, Von Maur has continued to focus on high‑performing regional malls and lifestyle centers in solid‑income, family‑oriented suburbs, particularly in the Midwest and Southeast. The company has shown a consistent preference for taking over former traditional department store boxes and serving as a primary soft‑goods anchor in centers that are being repositioned or newly developed. This measured, balance‑sheet‑conscious approach reflects a long‑term strategy rather than a rapid rollout, which has helped the brand maintain stability and relevance in evolving retail landscapes.