Younkers Inc. is an American online retailer and former department store chain founded as a family-run dry goods business in 1856 in Keokuk, Iowa. The retailer had evolved over more than 150 years to include a presence in locations throughout Iowa and bordering states in the Midwest region of the United States. It is pronounced yong-kers. Younkers became influential as it acquired several rivals throughout the 20th century both inside and outside of Iowa. The chain itself was sold by the late 1990s, with ownership transferring out of state, and its Des Moines-based headquarters closed by 2003 as a part of a corporate consolidation. Following its last sale in 2006, Younkers operated as a subsidiary of The Bon-Ton, with locations in seven Midwestern states, primarily in shopping malls. As of 2013 the chain operated more than fifty locations in the region. On August 29, 2018, Younkers closed its doors one last time.
Exterior of Younkers in Traverse City, Michigan, located at the Cherryland Center, in a former H. C. Prange Co. The interior of this store was never remodeled, and retained 1970's style decor until it closed in August 2018.
The original Younkers store in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. The building was vacated when the store closed on August 12, 2005. The eastern building was destroyed by fire in the early hours of March 29, 2014.
A Younkers in Marquette, Michigan which was converted from H.C. Prange
Exterior of a Younkers store in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, a former H. C. Prange Co., in 2006, which was converted into Boston Store in 2008.
Bonton Holdings Inc. operating as Bonton was an American department store chain and group founded in 1898. The former York, Pennsylvania-based company BonTon filed for bankruptcy in February 2018 and sold the name to CSC Generation, which sold it to BrandX.com in 2021, operating an e-commerce site under the brand name. Along with Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson's, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's, and Younkers, the names of most of the defunct retail group's department store chains are owned by BrandX.
The former Bon-Ton store at the South Mall in Salisbury Township, Pennsylvania, which originally had been Hess's South
The former Bon-Ton store at York Galleria in York, Pennsylvania
Colonial Park Mall store in Lower Paxton Township, Pennsylvania, during its final Bon-Ton sale