type subsidiary industry retail founded 1908 founder edward filene defunct 2011 headquarters burlington massachusetts number of locations 20 stand alone stores 7 syms & filene s basement key people mark shulman president ; james rudd executive vice president products apparel jewelry shoes accessories and home goods . net income 389.3 million 1 parent syms slogan where bargains were born website www.filenesbasement.com filene s basement also called the basement was a massachusetts based chain of department stores which was owned by retail ventures inc. until april 2009 when it was sold to syms . the oldest off price retailer in the united states filene s basement focused on high end goods and was known for its distinctive low technology automatic markdown system . as of late 2006 the company operated stores in metropolitan areas in eight u.s. states and washington d.c. and used a 470 000 square foot 44 000 m2 distribution center in auburn massachusetts . the store s name was derived from the subterranean location of its flagship store in the basement of the former filene s department store at downtown crossing in boston massachusetts . the flagship downtown crossing store closed in september 2007 while the building above it underwent construction and had been set to reopen following the conclusion of the construction . 1 the 2009 economic crisis negatively impacted the chain prompting the closing of many stores and the eventual sale of the chain from retail ventures inc. to buxbaum group which filed for bankruptcy in may 2009 . filene s basement was then sold to syms corporation which also owns the syms chain of off price stores . in november 2011 syms filed for bankruptcy resulting in a liquidation sale . the last filene s basement stores closed permanently on december 29 2011 . in 2012 private equity firm trinity place holdings acquired by brand copyright to filene s basement . in fall of 2015 filene s basement was reopened exclusively as an online retailer . 2 contents 1 history 1.1 bankruptcy and sale 1.2 post closure and relaunch 1.3 documentary 2 store features and events 2.1 the automatic markdown system 2.2 running of the brides 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit the history of filene s basement is intertwined with that of the venerable filene s chain . in 1908 edward a. filene son of the founder of filene s william filene came up with the idea of selling surplus overstock and closeout merchandise in the basement of his father s store . filene s automatic bargain basement as it was originally called opened in 1909 beneath the downtown crossing location . 3 filene s basement and its sister company filene s department store were wholly owned by federated department stores of cincinnati . the two entities shared many operating systems including payroll benefits and a common credit card . top executives at the time included sam diphillippo marketing audie dunham and kathleen collman hr and others . following the ill fated acquisition of federated by campeau corp. of canada filene s basement was spun off . it became a privately held venture in a lbo arrangement led by then ceo & president jim anathan chairman sam gerson and other investors . the entity became known as filene s basement inc. and remained headquartered in wellesley massachusetts . in april 1988 filene s was purchased and acquired by may department stores and the fortunes of the stores diverged . filene s basement now a separate company embarked on a massive but ill advised strategy of expansion that ten years later in august 1998 forced the chain to seek chapter 11 bankruptcy protection ; more than 30 outlets were shuttered . 4 filene s basement s journey through the bankruptcy process was brief and expansion soon resumed albeit more cautiously . 5 in march 1999 the company debuted a new weekend warehouse store concept aisle 3 . the stores averaging 60 000 square feet 5 600 m2 operated only friday through sunday and were located near major metropolitan areas . 6 plans were to open at least 10 stores by the end of 1999 and 40 to 50 stores in the following years but ultimately only eight opened . all aisle 3 location were closed following the purchase of filene s basement by value city department stores inc. later retail ventures inc. in march 2000 . soon afterward three filene s basement locations reopened in the vicinity of washington d.c. and modest efforts at expansion resumed . 7 in 2006 macy s department stores purchased the original filene s chain . because many store locations between the two chains did not overlap most filene s locations were spared and reopened as macy s but the flagship location which sat across the street from an existing macy s store was not . macy s shuttered the filene s in boston s downtown crossing directly above the flagship filene s basement location and sold the building for redevelopment . that filene s basement location was subsequently closed on september 3 2007 to accommodate the redevelopment project . at the time plans were announced to reopen filene s basement in the same location in 2009 although the announcement also claimed there was no legal obligation to do so . boston mayor tom menino expressed concern that the chain was not able to find a temporary location for the store during the two year renovation saying they could have found a location in the city if they really wanted to continue the business . 8 however filene s basement had already opened a second boston store in 2006 one mile away from the flagship store on boylston street near copley square . due to a number of factors renovations on the downtown crossing site came to a halt during late 2008 leaving the building partially gutted ; as 2009 came to a close filene s basement had not moved back into their former space as originally planned . bankruptcy and sale edit the economic crisis took its toll on the chain and owner retail ventures inc announced on january 20 2009 its plans to close 11 of the chain s 36 stores . 9 the store closures did not help and on april 22 2009 retail ventures inc. announced that it had sold the remaining 25 filene s basement stores to the buxbaum group a company that specializes in liquidations . the buxbaum group did not indicate what it would do with its acquisition although retail ventures had previously indicated that the company s future was uncertain . 10 the store officially filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on may 4 while real estate investors crown acquisitions and the chetrit group offered 22 million to purchase the name and leases on 17 of filene s basement s most profitable stores . they announced that they would keep the stores open and focus on castoffs from luxury goods makers . 11 on june 15 2009 syms and vornado were declared the winners of the bankruptcy auction of filene s basement s assets when the syms vornado group agreed to pay 62.4 million dollars subject to bankruptcy court approval . 12 post closure and relaunch edit filene s basement and parent company syms corporation posted messages on their respective websites thanking customers for their continued support stating that although their stores are currently closed they expect their famous brands to continue on . they encouraged people to leave their personal information in order to be informed of any future relaunch . they also provided information on how to purchase rights to the company s brands trademarks and other intangible assets and erected a website to view the bankruptcy case and pertinent phone numbers . citation needed in january 2015 a new website was posted on www.filenesbasement.com encouraging people to sign up for information leading to a possible relaunch . as of mid february items are for sale on the site . documentary edit a documentary film titled voices from the basement and in the works since 2004 aired on wgbh tv boston on december 9 2010 . the film features stories from the people who worked and shopped in the basement and include former massachusetts governor michael dukakis congressman barney frank mayor tom menino estelle parsons and mike wallace . the film is the work of filmmaker michael bavaro and premiered at the omni parker house in boston . 13 14 store features and events edit the automatic markdown system edit a description of the basement s markdown system from a 1982 new york times article ... every article is marked with a tag showing the price and the date the article was first put on sale . twelve days later if it has not been sold it is reduced by 25 percent . six selling days later it is cut by 50 percent and after an additional six days it is offered at 75 percent off the original price . after six more days or a total of 30 if it is not sold it is given to charity . 15 in january 2004 the automatic markdown system was changed to require 14 days between each mark down . 16 the markdown system was only in effect at the downtown crossing store and was not extended to any of the chain s other stores even after the downtown crossing store closed in 2007 . citation needed running of the brides edit main article running of the brides starting in 1947 the boston flagship store held an annual one day bridal gown sale . in 1997 the sale was the subject of a study by two marketing professors at bentley college subsequently published in an article in developments in marketing science . citation needed in 2008 after the flagship store had closed the event moved to the hynes convention center . filene s basement stores in other cities have also held these events . citation needed see also edit list of defunct department stores of the united states references edit ryan andrew september 4 2007 . closing leaves shoppers down in the basement . boston globe . filene s basement is coming back from the dead . washington post . retrieved 2016 09 12 . our story . filene s basement . filene s basement chapter 11 petition pdf . pacermonitor . pacermonitor . retrieved 31 may 2016 . filene s basement to close almost half its stores . new york times . november 13 1999 . hershy jr. robert d. march 14 1999 . living for the weekend . new york times . cs1 maint multiple names authors list link goodison donna l. february 8 2002 . value city nixes 275m sale of filene s basement . boston business journal . abelson jenn june 15 2007 . filene s basement to shut flagship till 09 . boston globe . abelson jenn january 20 2009 . filene s basement to close 11 stores . the boston globe . retrieved may 4 2009 . staff april 25 2009 . new owner no big changes planned for filene s . the patriot ledger . retrieved may 4 2009 . dodes rachel may 4 2009 . filene s basement seeks chapter 11 protection . the wall street journal . retrieved may 4 2009 . wahba phil june 15 2009 . syms vornado win filene s with 62.4 million bid . reuters . gwyr lori . the filene s basement story from those who knew it best . wgbh . gilbert matthew december 9 2010 . shoppers never discounted this spot pbs revisits the glory days of filene s basement . the boston globe . blumenthal deborah april 18 1982 . shopper s world ; boston s favorite bargain store . new york times . bruce mohl september 4 2004 . filene s basement markdown policy gets a makeover after 96 years . boston globe . external links edit filene s