Turn Style

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title: "Turn Style" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["defunct-discount-stores-of-the-united-states", "retail-companies-established-in-1957", "retail-companies-disestablished-in-1978", "1957-establishments-in-massachusetts", "1978-disestablishments-in-massachusetts"] description: "Former American chain of discount department stores" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turn_Style" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Former American chain of discount department stores ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

Field	Value
name	Turn Style Department Stores Inc.
logo	Turn Style Discount Stores Final Logo.png
type	discount department store
genre
fate	stores sold individually to other chains
foundation	in Lynn, Massachusetts
founder	Harold Sparks
defunct
location_city	Brighton, Massachusetts
location_country	United States
area_served	Boston and US Midwest
industry	Retail
products	Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics and housewares.
aum
parent	Jewel
homepage	None
::

| name = Turn Style Department Stores Inc. | logo = Turn Style Discount Stores Final Logo.png | caption = | type = discount department store | traded_as = | genre = | fate = stores sold individually to other chains | predecessor = | foundation = in Lynn, Massachusetts | founder = Harold Sparks | defunct = | location_city = Brighton, Massachusetts | location_country = United States | locations = | area_served = Boston and US Midwest | key_people = | industry = Retail | products = Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics and housewares. | production = | services = | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | aum = | assets = | equity = | owner = | num_employees = | parent = Jewel | divisions = | subsid = | homepage = None | footnotes = | intl =

Turn Style was a chain of discount department stores and was a division of Chicago-based Jewel, the parent company of the Jewel Food Stores supermarket chain. Some Midwestern Turn Styles had an Osco Pharmacy, at the time very uncommon for a discount store in the 1960s and 1970s. At its peak, the chain comprised more than fifty stores throughout Chicago, as well as in downstate Illinois, Decatur, Illinois, Moline, Illinois; Davenport, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; Boston, Massachusetts; Merrillville, Indiana; Michigan, and Racine, Wisconsin.

History

TurnStyle was a Brighton, Massachusetts-based discount department store chain that was founded by Harold Sparks who had opened his first store in Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1957. Lawrence (1960), and Medford (1961). ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Turn-Style_Corporate_Logos.jpg" caption="Corporate Logos 1957-1978:
1) TurnStyle (1957-1961);
2-4) Turnstyle Family Center (1961-1964);
5) Turn-Style Family Center (1965-1971);
6) Turn-Style / Turn Style (1972-1978)"] ::

Jewel acquired the TurnStyle brand in 1961 and began rapidly expanding the chain. Sales for the 1961 year were listed as $14 million (~$ in ) U.S. dollars with four stores, with headquarters in Brighton, Massachusetts. The first Turnstyle Family Center was opened in Racine in March 1962 (with Jewel Tea filing for service mark as a single word and one capital letter).

At its peak, the chain operated throughout the Midwest, as well as in the Boston, Massachusetts, area. Within three years of having opened a store in Racine, Wisconsin, profits as measured on a ROI basis were the highest within Jewel Companies. Rapid expansion, the corporate decision to incorporate a catalog type store within its four walls, and an unrealistic divisive venture into the "hypermarket" business, all caused profits to suffer.

The economy also caused Jewel to rethink its growth strategy and the decision was made to sell Turn-Style (hyphenated in its trademark from 1964 until selling the division) in order to concentrate its growth within its core businesses, which were food stores and drugstores. In 1978, 19 out of 22 of the existing stores were sold to May Department Stores and converted to the Venture format. Other stores were converted to large Osco Drug Stores, and some were closed entirely.

References

References

1. Johnson, David P.. (). "Discount Stores of the '60s (1960s version of Turn Style references)".
2. . (April 21, 1958). "Lynn Turnstyle Store Birthday Sale Begins". *[[Daily Boston Globe]]*.
3. . (August 13, 1958). "Turn Style Opens New Self-Service Branch in Brighton". *[[Daily Boston Globe]]*.
4. . (August 14, 1958). "General News: 2D Turn Style Unit Will Open Soon". *[[Women's Wear Daily]]*.
5. . (August 18, 1959). "1st Birthday Sale By Turnstyle Corp.". *[[Daily Boston Globe]]*.
6. . (November 21, 1961). "Turnstyle Opens Medford Store". *[[The Boston Globe]]*.
7. . (December 7, 1961). "Jewel Tea Co. Set To Buy Turnstyle, Boston Area Chain". *[[Women's Wear Daily]]*.
8. Discount Merchandiser magazine, July 1986 issue
9. (March 30, 1962). "Jewel Opens Huge New Family Center". [[Chicago Tribune]].
10. Lazarus, George. (March 8, 1978). "Jewel to sell Turn Styles". [[Chicago Tribune]].
11. . (March 8, 1978). "Venture to acquire 19 stores of Turn Style". *[[Women's Wear Daily*.
12. (June 24, 1977). "Happenings". [[Indianapolis Star]].
13. (June 23, 1977). "Turn-Style Stores To Be Osco Drugs". [[Indianapolis News]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::