H.C. Prange Company

The H.C. Prange Company was an American company best known for its Prange's department stores, located mostly in Wisconsin. Founded in Sheboygan in 1887, the company expanded into other cities in northeast Wisconsin in the early 20th century by acquiring established dry goods stores. As the popularity of the suburban shopping mall grew in the 1960s and 1970s, the Prange's chain grew rapidly and extended into neighboring Illinois and Michigan, while most of its existing urban stores were converted into part of new downtown shopping centers. Prange's was the flagship chain of a company that also operated Prange Way discount stores, which were spun off into a separate company in 1990, and the id specialty clothing shops, among other ventures. Prange's was acquired by Younkers in 1992, which in turn was acquired by Saks and later The Bon-Ton, and many of its locations survived under a succession of new names until The Bon-Ton went bankrupt in 2018.