This retailing enterprise, which became a Chicago-area chain of department stores, was founded in 1883 by William A. Wieboldt. By the beginning of the 1910s, the Wieboldt store on Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago employed about 700 people and grossed $3 million in annual sales. The company added new locations over the next few years. By 1930, Wieboldt had five stores with a combined $21 million in sales. The company enjoyed another growth spurt after World War II, and by 1960 there were 10 Wieboldt stores grossing a combined total of over $80 million in annual sales. During the mid-1970s, the company still employed about 6,000 people in the Chicago area, but Wieboldt had trouble remaining profitable. In 1986, it was forced into bankruptcy, from which it never recovered.

This entry is part of the Encyclopedia's Dictionary of Leading Chicago Businesses (1820-2000) that was prepared by Mark R. Wilson, with additional contributions from Stephen R. Porter and Janice L. Reiff.