Chess King was an American men's clothing retailer created by the Melville Corporation. From its founding in 1968, it grew to over 500 locations by the mid-1980s, before an eventual decline, sale, and closure of the chain in 1995.
History
In 1967, traveling salespeople from Melville's Thom McAn shoe business noted a "wide open market" for young men's clothing, which gave birth to the idea of starting a young men's clothing and shoe store. Market research reportedly found that chess and auto racing were popular interests of young men.
The first Chess King branch opened in the Dedham Mall in Dedham, Massachusetts (just outside Boston), in March 1968.[1] In 1970, The New York Times described the store's concept as "teen-male apparel dress shops whose stores are highly identifiable, with bold coloring and designs aimed at appealing to the 12-to-20 male market."[1] Five additional locations were opened in 1968, and 21 more in 1969.[1]