Caitlin abrams
The Pohlad Cos. announced on Monday its intention to sell Jewelers JB Hudson in Sioux City, Iowa Gunderson Jewelers.
In a press release, Pohlad Cos. said the sale is expected to close on March 31. No other financial details were disclosed.
The Pohlads first bought a controlling stake in JB Hudson in 2007. A decade later, Pohlad Cos. became the sole owner of the famous jewelry retailer.
“Following this sale, Gunderson’s will build on the strong legacy of JB Hudson,” said Ben Hawn, chief of staff at Pohlad Cos. “Customers in this market will continue to benefit from exceptional craftsmanship in jewelry making and repair and will benefit from an expanded assortment of fine gift, jewelry and watch brands.
The company Pohlad Cos. has unloaded some of its assets in recent months. In December, the company announced plans to sell the Go 95.3 and 96.3 radio stations, which the Pohlads had originally purchased for around $ 36 million. The stations were sold to a Christian broadcaster for just $ 2.45 million, according to the radio industry publication Radio preview.
One of the Twin Cities’ oldest sustainable retailers, JB Hudson dates back to 1885 when Josiah B. Hudson first opened a store at 230 Nicollet in Minneapolis. When a fire destroyed the store, JB Hudson moved to Seventh Street and was there until the Dayton Company bought the jewelry store in 1929. Over the following decades, JB Hudson occupied a first floor corner of the great store on Nicollet Mall, where he stayed until he walked down two blocks, to the historic Young Quinlan building at 9th and Nicollet.
A fixture on Nicollet Mall, JB Hudson dabbled in suburban retail for a while with a store at the Ridgedale Center in Minnetonka. In 2018, a sign of changing downtown shopping preferences, JB Hudson opened a satellite store that still operates today within MartinPatrick 3 in the heart of the North Loop. “There is a lot of confidence in JB Hudson,” said Greg Walsh, co-founder and co-owner of MartinPatrick 3 at the time. “We love its history, its iconic aspect for the Twin Cities market. “
MartinPatrick 3 CEO Dana Swindler said on Monday that he doesn’t anticipate any major changes. He expects the satellite store, called The Loupe, to continue to operate “as it does today, independent of JB Hudson.”
This won’t be the first time the jeweler’s ownership has been outside Minnesota: in 1982, Henry Birks and Sons of Montreal, Canada bought the brand, but it struggled, and James R. Cargill got it. bought out of bankruptcy in 1992.
A supporter of downtown retail and local causes, JB Hudson’s spectacular two-level corner storefront has hosted numerous fundraisers and fashion events.
