Bealls: A timeline of its century in Bradenton

1914: R.M. Beall and his father Oscar Augustus Beall open Globe Store department store in Palmetto. For a time the company was named Bealls-Theus because O.A. Beall's stepfather John Calvin Theus partnered with the Bealls at the dry goods store.

April 17, 1915: The Dollar Limit Store opens on Main Street then moves to Third Avenue and 12th Street in what's now the Drummond Building.

1920-1922: R.M. Beall serves for one term on the Bradenton City Council.

1922-1924: R.M. Beall opens a Dollar Limit Store on the corner of Main Street and Palm Avenue in Sarasota. Store consolidated with Bradenton store after boom ended in Sarasota.

April 1924: Dollar Limit name changed to V Dollar Limit, as in Five Dollar Limit, thanks to inflation

1924: V Dollar Limit moves to 1026 Manatee Ave. W.

1932: During Great Depression, R.M. Beall loses store to the bank

1940: Egbert Ruffin Beall, son of founder R.M. Beall, joins company after graduating from University of Florida. E.R. and R.M. Beall repurchase V Dollar Limit from bank for about $40,000.

1946: Store named changed to Beall's Department Store

1956: Westgate Shopping Center Bealls opens at 3905 Manatee Ave., becoming Bealls' second store.

1961: Bealls' third store opens in Venice.

1960s: Bealls opens a standalone fabric store beside its downtown store called Beall's Fabric Store.

1970: E.R. Beall's son R.M. Beall II, or Bob Beall, joins company.

1970s: Bealls begins a 20-year relationship with Bradenton's H. Butler Footwear to supply shoes and staff the shoe department.

1979: Founder R.M. Beall dies.

1980: E.R. Beall retires as president of Bealls Inc., replaced by R.M. "Bob" Beall II. Chain opens 20th store.

1980: Bealls reaches $38 million in annual sales.

November 1983: Just Labels, Bealls first foray into the off-priced goods business, opens.

December 1983: Bealls launches the Junior Images concept featuring stores with separate entrances for young men's and junior women's apparel. Concept would later be integrated into Bealls department stores.

1987: Original downtown store demolished, reconstructed. Proceeds of sale funded R.M. Beall Sr. Charitable Foundation.

1987: Bealls Outlet opens first store when half of failed Just Labels operations converted. Other half of Just Labels stores sold off to management company and shuttered.

September 1990: Bealls has 53 department stores and 26 outlets.

June 1, 1991: Bealls takes over operations of its shoe department after it ends agreement with H. Butler Footwear to staff and supply shoe department.

1992: Bealls Outlet opens first Bealls store outside of Florida, in Arizona.

April 1994: E.R. Beall retires as chairman of the board.

1997: BeallsFlorida.com launches and accepts purchases.

1998: Burkes Outlet created. Company makes up name as a way to enter Texas market where an unrelated Bealls chain exists.

2000: Bealls has more than 290 stores open between Bealls retails stores, outlets and various concept stores.

March 22, 2000: E.R. Beall dies at age 84 after a long struggle with Parkinson's disease.

July 2001: Burkes Outlets open as test in Tampa Bay, with the first in Lutz, to sell clothes for children and teens as Bealls Outlets were mainly attracting seniors at the time.

March 2003: Bealls Home Outlets created to replace 15 struggling My Gift Cottage stores.

November 2003: Coastal Home by Bealls concept opens in Osprey, Nokomis and Melbourne to test new furniture and home goods merchandise .

2004: Bob Beall's son Matt Beall joins the company, becoming a fourth-generation family member to work for Bealls.

July 2005: Bealls Kids Outlet opens in DeSoto Square Mall in a former Bealls Home Outlet.

January 2006: Bealls closes only Kids Outlet location, making it shortest-lived Bealls concept store. Executives say store targeted wrong demographic for location.

Aug. 4, 2006: Steve Knopik hired as Bealls Inc. chief executive officer, becoming the first non-Beall to lead company, replacing Bob Beall. Bob Beall becomes chairman of the board.

July 9, 2007: Conrad Szymanski, cousin of Bob Beall and grandson of founder R.M. Beall, becomes president of Bealls Outlet Stores Inc. after serving as president of Bealls Department Stores Inc., replacing retired president Paul Galizia.

April 14, 2008: Bealls appoints first female president, Lana Cain Krauter, who oversees Bealls Department Stores Inc.

Feb. 1, 2011: Krauter leaves position as Bealls Department Stores president to become senior vice president and president of Sears Apparel.

Jan. 22, 2011: Lorna Nagler hired as new president of Bealls Department Stores Inc.

Oct. 1, 2012: Dave Alves becomes Bealls Outlet president, replacing the retiring Conrad Szymanski, who served Bealls Inc. since 1979.

2013: Bealls redesigns Bealls Outlet division with new design, updated logo. Westgate Manatee Avenue store first in company to get treatment.

2014: BurkesOutlet.com launches with ability to buy merchandise online, also serving Bealls Outlets.

2015: Bealls now has more than $1 billion in annual sales at its 100th anniversary with more than 535 department and outlet stores.

2015: Bealls launches new concept store Bunulu that focuses on upscale coastal lifestyle products for women, set to compete against Chico's. First stores to open in the fall.

-- Compiled from Herald archives

This story was originally published March 1, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Bealls: A timeline of its century in Bradenton ."