Indiana's L.S. Ayres & Company spun off a discount mart chain known as Ayr-way Stores, Incorporated. The first four units opened -in Greater Indianapolis- on October 13, 1961. Operations were soon expanded to the cities of Richmond, Anderson, Kokomo and Evansville. By November 1968, there were ten Ayr-way stores.
The typical Ayr-way would encompass between 50,000 and 100,000 square feet and include seventy departments. There would be sections for major appliances, toys, sporting goods, family shoes and apparel, as well as a Garden & Outdoor sales area, Tire & Auto store and Ayr-way Food Galaxy supermarket (these covering approximately 25,000 square feet).
L.S. Ayres & Company and Ayr-way Stores were acquired by Associated Dry Goods in January 1972. The Ayr-way chain was greatly expanded. In November 1973, there were twenty-six stores. By March 1977, there were twenty-nine. Thirty-two units had been established by November 1978. At its peak, Ayr-way Stores presided over forty-seven units; these operating in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky.
The chain soon came under scrutiny of the FTC for anti-trust violations. Allied Stores divested their interest in Ayr-way in January 1977. Forty stores ended up under the ownership of Minneapolis' Dayton-Hudson Corporation in September 1980 and were rebranded with their Target nameplate in July 1981.
AYR-WAY-ANCHORED SHOPPING MALLS:
*MARKLAND MALL, Kokomo, IN (1968)
*SCOTTSDALE MALL, South Bend, In (1973)
*BASHFORD MANOR MALL, Louisville, KY (1973)
