ZCMI, the department store chain associated with Utah since the area's pioneer history, has been purchased by May Department Stores Company, a St. Louis-based retail operation, Church leaders announced Oct. 15. The announcement was made on the store's 131st anniversary.
Announcement of the sale of ZCMI came less than two weeks after President Gordon B. Hinckley explained during general conference that the Church has divested itself of some operations, begun in pioneer times that were no longer central to its mission.
Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution was founded Oct. 15, 1868, during the presidency of Brigham Young. From its main store, it grew into a chain of 13 other stores — 11 in Utah and two in Idaho.
In a press release issued by Church Public Affairs, President Hinckley is quoted as saying that businesses "were begun in the early days when the Church was the only organization that could provide the capital that was needed to start certain business interests designed to serve people in this remote area."
He noted that the Church has long since divested itself of some of those businesses where it was felt there was no longer a need.
The sale of ZCMI stock conforms with the Church's policy to focus its efforts where they directly serve the mission of the Church. President Hinckley said that the Church is an ecclesiastical organization primarily concerned with furthering the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The ZCMI name will remain on stores during a two-year transition period. The downtown Salt Lake City store will remain closed permanently on Sundays. ZCMI's other 13 stores will remain closed on Sundays as long as they carry the ZCMI name.
