Sky City

Ghost Corp Apparel — resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.

Sky City Stores began in Asheville, North Carolina, on August 15, 1962, when retail executive M. C. Peterson developed the discount-store concept from the earlier Bowers department-store business. Its name played on Asheville’s “Land of the Sky” nickname. The formula was practical suburban retail: a broad, self-service assortment of name-brand goods, free parking, and none of downtown shopping’s ceremonial fuss.

The first Asheville store proved popular enough to expand by 1963. Stores followed in Hickory in 1964 and High Point in 1965, and the chain grew across the Southeast. A standard Sky City packed dozens of departments into roughly 28,000 to 51,000 square feet—apparel, appliances, hardware, toys, cosmetics, sporting goods, and the essential chance of finding something you did not know you needed.

Interco of St. Louis arranged to acquire Sky City in late 1976; Sky City entered the Interco organization in 1977 while continuing to operate from Asheville. By the early 1980s it had more than 70 stores in five Southeastern states. The final years were rougher: 20 of 55 stores were closed during a 1990 restructuring amid sharp competition from larger discount rivals. Interco’s 1991 bankruptcy included Sky City, and the remaining stores closed in January 1991, affecting about 1,000 employees.

Our Sky City collection celebrates the fluorescent-bright optimism of the regional discount emporium: oversized department signs, cart-ready bargains, and a hometown chain that once made the sky seem conveniently priced.