The rise and fall of Coldwater’s pride, Fred’s Inc.
A Tate County school bus motors by the corner of downtown Coldwater, Mississippi, where the original Fred's store now sits closed and vacant. It's emblematic of hundreds of stores, many of them in small rural communities, that are going out of business due to the Memphis-based discount store chain's struggles. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Fred's Inc. grew from a single store in downtown Coldwater, Mississippi, in 1947 to a chain of 700 stores across the Southeast, but is it being downsized out of existence?
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Alden Global Capital Fred's Inc. retail Rite-AidWayne Risher
Business news reporter, 43-year veteran of print journalism, 35-year resident of Memphis, University of Georgia alumnus and proud father and spouse of University of Memphis graduates.
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