Discount & Variety Stores Nashville, TN
1934–2002
Service Merchandise pioneered the 'catalog showroom' — shoppers browsed a printed catalog and showroom samples, wrote up order tickets, and watched purchases ride out on a conveyor belt from the stockroom. The format kept prices low on jewelry, electronics, and housewares, and the chain grew to hundreds of stores. Big-box and online competition eroded the catalog-showroom model, and Service Merchandise liquidated in 2002.