After Associated Dry Goods bought Ayres in 1972, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission objected to the merger because of the anticompetitive effects of its stores in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, and in Evansville, Indiana, where Ayr-Way and Stewarts Dry Goods stores were located. There were also two Ayres department stores in Louisville, along with one each in Danville, Illinois, and Champaign, Illinois. Under antitrust pressure from the Federal Trade Commission, Associated Dry Goods sold its Ayr-Way discount subsidiary for $19.9 million in 1976 and closed the deal in early 1977. In 1980, the Ayr-Way chain, consisting of 40 stores and one distribution center, was acquired by the Dayton Hudson Corporation (now Target Corporation). The stores were remodeled and reopened as Target stores in 1981.