In 1958, Ayres acquired The John Bressmer Company, located in Springfield, Illinois, and continued to operate the store under the Bressmer name. The modern, six-story downtown store was known for its quality fashions and customer service and became a training ground for Ayres managers. William P. Arnold, who joined Ayres in 1947, became Bressmer's president and moved on to become president and CEO of J. W. Robinson's and president, CEO, and board chairman of Associated Dry Goods. P. Gerald Mills, an Ayres buyer, moved to Bressmer's and later became president of Dayton's, president of the J. L. Hudson Company, and the president of the Dayton-Hudson Corporation. David P. Williams III, who also spent time at Bressmer's, became president of Associated Dry Goods. In 1972, Bressmer's was sold to Associated Dry Goods and became a branch of Stix, Baer and Fuller, an Associated Dry Goods subsidiary. In 1980, the downtown Springfield store closed after a new Stix, Baer and Fuller branch opened on the city's south side.