guiding the company through the modern era, announced his retirement in June 1983. His retirement resulted for the first time in the company's history that a Dayton family member would no longer be employed by Dayton's. Dayton's third North Dakota store was announced in November 1984. The store, located in Bismarck, North Dakota, at the Kirkwood Mall, was the site of a former F.W. Woolworth Company, later Woolco. The Bismarck store opened on August 1, 1985. Dayton's was a trendsetter in the marketing of exclusive plush animals available during the holiday season. In 1985, it introduced Santabear, a toy bear so hugely popular that it generated $300 million in sales within nine years. Its success inspired other retailers such as Macy's, Walmart, and Dayton's sibling Target Corporation to introduce their own holiday plush animals to bring customers into their stores during the holidays. In July 1988, Dayton's announced future expansion by building larger stores for its Southdale and Rosedale locations, the first Dayton's construction since the opening of the Bismarck store in 1985. This expansion was seen as a response to the planned Mall of America to be constructed in nearby Bloomington, Minnesota. The new Dayton's stores were to be constructed next to the existing stores, which would be renovated to accommodate 50 new retailers at Southdale and 30 new retailers at Rosedale. 1990s In April 1990, Marshall Field's was acquired from Batus Inc. by the department-store division of the Dayton–Hudson Corporation in a $1.04 billion deal. The new ownership planned to retain the Marshall Field's name, as it was well-known and well-respected. Dayton's again expanded into Wisconsin, and opened a new store in August 1991 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, at Oakwood Mall. After previously announcing its intentions in 1988, Dayton-Hudson also opened a new Dayton's in the summer of 1991 in Appleton, Wisconsin, at Fox River Mall, after closing a nearby Marshall Field's location. With the opening of the nearby Mall of America in 1992, Dayton's is thought to have struck a deal with Equitable Real Estate Investment Management Inc, the owners of both Southdale Center and Rosedale Center. In exchange for Dayton's agreement to stay put at both malls and not defect to the Mall of America, Equitable gave Dayton's $40 million to construct two larger stores at both Southdale and Rosedale, and Dayton's gave Equitable its two old stores, which were renovated into mall space. Dayton's new