The Howland-Hughes department store first opened in 1890 in Waterbury, Connecticut. In the late 1970s, SGC merged Steinbach department store chain and Howland's together under the corporate name Howland-Steinbach. Each chain retained its original name, but were operated by a single corporate office. SGC sold the chain the 1980s to Netherlands-based Amcena Corporation, the owners of the New York City-based Ohrbach's chain. Amcena in turn converted most of its Ohrbach's stores to Steinbach stores. The parent company also converted all of the former Howland stores to the Steinbach nameplate, and closed the former Ohrbach's flagship location in New York.