The store chain has been popular with female customers since the 1950s. Massive expansion took place during the 1970s. The 1980s saw the arrival of the Kress Kids line and other Kress trademarks. Kress was one of the stores that opened at Plaza las Americas before the shopping center expanded into the Caribbean's largest mall in 1980.
Tiendas Kress is a derivate of S.H. Kress and Co., or Kress Stores, an American five and dime chain of stores opened by Samuel H. Kress in 1896. Kress Stores were fairly popular in the United States until the American parents of Tiendas Kress collapsed in 1981. Some of Kress Stores have been hailed by architechs for their design, and been considered landmarks by many. Among the most famous locations the store chain had were one on New York's Fifth avenue, and one at Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard. The one at Sunset boulevard is now preserved at a theme park in Florida.
Tiendas Kress was never affected by the economic problems that led to their parent company's demise in 1981. Some of its strongest competitors include Marianne and Tiendas Capri.