THE GREAT MERCHANTS

by Tom Mahoney ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 30, 1954

A fascinating foray into twenty great retail enterprises chosen as important in themselves and as representative of the wide range of modern retailing, this recounts the history and workings of the businesses and the personalities of the men and women who made them. The variety includes Hudson's Bay Company, still thriving; Brooks Brothers, America's oldest clothing store; Tiffany for jewels; Singer Sewing Machine Company, pioneer of installment selling; Brentano's for books; the A&P as world's largest food retailer; Sears Roebuck; L. L. Beau for mail order sporting goods; Ohrbachs; Webb's City-drugstore; Neiman- Marcus; Lazarus, etc.... There is interest in forward steps in business, as in employee relations, the triumph of Fileue's basement, Macy's cash policy. There are romantic beginnings, the most delightful perhaps that of Lane Bryant, which was the outgrowth of a young immigrant widow's attempt to support her son. The book will be appreciated most by people in the field for its generous range and attention to business procedures, but it is by no means limited to them. The institutions emerge with a wide range of personalities -- a definite addition to writing on the American business scene.

Pub Date: March 30, 1954

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1954

Categories: NONFICTION