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Strawbridge's

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Strawbridge's

Industry	Retail
Fate	Acquired by Macy's
Successor	Macy's
Founded	1868 (as Strawbridge & Clothier)
Defunct	2006
Headquarters	8th and Market Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Products	Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares.
Parent	May Department Stores (1998-2005) Federated Department Stores(2005-2006)
Website	Official website (2004 archive) at the Wayback Machine (archive index)

Building the 1931 limestone flagship building nearly bankrupted the company during the Depression Strawbridge's, formerly Strawbridge & Clothier, was a department store in the northeastern United States, with stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. In its day a gracious urban emporium, the downtown Philadelphia flagship store added branch stores starting in the 1930s, and together they enjoyed annual sales of over a billion dollars by their zenith in the 1980s. By the 1990s Strawbridge's found itself part of May Department Stores until that company's August 30, 2005, acquisition by Macy's Inc. May had operated it under its Arlington County, Virginia-based Hecht's division. It was announced March 10, 2006, that the store would be closed on June 1, 2006, but it actually shut its doors on May 23, 2006.

On February 1, 2006, the former May Company divisions were dissolved and operating control of the Strawbridge's stores was assumed by Macy's East. On September 9, 2006, the Strawbridge's and Hecht's nameplates were completely phased out in favor of Macy's. From 1870 to 1930, the 5-story S&C stood at 8th and Market (1910s postcard)

Contents

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• 1Early History
  • 1.11800's
  • 1.21900's
• 2Cultural Significance
  • 2.1Radio station
• 3Expansion and Acquisition
  • 3.1Repurposing of flagship store
• 4Flagship Store Features
  • 4.11st Floor
  • 4.2Mezzanine
  • 4.32nd Floor
  • 4.43rd Floor
  • 4.5Junior World
  • 4.64th Floor
  • 4.7Young World
  • 4.85th Floor
  • 4.96th Floor
  • 4.107th Floor
  • 4.118th Floor
• 5Branch Stores
• 6See also
• 7References
• 8External links

Early History[edit | edit source]

1800's[edit | edit source]

Strawbridge & Clothier began as a dry goods store founded by Quakers Justus Clayton Strawbridge (1838–1911) and Isaac Hallowell Clothier (1837–1921) in Philadelphia in 1868. Strawbridge & Clothier purchased the 3-story brick building on the northwest corner of Market and 8th Streets in Center City Philadelphia that had been Thomas Jefferson's office from 1790 to 1793 while he served as Secretary of State, and opened their first store. They soon replaced the old building with one of 5-stories, and then expanded into neighboring buildings as well.

1900's[edit | edit source]

In 1928, the company decided to replace all but one of their buildings with a new edifice, and began construction in phases on the 13-story building which stands on the corner of Market and North 8th Street today. Designed in the Beaux Arts-style by the Philadelphia architectural firm Simon & Simon, the cost of the limestone building was expected to be $6.5 million, an amount which caused some concern to the store's owners. By the time the ribbon-cutting occurred, in 1931 in the depth of the Great Depression, the staggering $10 million cost of such grand construction nearly suffocated the cash-strapped company.

The building subsequently became the eastern anchor in 1977 of The Gallery, an urban mall connecting Strawbridge & Clothier with Gimbels, which had relocated from across Market Street to join the mall. It was the vision of S&C Chairman Stockton Strawbridge that was instrumental in revitalizing the Market East retail district in the 1970s, a vision that is still apparent today despite the demise of both Gimbels and Strawbridge's. He once said that his goal was to transform fading east Market Street into "the Champs-Élysées of Philadelphia."

Late 20th Century Demise[edit | edit source]

After successfully fighting off a hostile takeover attempt by Ronald S. Baron in 1986, Strawbridge & Clothier survived as an independent, locally owned department store into the 1990s. In 1995, in an attempt to become the dominant retailer in the Philadelphia region, S&C partnered with Federated Department Stores, Pomeroys, and the Rubin Brothers real estate development company to acquire their rival Wanamaker's, but were outbid in bankruptcy court by May Department Stores Company. Subsequently, the thirteen Strawbridge & Clothier department stores were themselves bought by May Department Stores Company in 1996, when the Strawbridge & Clothier directors (mostly members of the Strawbridge and Clothier families) elected to liquidate operations over the vehement objections of patriarch Stockton Strawbridge. Strawbridge died not long after the sale. "He was the store, and the store was him," said his attorney Peter Hearn to the Philadelphia Daily News. Store employees and the public-at-large felt a sense of loss as well: many employees rushed to pay off their credit card accounts in full before the sale was finalized, "hoping that the proceeds would go to the founding families rather than [the new buyers]."

At the time of the acquisition by May's, the Strawbridge's name was retained, and the Philadelphia area Hecht's stores – the former John Wanamakerlocations – also adopted the name. However, the Strawbridge & Clothier head office was closed and its operations were consolidated with Hecht's in Arlington, Virginia. After the sale the stores operated simply as "Strawbridge's", although exterior signage reading "Strawbridge & Clothier" remained in place at many locations until the stores became Macy's in 2006.

Cultural Significance[edit | edit source]

Radio station[edit | edit source]

For thirteen years, from 1922 to 1935, the store operated WFI, an AM radio station. In 1935, the station merged with WLIT, owned by the Lit Brothersstore across the street, to form WFIL, an NBC Blue network affiliate. WFIL remains on the air today on its original frequency, AM 560. Suburban Square store Jenkintown store, on the National Register of Historic Places

Suburban Branch Stores

In May 1930, Strawbridge & Clothier helped remake the American retail scene by opening one of the first suburban branch department stores in the nation, located in the Suburban Square shopping center in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.[9] In 1931, it followed with its second suburban "satellite" store at Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, the building for which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.[10] Strawbridge's opened up a number branch stores throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. These branch stores typically were opened in shopping malls. Prominent stores throughout the Philadelphia area included the stores in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania, and Exton, Pennsylvania.

By the 1970s, Strawbridge's had nearly a dozen branch stores in malls across eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and northern Delaware. The branches proved to have been a wise step, as the flagship store posted only a few years of actual profitability, all of them during the 1940s.[4] In 1969, Strawbridge set his sights on competing with the emerging Target grade retailers,[6] launching the Clover discount store chain; the first Clover store opened in 1971. Located in strip centers rather than malls for the most part, Clover grew to have 26 locations, more than the 21 full-service S&C stores. Most Clover stores closed in the winter of 1997.

Store Features and Branding

Some Strawbridge's stores had restaurants inside, like at Christiana Mall in Newark, Delaware as well as the Strawbridge & Clothier store at Exton Square Mall. The company also revolutionized retailing with their introduction of revolving charge account cards.

Strawbridge's was well known for its handled shopping bags which kept up with the fashion of each era. It was a paper bag, with navy blue handles and it read, Strawbridge's in blue twice and red once on one side of the bag, and vice versa on the other. Once May assumed the company, the Strawbridge & Clothier Seal of Confidence was no longer a prominent marketing image. Late 1970s and 1980s bags were a bright glossy yellow with that era's pseudo calligraphic trademark in a vertical orientation in black along the bag's edge. 1960s bags featured a "modern" script-like trademark with their famous "seal of confidence". Strawbridge's was also known for its friendly employees. In the center of the flagship store was a large bronze statue of a wild boar. The legend had it that good luck would follow those who rubbed the boar's nose. The boar consequently had a very shiny nose from all the rubbing.

Repurposing of flagship store[edit | edit source]

In July 2006, The Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT), owners of The Gallery at Market East, agreed to purchase the lower floors of the flagship Strawbridge's store. It is anticipated that PREIT will seek retail tenants for the areas of the building closest to street level but may convert some higher floors to office space. The uppermost floors had previously been sold and converted to offices; they are currently owned by American Financial Realty Trust of Jenkintown.

On February 26, 2009, it was announced that the developers of Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia were looking into locating their new casino on three floors of the former Strawbridge's flagship store currently owned by PREIT.

In April 2012, it was reported by one of the sub-contractors that the building was undergoing additional renovation for both office and residential use. In July 2012, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News relocated to the third floor of the building from their former headquarters at 401 North Broad Street.

On October 23, 2014, the Century 21 Department Store company of New York City opened its first location outside of the greater New York City area on a portion of the street level, and the entire second level of the Strawbridge building.

Controversies

Strawbridge & Clothier was targeted by a small group of representatives from a collection of member organizations including the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), AFSC (American Friends Service Committee), and CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) to investigate store policies on hiring African American employees for jobs such as saleswomen and clerks. Strawbridge & Clothier was initially accused of anti-semitic prejudices, Jewish retailers eventually had a strong impact on retail in Philadelphia. African Americans in the early to mid 1900's did often shop in department stores but were less common shoppers in stores such as Strawbridge's. Charles Shorter, an African American who had experience working with the NAACP, set up a meeting with Strawbridge's president, Herbert Tily in 1946 to discuss the situation at hand. An unsuccessful attempt was then met with many more requests from Shorter to have another meeting. Tily did not respond and finally, Shorter along with Frank Loescher, a white, University of Pennsylvania professor, contacted a Mr. Herman Jackson to set up another meeting. Jackson was the head of the Merchants Association, Vice President and General Counsel to Strawbridge & Clothier. Loescher again came to a dead end when Jackson refused a meeting. Jackson believed that each store had its own policies which he had no control over and he became hostile after Loescher continued to ask how to get African Americans hired in these stores throughout Philadelphia. Jackson then moved forward and suggested that Loescher contact a Mr. Richards to move forward with this process. Loescher wondered if other stores like Gimbals hired more African Americans, would Strawbridge's? Richards became frustrated and scolded Loescher and asked what gave the AFSC the right to tell him who to hire.

"These department stores, particularly Wanamaker's and Strawbridge's, were also very much white spaces, where the economic rewards of white racial privilege were in evidence daily."

The gradual inclusion of African American saleswomen and clerks had many feeling that their presence would disrupt the stores culture. The less white people that were in the store, the less prestigious it would be considered. Finally, in December of 1946, Gimbals upgraded an African American woman to cashier in the rug department of the store. Loescher suggested that everyone in each group write letters and praise what Gimbals had done. Soon after, Stern's hired an African American clerk which led Loescher and others to believe that stores were finally moving forward and changing their policies. The rest of the stores made it clear that if they were to hire an African American, they would lose their white business. Eventually, CORE stepped in and helped create a petition that was handed out in front of stores in Philadelphia during the Christmas rush. These leaflets noted that discrimination in the workplace exists and goes against democratic principles. These petitions did in fact mention that Gimbals and Stern's were successful in the inclusion of African Americans as clerks and saleswomen.

Flagship Store Features[edit | edit source]

Each floor of the Strawbridge's flagship store in Philadelphia sold specific items. With thirteen floors in the original building, completed in 1931, the flagship store was the largest out of any Strawbridge & Clothier.

1st Floor[edit | edit source]

Fine Jewelry, Fine Watches, Fashion Jewelry, Fashion Accessories, Fashion Scarves, Handbags, Gloves, Leather Goods, Belts, Umbrellas, First Floor Boutique, Pickwick Sportswear, Blouses, Sweaters, Hats, Aisle of Beauty, Notions, Health Aids, Books, Stationery, Business Machines, Cameras, Men's Accessories, Men's Neckwear, Men's Dress Shirts, Men's Underwear, Men's Pajamas, Men's Hosiery, Men's Sport Shirts, Men's Casual Slacks, Men's Coordinated Sportswear, Le Mans Shop, Men's Shoes, Men's Hats, The Food Hall, Candy and Gourmet.

Mezzanine[edit | edit source]

The Food Hall Restaurant.

2nd Floor[edit | edit source]

Men's Clothing, Young Men's Shop, Boys' Clothing, Sporting Goods, Luggage, Fabrics, Needlework, Sewing Machines, Sheets, Towels, Bedspreads, Blankets, Comforters, Pillows, Bath Shop, Fancy Linens.

3rd Floor[edit | edit source]

Pickwick Dresses, Pickwick Coats, Misses' Dresses, Misses' Sportswear, Misses' Coats, Today's Woman, Contemporary Dresses, Contemporary Sportswear, New Editions, Trend Shop, Country Club Sportswear, Devon Shop, The Philadelphia Shop, Fur Salon, Bridal Salon, Millinery.

Junior World[edit | edit source]

Junior Dresses, Junior Sportswear, Junior Coats.

4th Floor[edit | edit source]

Shoe Salon, Casual Shoes, Pickwick Shoes, Pappagallo Shoes, Daytime Lingerie, Daytime Lingerie, Nighttime Lingerie, Leisurewear, Foundations, 4th Floor Boutique.

Young World[edit | edit source]

Infants' Shop, Infants' Accessories, Toddlers' Shop, Little Girls' Shop, Girls' Shop, Little Boys' Shop, Children's Accessories, Children's Shoes, Teen Scene.

5th Floor[edit | edit source]

China, Silver, Glassware, Open House Shop, Home Entertainment Shop, Table Linens, Housewares, Small Appliances, Major Appliances.

6th Floor[edit | edit source]

Lamps, Pictures and Mirrors, Gift Shop, Home Accessories, Curtains, Draperies, Pillows, The Cortinthian Room Restaurant, The Mirror Room, The Jubilee Room.

7th Floor[edit | edit source]

Furniture, Import Furniture, Interior Design Studio, Carpeting, Rugs.

8th Floor[edit | edit source]

Toys, Hardware, Garden Shop, Paints.

See also[edit | edit source]

•  Philadelphia portal
•  Companies portal
• Strawbridge and Clothier Store, Jenkintown
• List of defunct department stores of the United States

References[edit | edit source]

Notes

1. ^ Jump up to: ^a b c "Philadelphia Keeps Strawbridge Name But Loses Retail Tradition." The New York Times (July 22, 1996)
2. Jump up ^ "Strawbridge's Closes Its Doors" WPVI-TV website
3. Jump up ^ Strawbridge genealogy Clothier genealogy The Pennocks of Primitive Hall
4. ^ Jump up to: ^a b c d Milford, Maureen. "Upper Floors of Philadelphia Store to Become Offices" New York Times (April 7, 2002)
5. ^ Jump up to: ^a b Smith, Sandy. "Buildings Then and Now: 'Think Strawbridge & Clothier first'" Philadelphia Real Estate Blog (January 12, 2012)
6. ^ Jump up to: ^a b c Gilpin, Kenneth N. "G. Stockton Strawbridge, 83, Dies; Retail Industry Executive." The New York Times (February 11, 1997)
7. Jump up ^ Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers
8. Jump up ^ Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers
9. Jump up ^ Feinberg, Samuel. What makes shopping centers tick? (Fairchild Publications 1960)
10. Jump up ^ 
11. Jump up ^ "Strawbridge Receives Offer," The New York Times, April 22, 1986, p D-4
12. Jump up ^ Shope, Dan, "Strawbridge, Others To Buy Wanamaker, Federated, Boscov's Are Part Of $640 Million Deal For 14 Sites," Allentown Morning Call, June 22, 1995
13. Jump up ^ "May In Accord To Buy Strawbridge & Clothier," The New York Times, April 5, 1996
14. Jump up ^ "Historic Strawbridge's site back in limbo," Philadelphia Business Journal, March 10, 2006
15. Jump up ^ "PREIT's landmark Strawbridge's site has a tenant in Philadelphia", Philadelphia Business Journal, June 24, 2008
16. Jump up ^ ^{[dead link]}
17. Jump up ^ "The Renovation of Strawbridge & Clothier Building, Philadelphia, PA"
18. Jump up ^ Arvendlund, Erind. "Shoppers check out Century 21, new Center City department store" Philadelphia Iquirere (October 26, 2014)

External links[edit | edit source]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Strawbridge & Clothier.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Strawbridge & Clothier Building, Philadelphia.

• Official website (Archive)
• The Tale of Two Family Businesses
• Strawbridge & Clothier company records at Hagley Museum and Library
• 1990 Visa commercial featuring Strawbridge & Clothier
• 1996 NY Times article on the acquisition by May's