Al's Formal Wear

Last updated
Al's Formal Wear
Industry clothing
FounderA. Haller
Headquarters Fort Worth, Texas
Key people
Yetta Haller
Productstuxedo

Al's Formal Wear was a chain of tuxedo rental stores that was founded by A. Haller, The business known as A. Haller Taylor shop on 311 Main street in Fort Worth, Texas in 1950. [1] [ citation needed ] A. Haller died late in 1950 and due to the community law, the company passed to his spouse, Yetta Haller. A. Haller and Yetta Haller had three daughters, each of whom received one-third of the business. Al Sankary and Son Jerry H. Sankary flew to Los Angeles to enlist the firm of Sankary, Altshuler and Sachs. Joel Sachs was an attorney who specialized in Trust and Estates and was charged with the task of determining what family member owned what percentage of the business.

After A. Haller died in 1950, there were disputes as to ownership and division of the entity, now known as Al's Formal Wear in Fort Worth. It has since expanded across many states, and is currently headquartered in Houston [ citation needed ]. Over the years, Sankary manipulated his way into purchasing portions of the company from Esther, Betty, and Lillian. Sankary continued to experiment with different concepts, including bridal stores, mall kiosks, manufacturing formal lines himself, uniform sourcing for the militarcleaning. He believed strongly in vertical integration; from manufacturing formal wear to retail renting to cleaning and then back on the rack.

In 1957, Sankary brought in his sister, Lillian and her husband, Alan Gaylor, into the business. Since that time it has grown to over 100 locations in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Colorado, Mississippi and Oklahoma [ citation needed ]. Today Al's Formal Wear is a family-owned business, with Alan Gaylor's son Stuart as company president.

The company stocks over 50 styles of tuxedos for rental, including designer names such as Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. The company also carries a wide variety of formal wear and accessories for retail purchase, as well as career apparel for occupations needing formal dress.

Al's Formal Wear fills orders for weddings, high school proms, quinceaneras and other events from its distribution centers.

Alan Gaylor and Al Sankary divided the business in 1978, with Gaylor maintaining ownership of the Al's Formal Wear operations based in Houston, while Sankary owned the operations based in the Dallas area. This division occasionally led to some customer confusion, but persisted until 1999, when Gaylor's Al's Formal Wear of Houston bought the Dallas operation from Sankary. At this point, the combined business included approximately 120 Al's Formal Wear, Ascot Tuxedos, and BridesMart locations in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. By 2006, some consolidation and the spin off of the bridal division reduced the number of tuxedo stores to between 90 and 100. After the purchase of Mr. Neat's Formalwear of Colorado, and an expansion into Arkansas and Mississippi, Al's Formal Wear now encompasses six states with over 100 stores [ citation needed ].

They closed in August of 2023.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Temple is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the city has a population of 82,073 according to the U.S. census, and is one of the two principal cities in Bell County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex</span> Conurbation in the United States

The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States, encompassing 11 counties. Its historically dominant core cities are Dallas and Fort Worth. It is the economic and cultural hub of North Texas. Residents of the area also refer to it as DFW, or the Metroplex. The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area's population was 7,637,387 according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. and the fifteenth-largest in the Americas. In 2016, the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex had the highest annual population growth in the United States. By 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area's population had increased to 8,100,037, with the highest numerical growth of any metropolitan area in the United States.

Foley's was a regional chain of department stores owned by Federated Department Stores, later owned by May Department Stores (1988–2005) and headquartered in Downtown Houston, Texas. On August 30, 2005, the division was dissolved and operation of the stores was assumed by Federated's Macy's West and Macy's South divisions. Foley's operated stores in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana. On September 9, 2006 Foley's and all the regional May Co. stores names were phased out and rebranded as Macy's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Thumb (grocery store)</span> American supermarket chain in Texas owned by Albertsons Companies, Inc

Tom Thumb is a chain of supermarkets in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It operates under the name Tom Thumb for traditional grocery stores and Flagship Tom Thumb for higher end stores in affluent areas. It makes up part of the Southern division of Albertsons. When combined with sister chains Albertsons and Market Street, it is the number two supermarket group in the competitive Dallas/Fort Worth area behind Walmart. The chain's distribution center is in Roanoke, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports Authority</span> Defunct American sporting goods retailer

Sports Authority, Inc. was an American sports retailer based in Englewood, Colorado. At its peak, Sports Authority operated 463 stores in 45 States and Puerto Rico. The company's website was on the GSI Commerce platform and supported the retail stores as well as other multi-channel programs. A joint venture with ÆON Co., Ltd., operates "Sports Authority" stores in Japan under a licensing agreement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tailored Brands</span> American mens apparel company

Tailored Brands, Inc. is an American retail holding company for various men's apparel stores, including the Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank brands. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas, with additional corporate offices in Dublin, California and New York, New York.

MW Tux was a division of Men's Wearhouse clothier that specialized in the renting of tuxedos and formal wear for men. In late 2008, the MW Tux Brand was rolled up into the Men's Wearhouse brand, and ceased being an independent brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David's Bridal</span> Bridal retailer

David's Bridal is a clothier in the United States that specializes in wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses, prom and homecoming dresses, quinceañera dresses, flower girl dresses, other formal wear, and alterations. It is the largest American bridal-store chain and sells 25-30% of all wedding dresses purchased in the United States.

Sid Williams Richardson was an American businessman and philanthropist known for his association with the city of Fort Worth.

William Troy Dungan Jr., better known as Troy Dungan, was the former chief weather anchor at WFAA-TV in Dallas, Texas for 30 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Texas</span>

The economy of the State of Texas is the second largest by GDP in the United States after that of California. It has a gross state product of $2.355 trillion as of 2022. In 2022, Texas led the nation with the most companies in the Fortune 500 with 53 in total. As of 2021, Texas grossed more than $300 billion a year in exports—more than the exports of California and New York combined.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randalls</span> American supermarket chain in Texas owned by Albertsons Companies, Inc

Randalls operates 32 supermarkets in Texas under the Randalls and Flagship Randalls banners. The chain consists of 13 stores located around the Houston area and 15 stores located around the Austin area as of May 2020. Randalls today forms the nucleus of the current Houston division of Albertsons and is headquartered in the Westchase district of Houston. The office served as the headquarters of the independent Randalls company before its takeover and later the Texas division of Safeway. The Randalls distribution center was near Cypress, Texas, and now is serviced by the Tom Thumb distribution in Roanoke, Texas, in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiesta Mart</span> Latino-American supermarket chain based in Houston, Texas and established in 1972

Fiesta Mart, L.L.C., formerly Fiesta Mart Inc., is a Latino-American supermarket chain based in Houston, Texas that was established in 1972. Fiesta Mart stores are located in Texas. The chain uses a cartoon parrot as a mascot. As of 2004 it operated 34 supermarkets in Greater Houston, 16 supermarkets in other locations in Texas, and 17 Beverage Mart liquor store locations. During the same year it had 7.5% of the grocery market share in Greater Houston. Many of its stores were located in Hispanic neighborhoods and other minority neighborhoods.

Alan B. Gaylor was a Houston businessman best known as the founder of Al's Formal Wear. He attended the University of Tulsa on the G.I. Bill, graduating in 1950 with a bachelor's degree in marketing and accounting.

Texas is home of several national sports league franchises among other professional sports, being the second most populated U.S. state. Since the state is located in the South Central United States, most teams are part of the Central / South or West league divisions, with the notable exception of the NFL Dallas Cowboys, which is an NFC East franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neiman Marcus</span> American luxury department store chain

Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. is an American integrated luxury retailer headquartered in Dallas, Texas, which owns Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Horchow, and Last Call. Since September 2021, Neiman Marcus Group has been owned by a group of investment companies led by Davidson Kempner Capital Management, Sixth Street Partners and Pacific Investment Management.

Albert C. Black Jr. is an American businessman who was CEO and chairman of On Target Supplies and Logistics, a company he founded in 1982. Black was the first African American chairman of the Dallas Regional Chamber in Dallas, Texas. He traveled to 16 countries on joint trade missions with former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk. He was chairman of the Baylor Health Care System, helping to establish the Baylor Diabetes Health & Wellness Institute. He is the current chairman of the Charles Sammons Cancer Center and the Dallas Housing Authority.

RLS Supermarkets LLC, doing business as Minyard Food Stores, was a privately owned supermarket chain in Texas.

The Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area has a population of Chinese Americans. In the second half of the 19th century, the area became permanently settled by non-Native Americans, and citizens of Chinese descent began to make the area their home as well. In modern times, the main population of Chinese Americans is scattered around the northern suburbs of the City of Dallas.

Gingiss Formalwear, formerly Gingiss Brothers, was a chain of stores specializing in the sale and rental of men's formal wear in the United States, from 1936 to 2003.

References

  1. "Founder of Al's Formal Wear Dead at 86". NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Retrieved 2017-12-01.