Industry | Retail |
---|---|
Founded | 1948 |
Founder | Jack and Joe Luskin |
Defunct | 1996 |
Fate | Liquidation |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia |
Products | Consumer electronics, home appliances, car audio sales and installation, office equipment, parts and accessories |
Services | Repair and installation |
Luskin's was an electronics chain based in Baltimore, Maryland, that was founded in 1948 and ceased operation in October 1996.
Luskin's began as an ice supply company founded by Jack Luskin and his brother Joe in 1948, [1] growing into a chain of electronics stores that later reached a total of 60 [2] in Maryland; Washington, D.C., and Virginia. The chain of Luskin stores would later be known as "the cheapest guys in town", [3] a phrase that would be used for many years in Luskin's advertisements. Another catchphrase the brothers adopted for their local advertising and promotion was "Jack and Joe will save you dough."
In 1985, Luskin's went public, though by 1996 the stock was selling from nine to twenty-one cents. [3]
In 1981, the Maryland Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division took Luskin's to court over deceptive advertising prices on three occasions. A settlement would be reached; though Luskin's was still in court for a separate incident at the time the closing was announced. [3]
Other controversies included a July 1992 promotion of certificates for free airfare and discounted hotel rates that the Attorney General's office claimed were deceptive. A later version that was slightly modified (removing the word free) was submitted for approval and began airing in September. When the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division protested; contending that in order to qualify, one would have to buy at least $200 worth of merchandise; followed by making hotel and other arrangements through a Florida-based firm named Vacation Ventures; on December 11, 1992, Harford County judge Cypert O. Whitfill wrote in an opinion that Luskin's planned advertisements were "neither deceptive nor unfair". [4]
At the time Luskin's closing was made public, Cary Luskin (the son of company founder Jack) also announced plans to launch a separate chain of electronics stores called The Big Screen Store. [3] Jack Luskin died on December 1, 2017, in West Palm Beach, Florida at the age of 89. [5] Daughter Jamie was a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2004 to 2012 before the team was sold following a divorce from ex-husband Frank McCourt.[ citation needed ]
Joe Camel was an advertising mascot used by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) for their cigarette brand Camel. The character was created in 1974 for a French advertising campaign, and was redesigned for the American market in 1988. He appeared in magazine advertisements, clothing, and billboards among other print media and merchandise.
Roy Rogers Franchise Company, LLC is a chain of fast food restaurants primarily located in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States. The chain originated as the rebranding of the RoBee's House of Beef chain of Fort Wayne, Indiana, acquired by the Marriott Corporation in February 1968. However, Marriott first used the Roy Rogers Roast Beef name on conversions of the company's Junior Hot Shoppes in the Washington, D.C. area in April 1968, then the existing RoBee's stores. An aggressive nationwide franchising campaign was launched. At its peak, the chain included over 600 locations. The chain now has 41 locations in seven states, either company owned or franchised.
False advertising is defined as the act of publishing, transmitting, or otherwise publicly circulating an advertisement containing a false claim, or statement, made intentionally to promote the sale of property, goods, or services. A false advertisement can be classified as deceptive if the advertiser deliberately misleads the consumer, rather than making an unintentional mistake. A number of governments use regulations to limit false advertising.
Weis Markets, Inc. is a Mid-Atlantic food retailer headquartered in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. It currently operates 199 stores with over 23,000 employees in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, West Virginia, Virginia, and Delaware.
Consumers Distributing was a catalogue store in Canada and the United States that operated from 1957 to 1996. At its peak, the company operated 243 outlets in Canada and 217 in the United States, including stores in every province in Canada and in the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, California and Nevada.
J. Joseph Curran Jr. is an American lawyer and the longest serving elected attorney general in Maryland history, and previously the fourth lieutenant governor of Maryland from 1983 to 1987. His son-in-law, Martin J. O'Malley, served as the 61st governor of Maryland from 2007 to 2015.
Ernst Home Centers, Inc. was a chain of home improvement retail stores founded in Seattle, Washington, United States. Ernst was started in 1893 by Seattle brothers Charles and Fred Ernst and in 1960 became a division of Pay 'n Save, one of the largest retail companies in the Northwest. After a 1984 takeover of Pay 'n Save, Ernst was sold off and went public in 1994. Following several highly publicized lawsuits and a failed attempt to open larger stores, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1996 and liquidated in early 1997. At the company's peak, it operated 95 stores in 12 western U.S. states.
BlueHippo Funding, LLC was an installment credit company operating in the USA founded by Joseph Rensin that claimed to offer personal computers, flat-screen televisions and other high-tech items for sale to customers with poor credit. In an article published November 25, 2009 titled BlueHippo files for bankruptcy: Company blames its bank; was accused of violating settlement with FTC, Eileen Ambrose reported that the company "was forced to file for protection under Chapter 11." On Wednesday December 9, 2009, the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy after having its funds frozen by their payment processor. A petition to a Delaware bankruptcy judge to release the funds was denied. The company's advertised toll-free phone number and website are no longer functioning.
MediaMarkt is a German multinational chain of stores selling consumer electronics with over 1000 stores in Europe. With the Saturn chain of stores it constitutes Media-Saturn Holding, owned by the retail company Ceconomy, which was demerged from Metro Group in 2017.
Sun Television and Appliances was a speciality retailer of consumer electronics, home appliances, and office equipment founded in 1949 by brothers Macy and Herbie Block. The company had stores in cities throughout the midwest, and also operated stores in rural areas of the United States, where there was no other competition in Ohio, Indiana, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky.
Krazy Krazy Audio Video Warehouse was a Canadian retailer of consumer audiovisual electronics. In operation from 1983 to 2009, the chain began to decline in the late 1990s and 2000s due to the changing consumer electronics market. Although no longer operating as a national chain, a few former franchise locations remain in business as independently operated local stores.
Douglas Friend Gansler is an American attorney and politician who served as the 45th Attorney General of Maryland from 2007 to 2015. Gansler previously served as the State's Attorney for Montgomery County, Maryland from 1999 to 2007.
Brian E. Frosh is an American lawyer and politician who served as the Attorney General of Maryland from 2015 to 2023. He also served five terms in the Maryland State Senate, representing Maryland's District 16 in Montgomery County. Prior to serving in the Senate, Frosh also represented District 16 in the Maryland House of Delegates, serving two four-year terms.
Sleepy's was a retail mattress chain with over 1,000 stores, primarily situated in the northeastern United States. The company was founded in New York City in 1931. Sleepy's was acquired by Mattress Firm in December 2015 and all stores were rebranded under the Mattress Firm name on January 1, 2017, but the website continued as an online retailer until 2018. Mattress Firm now uses the Sleepy's name for their private label mattresses.
Jamie D. McCourt is the former United States Ambassador to France and Monaco who served from 2017 to 2021. She was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in on November 2, 2017. Ambassador McCourt is also the United States Permanent Observer to the Council of Europe. McCourt is the founder and CEO of Jamie Enterprises and a former executive of the Los Angeles Dodgers. She became the highest-ranking woman in Major League Baseball, appointed first as vice chairman of the Dodgers in 2004, then President in 2005, and finally CEO in 2009.
Marley Station Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Opened in 1987, it was expanded in 1994 and 1996. The mall has 130 stores on 2 floors, a movie theater, and 5 anchor spaces. JCPenney, Macy's, and Golds Gym serve as the mall's current anchor tenants. The other two anchor spaces were occupied by Boscov's until 2008, and Sears until 2021.
Gerald Rosenberg was an American television direct-response advertisement salesperson most notable for promoting local businesses. His distinctive balding scalp, rotund body, thick Brooklyn accent and impassioned sales pitches made him a recognized television presence in the United States, primarily in the New York Metropolitan Area.
Prouds The Jewellers is an Australian jewellery business founded by William James Proud on Pitt Street, Sydney in 1903.