Reynolds Brothers

Last updated
Reynolds Brothers, Inc.
Company type Private
Industry Retail
Founded1899;125 years ago (1899)
FounderGeorge F. Reynolds
Headquarters Lakewood, New Jersey, U.S.
Number of locations
30 (peak)
Area served
New Jersey
ProductsClothing and accessories
Number of employees
~400 (peak)

Reynolds Brothers, also known as Reynolds, is a department store chain in New Jersey. It was founded in 1899 and operated a single location for over 60 years before starting expansion into a regional New Jersey chain of family apparel and accessory stores. The store was founded by George F. Reynolds and was later run by his son and grandson. An off-price brand of women's clothing stores, the Rafters brand, was added in the late 1970s. The company had grown to 22 stores in 1996 when it was sold to a private investor group. It peaked at about 30 stores a few years later before having financial difficulties. It downsized through bankruptcy reorganization in 2004 and reemerged with just three stores.

Contents

Founding

The store was founded in 1899 by George F. Reynolds and Walter Hansen and was originally called Reynolds & Hansen. The first store was in Asbury Park, New Jersey. [1] Reynolds bought out Hansen [lower-alpha 1] and brought in his brother John as a new partner. After changing the name to Reynolds Bros., Reynolds bought out his brother but kept the same name. [2] It started as a dry goods and home furnishings' retailer before evolving into a department/clothing store and later only men's, women's and children's fashions. [3] Reynolds instituted a policy of "always being honest with the customer". [4]

The store relocated to Perth Amboy where it operated as the only location for many decades. The store received electric lighting in 1909. [5] After a 1930 remodeling, it was reported to be "one of the most modern in New Jersey". [6] The store was reopened after suffering extensive smoke and water damage from a fire that destroyed several adjoining buildings in January 1951. [7]

The company incorporated in 1923, with its longest-term employees becoming board members. Other employees with five years of service received five shares of company stock worth $500, and those with more than ten years received ten shares. [8]

Reynolds leadership

Founder George F. Reynolds became company chairman upon incorporation and retained the position until his 100th birthday in April 1965. The birthday and retirement [9] was celebrated with an open house at the Perth Amboy store which Reynolds attended. [10] Reynolds died on January 16, 1967, at age 101. [9]

Reynold's son, Charles H. Reynolds, a graduate of Georgetown University, [11] joined the company in 1926. In 1955, he was secretary-treasurer of the corporation and later took over from his father. He died in 1987. [12]

Charles H. Reynolds Jr., the founder's grandson joined the firm in 1954 [3] and was the executive vice-president and general merchandising manager in 1964. He was a graduate of Cornell University and the Harvard Business School and was named president in 1970. [13] He became chairman after the retirement of his father [4] in 1978. [1]

Expansion

The company opened a second branch location in Toms River in 1964 in the Toms River Shopping Center. Charles H. Reynolds was president at this time. The store was reported to be "completely air-conditioned". George F. was 99 years old and still chairman of the board. [4]

The Perth Amboy store was closed in 1966, after about 60 years of operation. As the largest clothing store in the city, it was "regarded as an institution" but suffered from a declining downtown. [14] The executive staff relocated to the Toms River store. [15] Later that year, a new store was opened in Somerville [14] at the Somerset Shopping Center. This store was air-conditioned with 18,000 sq ft (1,700 m2) of retail space. The store was divided into various specialty shops, a new retailing trend. [16]

Charles H. Reynolds Jr. continued the expansion after becoming president in 1970. He added a third store in Hackettstown to the existing Toms River and Somerville locations. [13]

A fourth location, the 13,500 sq ft (1,250 m2) Woodbridge store, opened in November 1972. [13] The store was near the original Perth Amboy location, about 5 miles (8.0 km) away. It was the first store in the chain to display merchandise with etageres. [17] The store had 40 feet (12 m) of glass window displays in the front facade. The store was opened at a ceremony when a ribbon was cut by a 12-year-old great-grandson of the founder. [18]

In 1975, the company was awarded a $300,000 loan by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority for the construction of a warehouse and distribution building in Toms River. The project was expected to create 22 new jobs. [19] [lower-alpha 2]

The next opening was the Manahawkin in December 1975. The $1 million store contained 13,000 sq ft (1,200 m2) of retail space. [20] [lower-alpha 3]

In 1978, with Charles Reynolds, Jr. as chairman, the store had four locations in Toms River, Somerville, Manahawkin, and Hackettstown and employed 100 people in the stores and its headquarters. It was planning to add two new stores each year for five years throughout Monmouth and Ocean Counties under the leadership of Joseph B. Siegel, the new company president who had been recruited from Roos/Atkins in San Francisco. The stores, around 15,000 sq ft (1,400 m2), sold men's, women's, and children's clothing and accessories and the company was expanding primarily into shopping mall locations with better parking than downtown stores. [1]

A fifth store was added in early 1985 in Rio Grande. [21] The other open locations at the time were Toms River, Somerville, Hackettstown, and Manahawkin. [14] The Somerville store was extensively renovated in 1986, changing from traditional to contemporary. [22] A sixth store opened in Wall Township in September 1987. [23] Plans were to open a new store about every other year. [2] A new store in Franklin Park opened in 1990. [24]

Rafters subsidiary

The company established the off-price chain Rafters in 1978 which sold merchandise at a minimum 20% reduction to prices in the full-price stores. It did this by keeping costs down with simpler stores and displays and operating with a smaller profit margin. By 1985, there were eight Rafters locations in New Jersey and one outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [21] In 1986 there were 15 total locations including Reynolds and Rafters. [25] In 1987, the company said it planned to open about three more Rafters locations yearly. [2]

In 1993, the Somerville store was converted to a 12,000 sq ft (1,100 m2) Rafters store. The Somerville Reynolds store was suffering from competition from stores at the Bridgewater Commons mall. This location was the 18th and the largest store in the Rafters chain. [26]

Sale and decline

The business was sold outside of the Reynolds family in 1996. President Charles H. Reynolds Jr. had four children but none were interested in joining the family business. [2] [3] The buyer was an investment group led by William Goldman, owner of Edison, New Jersey–based Excelled Sheepskin and Leather Coat Corp. [3] The eight Reynolds locations, all in New Jersey, and 14 Rafters stores including 12 in New Jersey and two in Maryland were to continue to operate independently of the new owner. [3] In 1996, at time of sale, the entire Reynolds company had 340 employees spread across its stores and 60 more in the headquarters and distribution center in Lakewood. [3]

Sales dropped significantly in the late 1990s when the chain peaked at about 30 stores. It filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004. The company closed stores, eliminated its trucking operations, and reduced staff. It exited bankruptcy in September 2004 as an operator of three stores with 70 employees, down from 150. The distribution warehouse was closed in favor of a system that shipped product directly from manufacturers to the stores. [27]

Other

For many years, the employee annual outstanding achievement award was named the "Betty Award" in honor of Elizabeth "Betty" Reynolds, the wife of thirty-year company president Charles H. Reynolds Sr., son of the chain's founder. [28] [12] Betty Reynolds died in 2000 at age 97. [12]

Notes

  1. ↑ Hansen later partnered in the company Sharp & Hansen.
  2. ↑ The distribution center was actually in Lakewood at 1000 Airport Road and also became the company headquarters.
  3. ↑ This store was also reported to be the fourth location. The Woodbridge store was not listed as a location in 1978 and may have closed within a few years of opening.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Kling, Jack (Feb 5, 1978). "President of Reynolds Brothers Believes Now Is the Time for Expansion of Chain". Asbury Park Press. Asburh Park, New Jersey. p. 35. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Reynolds Bros. success tied to growth, service". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. Mar 23, 1987. p. 22. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Retail dynasty's reign ends". The Central New Jersey Home News. New Brunswick, New Jersey. Aug 16, 1996. p. 33. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  4. 1 2 3 "Reynolds Brothers Fashion Center Sets Opening Today in Toms Rivers". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. Aug 13, 1964. p. 10. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  5. ↑ "Citizen's Company Now Lighting Many Stores". Perth Amboy Evening News. Dec 18, 1906. p. 3. Retrieved August 21, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  6. ↑ "Reynold's New Store Opens Friday, Nov. 14". Matawan Journal. Nov 14, 1930. p. 2. Retrieved August 21, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  7. ↑ "Four Stores Wrecked in Perth Amboy Fire". The Central New Jersey Home News. New Brunswick, New Jersey. Jan 8, 1951. p. 1. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  8. ↑ "Reynolds Employees Are Made Partners in Perth Amboy Business". The Central New Jersey Home News. New Brunswick, New Jersey. Jul 6, 1923. p. 5. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  9. 1 2 "George F. Reynolds, 101; Department Store Owner". The Courier-News. Bridgewater, New Jersey. Jan 17, 1967. p. 3. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  10. ↑ "To Note Birthday". The Courier-News. Bridgewater, New Jersey. Apr 8, 1965. p. 11. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  11. ↑ "Bank Names Area Men". The Courier-News. Bridgewater, New Jersey. Jan 27, 1955. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  12. 1 2 3 "Obituaries". The Ocean Star. Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey. Dec 1, 2000. p. 24. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  13. 1 2 3 "Reynolds to open in Woodbridge". The Courier-News. Bridgewater, New Jersey. Nov 14, 1972. p. 32. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  14. 1 2 3 "Reynolds' stores moved south, up". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. Dec 23, 1984. p. 22. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  15. ↑ "Reynolds Plans Somerset Store". The Central New Jersey Home News. New Brunswick, New Jersey. Feb 16, 1966. p. 11. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  16. ↑ "New Reynolds Store Opening". The Central New Jersey Home News. New Brunswick, New Jersey. Oct 26, 1966. p. 29. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  17. ↑ "Woodbridge Shopping Center home of new Reynolds store". The Central New Jersey Home News. New Brunswick, New Jersey. Nov 17, 1972. p. 7. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  18. ↑ "A New Reynolds". The Daily Register. Red Bank, New Jersey. Nov 17, 1972. p. 15. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  19. ↑ "Loan Aids Project in Ocean". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. June 19, 1975. p. 4. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  20. ↑ "Clothes". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. Dec 28, 1975. p. 56. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  21. 1 2 "Off-price Retailer Drawn to Morristown". Daily Record. Morristown, New Jersey. Jan 6, 1985. p. 61. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  22. ↑ "Reynolds Renovating". The Courier-News. Bridgewater, New Jersey. Aug 12, 1986. p. 12. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  23. ↑ "6th store opens". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. Sep 20, 1987. p. 71. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  24. ↑ "New Reynolds Store". The Central New Jersey Home News. New Brunswick, New Jersey. Dec 12, 1990. p. 5. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  25. ↑ "Mantoloking". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. Apr 11, 1986. p. 6. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  26. ↑ "Rafters announces biggest branch yet". The Courier-News. Bridgewater, New Jersey. March 5, 1993. p. 28. Retrieved August 19, 2020– via newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  27. ↑ Kusterbeck, Staci (Oct 1, 2006). "Supply Chain: U.S. How Reynolds Managed Inventory Amid Crisis". Retail Info Systems. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  28. ↑ "Elizabeth Reynolds, great-grandmother of 37". New Jersey Hills. Jan 4, 2001. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
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