In 2001, Stern's parent company Federated Department Stores opted to retire the Stern's brand. Most of the stores were immediately converted to Stern's corporate sibling Macy's, with others liquidated and reopened as Bloomingdale's.[1][2]
History
Stern Brothers was founded in 1867 by Isaac, Louis and Benjamin Stern, sons of German Jewish immigrants. In that year, they began selling dry goods in Buffalo, New York. From these humble beginnings, the Stern Brothers became an important merchandising family in New York City.
The 1985-1996 logo
In 1868, they moved to New York City and opened a one-room store at 367 Sixth Avenue. In 1879, the store was again relocated to larger quarters at 110 West 23rd Street. Outgrowing the store at 110 West 23rd Street, Stern Brothers erected a new structure at the same location which became the new flagship store in 1878. It was noted for its cast-iron facade at 32 to 36 West 23rd Street and 23 to 35 West 22nd Street.
The building was designed by Henry Fernbach. It was enlarged according to a design by W.M. Schinckel in 1892.[citation needed] The enormous, six-story building was executed in the Renaissance Revival style. W.M. Schinckel's typically 19th century addition tripled the dimensions of the original structure on the eastern portion of the site. The tall central section of this addition animates the long and delicately detailed facade. The company's monogram is still located above the central arch. (This structure is still in use today. The first floor houses a Home Depot, while the upper floors are showrooms.). Many members of the Stern family worked in this store, which carried both luxury goods and merchandise for the working classes. It was an elegant store noted for its fashionable clothes. Ladies from all over the city came to Stern Brothers for their Paris fashions. This enterprise was distinguished by its elegant door men in top hats and the generous and friendly service of the Sterns themselves.
Stern Brothers was a family business. The family for decades ran the store and family members filled the many positions in the store. However, Robert (1888-1954), the son of founder Issac Stern, changed his last name to Stearns and founded the investment bank Bear Stearns in 1923.
It was not uncommon for customers to be greeted by the brothers themselves. The family was joined by Arthur D. Brandeis in 1914. His daughter, Aliss Ruth had married Irving C. Stern, one of the directors of Stern Brothers and son of founder Louis Stern. Brandeis was president of J. L. Brandeis and Sons of Omaha, Nebraska, the biggest department store west of Chicago.
In 1913, Stern Brothers moved farther uptown and built a new flagship store near Fifth Avenue and West 42nd Street across from Bryant Park. The new store had nine floors with the buying offices located in the basement. Stern's catered to the Carriage Trade and had a separate entrance for customers like the Goulds and Astors. Since the store was near the Theater District, many up and coming stars worked in the store. The busy hours of the store were between 11am to 2pm, when local workers from the area were on their lunch break.
Quackenbush's department stores were rebranded as Stern's in the early 1960s
Stern's was purchased by Allied Stores in 1951. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, sales began to decline as most white New Yorkers moved to the suburbs. Stern's closed its flagship in New York in 1969 and moved their corporate headquarters to their store in Paramus, New Jersey's Bergen Mall, which became the flagship. At that time Stern's owner, Allied Stores Stern's merged the division with it Quackenbush division in Paterson, New Jersey. There was a second Quackenbush store in the Preakness section of Wayne, New Jersey; in the same year that Stern's moved its base to New Jersey it opened a second location in Wayne that served as the fourth anchor for the newly constructed Willowbrook Mall. Eventually the downtown Paterson store was closed. Stern's opened a new full line store in the Woodbridge Center Mall in 1971. Additional stores followed at Middlesex Mall, Essex Green, Seaview Square Mall, Ocean County Mall amongst others. The store briefly entered the Philadelphia market acquiring several locations of Gimbels Philadelphia division.
Chronology
Stern Brothers label in a women's jaguar cap (c. 1975)
1867: Stern Brothers' Department Store is founded in Buffalo, New York. by the Stern brothers, recent immigrants from Ziegenhain, (Schwalm-Eder-Kreis), Germany.
1867: Stern Brothers relocates to New York City and operates a one-room store at 367 Sixth Avenue.
1877: Moves to larger quarters at 111 West 23rd Street.
1878: Erected its 23rd Street flagship, noted for its cast-iron facade.
1913: New flagship erected near Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.
1914: Arthur D. Brandeis joins firm as Senior Vice President.
1922: Louis Stern, founder dies in Paris while visiting his daughter.
1925: Company fell out of family hands, and common stock was issued by a new owner, a banking conglomerate.
1988: Campeau acquires Federated Department Stores (FDS).[5] Beginning of Allied/FDS "tandem" operations. Five of the seven locations in the Philadelphia market are closed (all former Gimbels).
1992: Remaining 2 locations in the Philadelphia market are closed.
1994: With the purchase of R.H. Macy by FDS, the Manhattan Mall location of Abraham & Straus is converted to Stern's and serves as the flagship for the chain, which re-enters the New York market.
2001: FDS closes its Stern's division.[7] Most of the Stern's locations are converted to Macy's immediately.[8] Others are liquidated, with these stores either becoming Bloomingdale's or closing altogether (Manhattan Mall location is one of these, and laid vacant, until it was redeveloped into office space, with the lower floors housing a J.C. Penney from 2009 until 2020[9]).
Macy's, Inc. is an American holding company of department stores. Upon its establishment in 1929, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, Filene's, and Shillito's. Bloomingdale's joined Federated Department Stores the next year. Throughout its early history, frequent acquisitions and divestitures saw the company operate a number of nameplates. In 1994, Federated took over Macy's, the old department store chain originally founded in 1858 by American entrepreneur Rowland Hussey Macy. Despite Federated's long history of preserving regional nameplates, its acquisition of the May Department Stores Company in 2005 marked the end of those nameplates. By the following year, both the Macy's and Bloomingdale's brands had replaced them nationwide. Ultimately, Federated itself was renamed Macy's, Inc. in 2007, an acknowledgment of the old store's venerable name.
Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It has been a sister brand to the Bloomingdale's department store chain since being acquired by holding company Federated Department Stores in 1994, which renamed itself Macy's, Inc. in 2007. It is the largest department store company by retail sales in the United States as of 2023.
Manhattan Mall was an indoor shopping mall at 33rd Street and Sixth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. There are entrances to the New York City Subway's ‹See TfM›34th Street–Herald Square station and the PATH's ‹See TfM›33rd Street station on the second basement level.
Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain founded in 1861 by Joseph Bloomingdale and Lyman Bloomingdale. It was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1930, which acquired the Macy’s department store chain in 1994, when they became sister brands. Ultimately, Federated itself was renamed Macy’s, Inc. in 2007.
Gimbel Brothers was an American department store corporation that operated for over a century, from 1842 until 1987. Gimbel patriarch Adam Gimbel opened his first store in Vincennes, Indiana, in 1842. In 1887, the company moved its operations to the Gimbel Brothers Department Store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It became a chain when it opened a second, larger store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1894, moving its headquarters there. At the urging of future company president Bernard Gimbel, grandson of the founder, the company expanded to New York City in 1910.
Jordan Marsh was an American department store chain that was headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and operated throughout New England. It was founded by Eben Dyer Jordan and Benjamin L. Marsh in 1841. The ownership of Jordan Marsh was transferred between several holding companies during its operation, including Hahn Department Stores in 1928, Allied Stores in 1935, and Federated Department Stores in 1988. The brand was retired and most stores were converted into the New York City-based Macy's in 1996.
Kaufmann's was a department store that originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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.
Burdines was an American chain of department stores operating in the state of Florida, headquartered in Miami. The original store opened in Bartow, Florida in 1896 as a carriage-trade shop. Over its nearly 110-year history, Burdines grew into a popular chain of department stores, known as 'The Florida Store,' decorated with palm trees in the center of the store, painted in pink and blue, and other subtropical colors and motifs. In 1956, the stores became a part of Federated Department Stores, Inc., now Macy's, Inc. On January 30, 2004, it was renamed Burdines-Macy's, and a year later, on March 6, 2005, the name Burdines was dropped altogether. The majority of the stores were rebranded as Macy's while a handful closed.
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Strawbridge's, formerly Strawbridge & Clothier, was a department store in the northeastern United States, with stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The Center City Philadelphia flagship store was, in its day, a gracious urban emporium. The retailer started adding branch stores starting in the 1930s and, by their zenith in the 1980s, enjoyed annual sales of over a billion dollars By the 1990s, Strawbridge's became part of the May Department Stores conglomerate until May's acquisition by Federated Department Stores on August 30, 2005.
The Bon Marché, whose French name translates to "the good market" or "the good deal", was a department store chain launched in Seattle, Washington, United States, in 1890 by Josephine and Edward Nordhoff. The name was influenced by Le Bon Marché, the noted Parisian retailer.
Queens Place is an urban shopping mall in Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Just northwest of the larger Queens Center, it is located on Queens Boulevard between 55th and 56th Avenues. The building was constructed in 1965 as Macy's and was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. It was later converted to Stern's, due to Macy's of Elmhurst moving into Queens Center, as part of Macy's dissolving of Abraham & Straus, in 1994, and then, as a result of Macy's dissolving Stern's in 2001, closed by Federated Department Stores. Today its flagship stores are Macy's Furniture Gallery and Target, and it contains many smaller stores such as Red Lobster, Dunkin Donuts, Macy's Backstage and Mrs. Fields' Cookies.
Maas Brothers was a leading Tampa, Florida department store founded by Abe and Isaac Maas in 1886 that grew from a small 23-by-90-foot store to a chain of 39 stores throughout the Gulf Coast of Florida. The Maas Brothers brand went defunct in 1991 when it was consolidated into the Burdines department store chain, which in turn merged with Macy's in 2005.
Abraham & Straus, commonly shortened to A&S, was a major New York City department store, based in Brooklyn. Founded in 1865, it became part of Federated Department Stores in 1929. Shortly after Federated's 1994 acquisition of R.H. Macy & Company, it eliminated the A&S brand. Most A&S stores took the Macy's name, although a few became part of Stern's, another Federated division, but one that offered lower-end goods than Macy's or A&S did.
Allied Stores was a department store chain in the United States. It was founded in the 1930s as part of a general consolidation in the retail sector by B. E. Puckett. See also Associated Dry Goods. It was the successor to Hahn's Department Stores, a holding company founded in 1928. In 1935 Hahn's was reorganized into Allied Stores.
Read's Department Stores was a Bridgeport, Connecticut-based retail chain founded in 1857 by D. M. Read. Known for its classy, upscale merchandise, the flagship store was once hailed as New England's largest department store. It expanded to several other locations in the 1950s and 1960s, but these closed progressively through the 1980s and 1990s.
Bergen Town Center is a shopping center located in Bergen County, New Jersey, USA. The center consists of both an indoor mall and exterior outlying stores and occupies over 105 acres split between the municipalities of Paramus and Maywood.
Broadway Commons is a large shopping mall located in Hicksville, New York, United States. Opened in 1956 as an open-air shopping center called Mid-Island Shopping Plaza, it is currently a regional enclosed shopping center comprising 98 stores, as well as a food court and movie theater. The mall's anchor stores are IKEA, Target and Blink Fitness.
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