Gimbels

Gimbel Brothers
Company type	Public (formerly family-controlled)
Industry	Retail (department stores)
Founded	January 1, 1842; 184 years ago in Vincennes, Indiana, U.S.
Founder	Adam Gimbel
Defunct	1987
Fate	Closed; stores sold off
Headquarters	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Area served	United States (primarily Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Connecticut)
Key people	Bernard Gimbel (leader), Adam Long Gimbel (executive)
Products	Department store merchandise including apparel, appliances, furniture, toys, jewelry
Parent	Brown & Williamson (from 1973)

Gimbel Brothers, widely known as Gimbels, was a significant American department store chain that operated from 1842 until 1987. The company was established by entrepreneur Adam Gimbel in Vincennes, Indiana, before moving its base to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1887. The business expanded into a chain with a second location opening in Philadelphia by 1894, which also became the new headquarters. Under the guidance of Bernard Gimbel, the founder’s grandson and influential leader, the firm entered the New York City market in 1910.

Gimbels became notable for initiating the oldest Thanksgiving parade, the 6abc Dunkin' Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade held in Philadelphia since 1920. It was a major rival to Macy’s, with their competition becoming embedded in American commercial history. By 1930, Gimbels operated 20 stores and ranked as the largest department store chain worldwide by revenue. The company reached its zenith with 53 stores in 1965 before ceasing operations in 1987, at which time it maintained 35 outlets across Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Connecticut.

Early history

The enterprise was started by Bavarian Jewish immigrant Adam Gimbel as a general merchandise store in Vincennes. In 1887, it moved to Milwaukee to tap into a burgeoning market. Under Isaac Gimbel’s leadership in 1894, the company acquired Granville Haines in Philadelphia and expanded further into New York City by 1910, establishing itself as a prominent retail competitor alongside Macy’s flagship at Herald Square.

Gimbels’ approach focused on standing out through advertising slogans such as "Select, don't settle," which bolstered its competitive position. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1922 while maintaining family control. The capital raised facilitated expansion efforts including the purchase of Saks & Co. in 1923, which led to the creation of Saks Fifth Avenue as a high-end subsidiary brand.

The company diversified by investing in radio stations WGBS (New York) and WIP (Philadelphia). In 1925, Gimbels expanded into Pittsburgh by acquiring Kaufmann & Baer along with radio station WCAE. Although plans for nationwide growth were hindered by the Great Depression, Saks Fifth Avenue was developed into a profitable luxury brand with new locations opening in Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco throughout the 1930s.

Success

By 1930, Gimbels operated seven flagship stores across the country and achieved $123 million in sales ($ billion adjusted for inflation), making it the largest department store corporation globally at that time. Sales rose to $300 million ($ billion adjusted) by 1953. In 1962, Gimbels acquired Milwaukee rival Schuster's, briefly rebranding some outlets as Gimbels Schuster's. By 1965, the company oversaw 53 stores, including 22 under the Gimbels name, 27 Saks Fifth Avenue locations, and four Saks 34th St stores.

Gimbels and the middle class

Gimbels specifically catered to middle-class consumers by promoting values such as "courtesy, reliability, good value, and enlightened management." The brand positioned itself as a sensible alternative to more lavish competitors with its slogan "the customer pays for fancy frills," emphasizing product quality over ornamental features. It also offered modern technology and affordable appliances aligned with middle-class aspirations to remain current with innovations.

Merchandise

Gimbels offered a diverse selection of products, including household appliances, outdoor gear, furniture, and apparel. Its flagship locations were organized across several floors, each dedicated to specific departments such as fine jewelry, men's and women's fashion, children's wear, toys, art materials, and home appliances. The Philadelphia store also featured unique amenities like The Gimbel Auditorium, Television Headquarters, a beauty salon, and a music center, underscoring its role as a full-service retail hub.

Publicity

Gimbels achieved national prominence through its competition with Macy's and vigorous promotional campaigns. The New York store gained attention by hosting the 1939–1940 auction of art and antiques from the William Randolph Hearst estate. The brand was embedded in popular culture, appearing in films such as Miracle on 34th Street (1947) and Fitzwilly (1967), and was frequently mentioned as a shopping locale on the 1950s television show I Love Lucy.

The Philadelphia store was notable for introducing the Slinky toy to the market and was the first department store worldwide to implement escalators for customer movement between floors, demonstrating its pioneering retail practices.

Gimbels Thanksgiving Day Parade

In 1920, Gimbels pioneered the concept of the department-store parade with what is currently known as the 6abc Dunkin' Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade. This event served as a key marketing strategy to stimulate holiday sales across its outlets. Macy's followed with its own parade four years later in 1924. After Gimbels closed in 1986, WPVI television assumed control of the parade's organization, which today is sponsored by Dunkin' Donuts.

Acquisition and closure

In 1973, Louisville-based conglomerate Brown & Williamson—a U.S. subsidiary of British American Tobacco—purchased Gimbels. This company also owned several other retail chains such as Marshall Field's (acquired in 1982), Frederick & Nelson, The Crescent, and Kohl's (acquired in 1972). These assets were grouped under BATUS Retail Group.

Initially, BATUS preserved Gimbels’ four independent divisions—New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee—each managing separate advertising campaigns, procurement functions, and individual charge card systems. To streamline operations in 1983, the New York and Philadelphia divisions merged into Gimbels East to lower administrative expenses.

Viewing Gimbels as an underperforming entity with limited expansion opportunities, BATUS opted to shut down the chain in 1986 and sell off its store real estate. Major locations were acquired by Stern's (Allied Stores), Pomeroy's (Allied Stores), Kaufmann's (May Department Stores), or Boston Store. The flagship outlet in Milwaukee was transferred to sister company Marshall Field's but eventually closed in 1997.

Store divisions

Gimbels’ principal stores were situated in New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee.

New York flagship store

The flagship store in New York City was located near Herald Square within Midtown Manhattan. Designed by architect Daniel Burnham, it opened on September 29, 1910, offering an expansive 27 acres of retail space. Its prime location featured multiple entrances connected directly to the Herald Square subway station, attracting substantial foot traffic but also resulting in one of the highest shoplifting rates worldwide by its closure in 1986. A pedestrian corridor linked Penn Station with nearby subway and PATH stations; however, this passage was closed during the 1990s due to security issues.

By 1989, the building had been repurposed into A&S Plaza with Abraham & Straus (A&S) as the anchor tenant. It transitioned to Stern’s in 1995 before being renamed Manhattan Mall. After Stern’s closed in 2001, the retail space was subdivided and upper floors converted into office suites. A JCPenney anchor opened in 2009 but ceased operations in 2020; by 2021 no retail remained on site. Meanwhile, the former Gimbels location at 86th Street and Lexington Avenue has been converted into residential apartments.

Philadelphia flagship

The Philadelphia flagship of Gimbels originated in 1893 following the acquisition of the insolvent Haines and Company located at Ninth and Market Streets. By 1927, the store had grown to occupy an entire city block, ranking among the largest department stores globally at that period. In 1977, Gimbels shifted its operations to The Gallery mall situated across Market Street. Except for the 1927 extension, which was transformed into office spaces including a data center and medical facilities, the original structures were demolished by 1980. The Gallery location ceased operations in 1986.

Pittsburgh flagship

Situated in Pittsburgh, the downtown flagship Gimbels Department Store at 339 Sixth Avenue was designed by Starrett & van Vleck and constructed in 1914. After Gimbels closed in the late 1980s, the building remained unused until redevelopment in the 1990s introduced retail tenants, including Pittsburgh’s inaugural Barnes & Noble. In 2002, the property was converted into office space and currently serves as the Heinz 57 Center. The Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation recognized it as a historic landmark in 1997.

Relationship to Saks

Saks was established by Horace Saks in New York City. In 1923, Gimbels purchased Saks, integrating it as a subsidiary under Gimbel Brothers, Incorporated, a publicly traded entity. Adam Long Gimbel, grandson of founder Adam Gimbel, played a pivotal role in expanding Saks into a nationwide brand. Brown & Williamson (later BATUS Inc.) acquired both Gimbel Bros. and Saks Fifth Avenue in 1973. BATUS terminated Gimbels operations in 1986 and subsequently sold Saks to Investcorp S.A. in 1990.

Bibliography

Ferry, John William. A History of the Department Store. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1960.
Harris, Leon. Merchant Princes. New York: Harper & Row, 1979.
Lisicky, Michael. Gimbels Has It!. Charleston: The History Press, 2011.
Mahoney, Tom, and Sloane, Leonard. The Great Merchants: America's Foremost Retail Institutions and the People Who Made Them Great. New York: Harper & Row, 1974.