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'''Welcome!'''
{{Infobox_Company
|company_name = Gimbels
|company_logo = [[Image:gimbelz.gif|200px]]|
|company_type = [[Department store]]
|foundation = [[1887]] ([[Vincennes, Indiana]])
|___location = [[New York City|New York City, New York]]
|industry = [[Retail]]
|products = Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares.
|homepage = None
|
}}
'''Gimbels''' was a major [[United States|American]] [[department store]] corporation from 1887 through the late [[20th century]]. The name is often misspelled with an apostrophe.<ref>*See two period newspaper ads here:<br>
http://www.geocities.com/broadcastpioneers/gimbels45.html<br>
and here<br>
http://www.gasolinealleyantiques.com/celebrity/images/Cowboy/lr-gimbels1.JPG
Hello, {{BASEPAGENAME}}, and [[Wikipedia:Introduction|welcome]] to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful:
*See photos of the sign itself here:
*[[Wikipedia:Five pillars|The five pillars of Wikipedia]]
http://www.harpiesbizarre.com/macys-gimbels.jpg<br>
*[[Wikipedia:How to edit a page|How to edit a page]]
and here<br>
*[[Help:Contents|Help pages]]
http://www.newsday.com/media/photo/2003-02/6492330.jpg
*[[Wikipedia:Tutorial|Tutorial]]
*[[Wikipedia:Article development|How to write a great article]]
*[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style|Manual of Style]]
I hope you enjoy editing here and being a [[Wikipedia:Wikipedians|Wikipedian]]! Please [[Wikipedia:Signatures|sign your name]] on talk pages using four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you need help, check out [[Wikipedia:Questions]], ask me on my talk page, or ask your question and then place <code><nowiki>{{</nowiki>[[:Category:Wikipedians looking for help|helpme]]<nowiki>}}</nowiki></code> before the question on your talk page. Again, welcome! <!-- Template:Welcome -->
--[[User:Lucasbunchi|LucasBunchi]] 18:09, 25 June 2007 (UTC)
*See ''[[The New York Times]]'' correction here:
http://www.regrettheerror.com/2006/11/better_late_tha.html
*See an image of the Gimbels Flyer train toy that the department store had, here:
http://www.gasolinealleyantiques.com/celebrity/images/Cowboy/lr-gimbels2.JPG
*And RE: Gimbels Milwaukee, see this headline and story from the ''Appleton [Wisconsin] Post-Crescent'', November 18, 1968, here:<b>
http://www.foxvalleyhistory.org/turningpoints/businesses/business-gimbels1.html</ref>
==History==
===Beginnings===
The company, founded by a young Bavarian immigrant, [[Adam Gimbel]], began as a general store in [[Vincennes, Indiana|Vincennes]], [[Indiana]]. After a brief stay in [[Danville, Illinois|Danville]], [[Illinois]], Gimbel relocated in [[1887]] to the then-boom-town of [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin|Milwaukee]], [[Wisconsin]]. While the new store was an immense success, quickly becoming the leading department store in Milwaukee, Adam Gimbel, with seven sons (and another adopted), saw that one store, no matter how successful, would not accommodate his family's future.
With, as a joke of the time put it, "a surplus of capital and a surplus of Gimbels," in 1894 he acquired the '''Granville Haines''' store in [[Philadelphia]], and in 1910 opened another branch in [[New York City]]. With its arrival in New York, Gimbels prospered, and soon became the primary rival to the leading [[Herald Square (Manhattan)|Herald Square]] retailer, [[R.H. Macy & Company|Macy's]]. This rivalry entered into the popular argot: "Would Macy's tell Gimbels?" To distinguish itself from its Herald Square neighbors, Gimbel's advertising promised more: "Select, don't settle."
===Going Public===
This was so successful that in 1922 the chain went "public," offering shares on the [[New York Stock Exchange]] (though the family retained control.) This provided the capital for expansion, starting with the 1923 purchase of across-the-street rival, '''Saks & Co'''., which operated under the name "'''Saks Thirty-Fourth Street'''"; with ownership of Saks came a new, about-to-open uptown branch, [[Saks Fifth Avenue]]. In 1925 Gimbel's entered the [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]] market with its purchase of '''Kaufmann & Baer's'''. Also acquired in this transaction was Gimbels third radio outlet: [[WEAE|WCAE]]. The company already owned [[WINS (AM)|WGBS]] in New York and [[WIP]] in Philadelphia. This expansion spurred talk of the stores becoming a nation-wide chain, such hopes were ended by the [[Great Depression]]. The more-upscale (and enormously profitable) Saks Fifth Avenue stores did continue to expand in the 1930s, opening branches in Chicago, Boston and San Francisco.
===Publicity===
[[Image:Gimbels with Hearst antique NYWTS.jpg|thumb|Adam Gimbel, Frederic Gimbel, and Bernard Gimbel looking at Della Robbia statue of Madonna and Child, from the art collection of William R. Hearst]]
Despite its limited presence, Gimbels was well known nation-wide, in part due to the carefully-cultivated rivalry with Macy's, but also thanks to an endless stream of publicity. The New York store got considerable attention as the site of the 1939-40 sale of art and antiquities from the [[William Randolph Hearst]] collection. Gimbels also got an abundance of publicity from the [[1947]] film ''[[Miracle on 34th Street]]''. (An homage to the film was paid in the 2003 comedy film ''[[Elf (film)|Elf]]'' which offered "Gimbel's" as the fictional setting of the title-character's workplace.)
===Flagship store===
Gimbels New York [[flagship]] was located in the cluster of large department stores that surrounded Herald Square. Designed by architect [[Daniel Burnham]], the structure, which once offered 27 acres of selling space, has since been severely modernized and now houses the [[Manhattan Mall]]. When this building opened in 1910, a major selling point was its many doors leading to the Herald Square subway station; thanks to such easy access, by the time Gimbel's closed in [[1987]] this store had the highest rate of "shrinkage," or [[shoplifting]] losses, in the world. Doors also opened upon a pedestrian passage under 33rd Street, connecting Penn Station to those subway stations. This "Gimbels Corridor" was closed in the 1970s for reasons of liability. After conversion to the Manhattan Mall, parts of the former store were occupied by a mid-town branch of [[Brooklyn]]'s [[Abraham & Straus]] and still later by [[Stern's]]. The building that housed a Gimbel's branch at [[86th Street (Manhattan)|86th Street]] and Lexington Avenue remains, but has been converted to luxury apartments.
===Acquision by BATUS===
Gimbel's was acquired in the 1970s by [[BATUS Inc.|BATUS Retail Group]], the American retailing arm of [[British-American Tobacco]], which eventually owned [[Marshall Field's]], [[Frederick & Nelson]], [[The Crescent]] stores, and [[Kohl's]].
BATUS organized the Gimbels chain into four autonomous divisions: Gimbels New York, Gimbels Philadelphia, Gimbels Pittsburgh, and Gimbels Milwaukee. Each division operated independently of each other in terms of advertising and buying. Each division offered their own credit card which could only be used at another Gimbels store in that same division. In the early 1980s, Gimbels New York and Gimbels Philadelphia were combined into a single entity, Gimbels East.
===Closure of Gimbels===
Unable to create a strong identity for this collection, BATUS in [[1986]] sold the Kohl's stores and, unable to find a buyer, closed down the unprofitable Gimbel chain. Some of the more attractive branches were taken over by Stern's, [[Pomeroy's]] ([[Allied Stores]]), [[Kaufmann's]] ([[May Department Stores]]), or [[Boston Store]] ([[Bergner's|P.A. Bergner & Co.]]) The "cornerstone" of the chain, the downtown Milwaukee store where Adam Gimbel had first found success, (and alleged to be the most profitable Gimbel store), was handed to former BATUS sister-division Marshall Field's. After a few uncomfortable years trying to be a mass-market retailer, Fields gave up in 1997, closing the Milwaukee store and selling off the remaining Gimbel's branches it held, except for the Hilldale store in Madison, Wisconsin, which became Macy's in September 2006.
===Gimbels Trademark===
The "Gimbels" [[trademark]] was eventually owned by siblings Mark and Beth Gimbel, who are not directly related to the originating family; Mark Gimbel is owner of the Smiling Cow and Gimbel's Country Store in [[Boothbay Harbor, Maine]]. They acquired the trademark in 1999 after Gimbels department stores went out of business and the trademark was [[abandoned]].<ref>Clark, Sara. [http://boothbayregister.maine.com/2003-12-04/gimbels_of_maine.html "Gimbel's of Maine Goes Hollywood"], ''Boothbay Register'', December 4, 2003. Note: This small-town newspaper uses both correct and incorrect spellings of "Gimbels" in reference to the original department store.</ref>
==In popular culture==
* In the ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' episode "Lucy and Ethel Buy The Same Dress" Lucy buys her dress from Gimbels and Ethel buys her dress from Macy's.
* In the 1997 movie ''[[Out to Sea]]'', one of the main characters was a clerk at Gimbels.
* In the 2003 [[Christmas]] movie ''[[Elf (film)|Elf]]'', Buddy the elf works at Gimbels in New York City.
* In ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode, "[[The Twisted World of Marge Simpson]]," Marge opens a pretzel stand much to the chagrin of rival Falafel stand owners Edna Krabappal and Agnes Skinner. The following exchange is had: <p>
::Marge: "Excuse me. I had this spot first."<p>
::Edna: "Sorry dear, just business. Ha!"<p>
::Marge: "Well, I guess Macy's and Gimbels learned to live side by side."<p>
::Agnes: "Gimbels is gone, Marge, long gone. You're Gimbels."<p>
*In the 2005 movie ''[[Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005 film)|Mr. & Mrs. Smith]]'', Eddie ([[Vince Vaughn]]) explains to John Smith ([[Brad Pitt]]) that John and and his wife's assassin organizations are direct competitors, namely, "You're like Macy's and Gimbels."
==Former Gimbels locations==
{{hidden begin|header=Former locations|ta2=left|ta1=left|bg1=#CCCCFF}}
{{incomplete-list}}
===Gimbels New York===
====Connecticut====
*[[Bridgeport, Connecticut|Bridgeport]] - Lafayette Plaza
*[[Stamford, Connecticut|Stamford]] - Ridgeway Center (Summer Street)
====New Jersey====
*[[Paramus, New Jersey|Paramus]] - [[Garden State Plaza]] (''later [[Hahne's]], now [[Nordstrom]]'')
====New York====
*[[Commack, New York|Commack]] - Mayfair Shopping Center (''later Mid-Island, later [[Burlington_Coat_Factory|Burlington Coat Factory]], now MJM Designer Shoes'')
*[[Garden City, New York|Garden City]] - [[Roosevelt Field Mall]] (''later Stern's, now [[Dick's Sporting Goods]] and [[Bloomingdale's]] Furniture Store'')
*[[Manhattan, New York|Manhattan]]
**Herald Square flagship (''became Manhattan Mall with an [[Abraham & Straus]], later [[Stern's]]. Now [[Steve & Barry's]] and office space.'')
**[[Lexington Avenue]] and East 86th Street
*[[Massapequa, New York|Massapequa]] - Bar Harbor Shopping Center (''demolished'')
*[[Valley Stream, New York|Valley Stream]] - [[Green Acres Mall]] (''later Abraham & Straus, now Macy's'')
*[[Yonkers, New York|Yonkers]] - [[Cross County Shopping Center]] (''later Stern's, now Macy's'')
===Gimbels Philadelphia===
====New Jersey====
*[[Moorestown, New Jersey|Moorestown]] - [[Moorestown Mall]] (''later [[Stern's]], then Ports Of The World, now [[Boscov's]])
*[[Voorhees, New Jersey|Voorhees]] - [[Echelon Mall]] (''originally Lit Brothers, then Gimbels; later Stern's, now Boscov's'')
====Pennsylvania====
*[[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|Harrisburg]] - Harrisburg East Mall (now Harrisburg Mall) (''later [[Hess's]], then [[Hecht's]], now [[Macy's]]'')
*[[King of Prussia, Pennsylvania|King of Prussia]] - [[Plaza at King of Prussia]] (''later [[Stern's]], now [[JCPenney]]'')
*[[Lancaster, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]] - Park City Center (''later Pomeroy's, now [[Boscov's]]'')
*[[Langhorne, Pennsylvania|Langhorne]] - [[Oxford Valley Mall]] (''later Stern's, now [[Sears Holdings|Sears]]'')
*[[Media, Pennsylvania|Media]] - Granite Run Mall (''later Stern's, now Boscov's'')
*[[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]
**Bustelton and Cottman (''later Stern's, now Sears)
**Cheltenham Shopping Center (now The Gallery at Cheltenham Square) (''now [[Burlington Coat Factory]] and [[ShopRite]]'')
**9th St. @ Market St. (flagship)
**[[The Gallery at Market East]] (flagship) (''replaced 9th @ Market flagship; later Stern's, then [[Strawbridge's|Clover]], now [[Kmart]]'')
=== Gimbels Pittsburgh ===
==== Pennsylvania ====
*[[East McKeesport, Pennsylvania|East McKeesport]] - Eastland Mall (''mall torn down'')
*[[Monaca, Pennsylvania|Monaca]] - [[Beaver Valley Mall]] (''later [[Kaufmann's]], now [[Macy's]]'')
*[[Monroeville, Pennsylvania|Monroeville]] - [[Monroeville Mall]] (''later Kaufmann's, now [[Boscov's]]''}
*[[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]] - Smithfield Street @ Sixth Avenue (flagship) ('' now [[Barnes and Noble]], [[Eckerd]], [[Burlington Coat Factory]] and other stores'')
*[[Ross Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania|Ross Township]]
**[[North Hills Village]] (''later [[Hills Department Stores|Hills]], then [[Ames]], now Burlington Coat Factory'')
**[[Ross Park Mall]] (''later [[Horne's|Joseph Horne]], then [[Lazarus (department store)|Lazarus]], then Macy's; closed 2006, will be torn down for [[Nordstrom]]'')
*[[Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania|Upper St. Clair]] - [[South Hills Village]] (''later Kaufmann's, now Boscov's'')
*[[West Mifflin, Pennsylvania|West Mifflin]] - [[Century III Mall]] (''an Ohio retailer leased this ___location and attempted to operate it under the Gimbels name without legally obtaining that [[trademark]]. The mall owners filed a [[lawsuit]] stating the retailer was operating the ___location as a close-out store and not a department store, in violation of the lease agreement. Was later split between [[TJ Maxx]] and Wickes Furniture; now [[Dick's Sporting Goods]] and [[Steve & Barry's]], respectively'')
===Gimbels Milwaukee===
====Wisconsin====
*[[Appleton, Wisconsin|Appleton]] (''opened 1971, converted to [[Marshall Field's]] in 1986, closed 1991'')
*[[Cudahy, Wisconsin|Cudahy]] - Packard Plaza (''closed 1986, now smaller stores'')
*[[Greendale, Wisconsin|Greendale]] - [[Southridge Mall]] (''converted to Marshall Field's in 1986, became [[Prange's]] in 1989, then [[Younkers]] in 1992. Younkers closed 2000 and is now Linens 'n Things and [[Steve & Barry's]]'')
*[[Madison, Wisconsin|Madison]]
**[[East Towne Mall]] (''later [[Bergner's]]; torn down for mall redevelopment'')
**[[Hilldale Shopping Center]] (''opened 1962, converted to Marshall Field's 1986, converted to Macy's 2006)
*[[Milwaukee, Wisconsin|Milwaukee]]
**Capitol Court (''opened as [[Schuster's]] 1956, later Gimbels, then [[Target Corporation|Target]]; mall torn down'')
**Mitchell Street (''opened as [[Schuster's]] 1914, closed 1984, now smaller stores'')
**Northridge Mall (''converted to Marshall Field's in 1986, became Prange's in 1989, then Younkers in 1992. Closed 2000, now vacant; rest of mall being torn down'')
**[[Shops of Grand Avenue]] (''converted to Marshall Field's 1986, closed 1997; now offices, apartments, and [[Borders Group|Borders]]'')
**Third Street (King Drive) (''opened as [[Schuster's]] 1884, closed 1967'')
**12th & Vliet (''opened as [[Schuster's]] flagship, closed 1950s'')
**Southgate Mall (''became Boston Store in 1986, closed 1993'')
*[[Wauwatosa, Wisconsin|Wauwatosa]] - [[Mayfair Mall]] (''became Boston Store in 1986'')Was divested by Gimbel's when BATUS purchased Marshall Field's (which had the other anchor at Mayfair Mall)
{{hidden end}}
==Footnotes==
<div class="references-small">
<references/>
</div>
==References==
* Harris, Leon. ''Merchant Princes''. New York: Harper & Row, 1979.
* Mahoney, Tom, and Leonard Sloane. ''The Great Merchants: America's Foremost Retail Institutions and the People Who Made Them Great''. New York: Harper & Row, 1974.
*Ferry, John William. ''A History of the Department Store''. New York: The MacMillian Company, 1960.
[[Category:Defunct department stores of the United States]]
[[Category:Milwaukee, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Companies established in 1887]]
[[Category:1997 disestablishments]]
[[Category:Clothing retailers of the United States]]
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