Gimbel Growth

• Share

To look for something in a department store is a task the grue- someness of. which brings about in normal people one of two reac- tions. Some long to return next day with a dynamiting crew and a trench mortar to raze to the ground and destroy utterly the madhouse of raucous voices, fetid air, stale perfumes; the shouldering, stupid, perspiring women who just want to know "how much this is"; clerks who indicate, by a sad shake of the head, that the English language is a closed book to them. Other customers, less bloody-minded, merely dream of saying to the cashier when they pay for a 30c purchase, "Oh, by the way, how much is this store worth?" . . . "About $16,000,000 a year." . . . "Here's my check. Wrap the place up. Ill take it home with me." Just this, with a little more formality, is what Gimbel Bros, (of New York, Philadelphia and Milwaukee) did last week to the Kaufmann & Baer Co., one of the biggest department stores in Pittsburgh, whose business last year amounted to more than $16,000,000. After a conference in Philadelphia which ended at 4 o'clock in the morning, they signed papers which gave them 100% stock ownership.

In Kaufmann & Baer's, the air is not fetid. In Kaufmann & Baer's, the voices are as cultured as it is possible for department store voices to be. The store has 17 display windows on two main thoroughfares, 19 elevators, a complete escalator system running up and down from the street to the seventh floor. It employs 2,000 people. Within a few minutes' walk of the main building is a large new seven-story warehouse. On the roof of the main store is a radio broadcasting station, WCAE. This is the third national broadcasting station operated by Gimbel Bros., which already owns WGBS

(Manhattan) and WIP (Philadelphia).

Since Adam Gimbel, father of the present partners, founded the first Gimbel store in Vincennes, Ind., in 1842, the family has prospered. Two sons branched out in Milwaukee; the growing enterprise was extended to Philadelphia, then to New York. In April, 1923, they acquired the entire capital stock of Saks & Co., which gave them title to the Saks Fifth Avenue and Herald Square stores. A month ago they bought the 18-story Cuyler Building on 32nd St., Manhattan, opposite their Herald Square business seat. With Kaufmann & Baer, they now own a chain of six huge department stores, which means increasing prosperity for the officers of the company, all sons or grandsons of Adam; Charles Gimbel, Chairman and Vice President; Isaac Gimbel, President; Richard Gimbel, Secretary; E. A. Gimbel, Treasurer; Daniel, L. S., B. F., F. A., A. L., L. A., and E. A. Gimbel Jr., Vice Presidents.

If the eleven Gimbels are to be thought of in terms of a football team, the dynamic Richard must be thought of as quarterback and captain-elect. His biography is briefly given: graduated (in 3% years) from Yale College in the class of 1920; has learned the department store business from the bottom up. Many other things are related of him—the anecdotes that barnacle the career of any unusual personality. Though not prepossessing in appearance, Richard Gimbel almost invariably gets what he wants. Perhaps it is a hotel room:

The Clerk (reluctantly): "I'm sorry, sir but everything is taken. We couldn't possibly let you have a—