Word: altmans
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...labor camp, Herscu immigrated to Australia, made a fortune as a homebuilder and became famous for his flashy style. (His mansion is designed to look like Tara in Gone With the Wind.) He decided that U.S. retailing was a glamorous and growing business, so his Hooker Corp. bought B. Altman and the Bonwit Teller chain, which has grown to 17 stores, for $150 million...
Toward the end, B. Altman was losing more than $4 million a month. Retailing experts estimated that any potential savior would have to spend as much as $100 million to renovate the stores and rebuild basic inventories. Stock had become severely depleted during the past year, in part because manufacturers refused to extend credit to the store and withheld clothing shipments. The bankruptcy court put the chain up for sale but decided to liquidate when no acceptable bidders came forward...
Replacing Herscu as L.J. Hooker's chief was Sanford Sigoloff, a turnaround king who says he was not surprised to see B. Altman die. "With so many choice properties on the market, like Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue, who would want Altman's? I hate to say the store was old, but it was outmoded." KMO Realty Partners, which now owns Altman's real estate, controls the rights to the store's name. KMO will probably try to make some use of it, perhaps selling it to an apparel maker or retailer, but the B. Altman name will probably...
That prospect is disappointing to Altman's devotees. "I'll be very sorry to see it go," said G.V. Biden, a customer since 1951. As shoppers last week scouted for bargains among Ralph Lauren shirts and Anne Klein coats, some decided to hold out for even steeper discounts. Sigoloff concedes that in the next few weeks "you'll see some serious price cutting as we try to move the older B. Altman inventory." GOING OUT OF BUSINESS, blared the bright red signs scattered throughout the old emporium. CLOSING OUR DOORS FOREVER...
Takeover artists once made U.S. industry tremble, but now it is their turn to shake. Many are saddled with debt-ridden companies or have little of their old clout left. The collapse of B. Altman...