Word: bonwit
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...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...
Upscale department-store chains have been among the most fashionable U.S. targets for foreign investors. Like well-heeled Christmas shoppers, they scooped up some of the most famous names in American retailing, from Bloomingdale's to Bonwit Teller. Now several store chains are suddenly up for sale again, creating a sense of turmoil in retailing just as it heads into its busiest season...
...forced last month to relinquish control of his retailing empire and put the 17-store Bloomingdale's chain up for sale. In August Australian raider George Herscu put his U.S. retailing subsidiary into bankruptcy after becoming overwhelmed by its $1.2 billion takeover debt. Herscu may well have to sell Bonwit Teller (stores: 16) and B. Altman (7), which he acquired...
...only begun ; to pay the price. A onetime machinist's apprentice and a self-made real estate tycoon, Campeau, 66, borrowed his way to the top shelf of the U.S. retailing industry. He spent $3.6 billion in 1986 to buy the Allied group of stores (holdings: Brooks Brothers, Bonwit Teller and Jordan Marsh). Last year he won a $6.6 billion bidding war with R.H. Macy for control of Federated Department Stores, a costly victory that gained him a crown jewel for his retailing kingdom: Federated's glittering, 17-store Bloomingdale's chain. But now Campeau is being forced...
Campeau had created problems for himself at a headlong pace. Even as he scooped up retailers, Campeau made plans to build dozens of big department stores. While he spun off such acquisitions as Brooks Brothers and Bonwit Teller to pay part of his $11 billion debt, he insisted that his remaining chains could churn out enough cash to make interest payments, finance expansion and yield profits as well. Instead, the cash registers rang slowly as the retailing industry suffered from stagnant consumer spending...