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The department store known as '''Hess Brothers''' was founded on February 19, 1897, by Charles and Max Hess.<ref name="lehigh.edu">{{cite web |url=http://www.lehigh.edu/lts/lib/speccoll/berman_ii.html |title=The Philip I. and Muriel M. Berman Papers: Collection I, Series II. |accessdate=2006-12-20 }}</ref> Max Hess came to Allentown in 1896 on a business trip and envisioned a department store serving the area. He moved his family from [[Perth Amboy, New Jersey]], in 1897 and opened Hess Brothers on Ninth and Hamilton streets.<ref name="Sontag2006">{{cite journal |last=Sontag |first=Samantha |year=2006 |month=December |title=The Hess Experience |journal=Lifestyles over 50 |volume=1 |issue=9 |pages=12–14 }}</ref>
The department store known as '''Hess Brothers''' was founded on February 19, 1897, by Charles and Max Hess.<ref name="lehigh.edu">{{cite web |url=http://www.lehigh.edu/lts/lib/speccoll/berman_ii.html |title=The Philip I. and Muriel M. Berman Papers: Collection I, Series II. |accessdate=2006-12-20 }}</ref> Max Hess came to Allentown in 1896 on a business trip and envisioned a department store serving the area. He moved his family from [[Perth Amboy, New Jersey]], in 1897 and opened Hess Brothers on Ninth and Hamilton streets.<ref name="Sontag2006">{{cite journal |last=Sontag |first=Samantha |year=2006 |month=December |title=The Hess Experience |journal=Lifestyles over 50 |volume=1 |issue=9 |pages=12–14 }}</ref>


Hess Brothers continued expanding its store by acquiring neighboring properties and filled almost a city block by 1915. While the exterior of the store still appeared as separate buildings, the inside was renovated to look as one large building.<ref name="Sontag2006" /> Magnificent [[crystal chandelier]]s graced the main hall of Hess Brothers, and many windows allowed natural light to fill the store. These and other displays enabled the Hess brothers to succeed at making their store look like a "big city department store."<ref name="Sontag2006" />
The brothers opened their store in Allentown in 1897 by first renting half of the ''Grand Central Hotel'', a building first erected in 1868 as the ''Black Bear Hotel'' at 835 Hamilton Street. In 1890 it was renamed as the Grand Central. The Hess Brother's dry goods business became more and more successful and by 1915, the brothers had bought the hotel building and expanded the store by acquiring neighboring properties and filled almost a city block by 1915.<ref name="LCHS">Hellerich, Mahlon H, and Pennsylvania) Lehigh County Historical Society Allentown. Allentown, 1762&ndash;1987 : a 225-year history. Allentown, Pennsylvania: Lehigh County Historical Society, 1987</ref> While the exterior of the store still appeared as separate buildings, the inside was renovated to look as one large building.<ref name="Sontag2006" /> Magnificent [[crystal chandelier]]s graced the main hall of Hess Brothers, and many windows allowed natural light to fill the store. These and other displays enabled the Hess brothers to succeed at making their store look like a "big city department store."<ref name="Sontag2006" />


Max Hess, Sr., died in 1922, and Charles continued to run the store from 1922 to 1932. Max Hess, Jr., continued the Hess’s legacy from 1932 through 1968.<ref name="Sontag2006" /> The younger Hess was seen as a leader in retailing. In the 1953 B.C. Forbes & Sons book, ''America’s Twelve Master Salesmen'', Hess is listed as the second master salesman. According to this book, Hess’s principle was, “Strive for a specific goal.”
Max Hess, Sr., died in 1922, and Charles continued to run the store from 1922 to 1932. Max Hess, Jr., continued the Hess’s legacy from 1932 through 1968.<ref name="Sontag2006" /> The younger Hess was seen as a leader in retailing. In the 1953 B.C. Forbes & Sons book, ''America’s Twelve Master Salesmen'', Hess is listed as the second master salesman. According to this book, Hess’s principle was, “Strive for a specific goal.”

Revision as of 00:21, 15 August 2013

Hess's
Company typeDepartment stores
IndustryRetail
Founded1897 (as Hess Brothers)
Defunct1996
FateConverted to other department stores
SuccessorDillard's (1992-)
Hecht's (1993–2006)
Proffitt's (1993–2006)
Kaufmann's (1994–2006)
The Bon-Ton (1994-)
HeadquartersAllentown, PA
ProductsClothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics and housewares

Hess's was a department store chain based in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The company started in 1897 with one store, originally known as Hess Brothers, and had grown to nearly 80 stores at its peak in the late 1980s. The chain's stores were eventually closed or sold off in a series of deals in the early to mid-1990s.

History

The department store known as Hess Brothers was founded on February 19, 1897, by Charles and Max Hess.[1] Max Hess came to Allentown in 1896 on a business trip and envisioned a department store serving the area. He moved his family from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, in 1897 and opened Hess Brothers on Ninth and Hamilton streets.[2]

The brothers opened their store in Allentown in 1897 by first renting half of the Grand Central Hotel, a building first erected in 1868 as the Black Bear Hotel at 835 Hamilton Street. In 1890 it was renamed as the Grand Central. The Hess Brother's dry goods business became more and more successful and by 1915, the brothers had bought the hotel building and expanded the store by acquiring neighboring properties and filled almost a city block by 1915.[3] While the exterior of the store still appeared as separate buildings, the inside was renovated to look as one large building.[2] Magnificent crystal chandeliers graced the main hall of Hess Brothers, and many windows allowed natural light to fill the store. These and other displays enabled the Hess brothers to succeed at making their store look like a "big city department store."[2]

Max Hess, Sr., died in 1922, and Charles continued to run the store from 1922 to 1932. Max Hess, Jr., continued the Hess’s legacy from 1932 through 1968.[2] The younger Hess was seen as a leader in retailing. In the 1953 B.C. Forbes & Sons book, America’s Twelve Master Salesmen, Hess is listed as the second master salesman. According to this book, Hess’s principle was, “Strive for a specific goal.”

File:Hesss-1950.jpg
1950 photo of Hess Brothers department store, looking northeast from corner of 9th and Hamilton Streets

Charles, and later Max Jr., made Hess Brothers a shopping destination. Flamboyance and excitement were cornerstones of the store. It was well known for its fashion apparel as a result of introducing the latest trends from Europe. Additionally, the facade of the store was updated in 1947 using the Art Moderne style,[2] and a 45-foot-tall, 8-ton, red neon sign marked the outside of the flagship store from December 23, 1947 to June 30, 1972.[4] Children delighted at the giant toy soldiers Hess’s used as Christmas decorations in addition to "Pip the Mouse" in a puppet show at the flagship store. Shoppers were treated to the annual May flower show, fashion shows, and celebrity appearances, including by Johnny Carson, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Barbara Walters, Rosalynn Carter, Burt Ward (Robin in the "Batman" TV series), Gina Lollobrigida, and Rock Hudson. Significant in its retail "firsts" was the over-the-counter sale of pure gold in 1972, as well as the introduction of the Rudi Gernreich topless bathing suit (Hess's was one of only a handful of stores in the entire country to carry the suits, notably failing to sell a single one). Additionally, The Patio, the store’s restaurant, was renowned with shoppers for its strawberry pie and sundaes.[2] Biannual sales events at Hess's were often semi-disastrous as shoppers who waited outside for the store to open in the morning would proceed to trample each other and store employees to get to discounted merchandise, leaving the shelves and racks completely stripped bare afterwards.

In 1968, Max Hess, Jr., sold the store to Philip Berman. At this time, the store business was officially renamed Hess’s, and Berman began an expansion plan for the store, opening new locations in suburban areas, many in shopping malls.[1] In October 1979, Crown American, a developer and owner of hotels and shopping malls, purchased the Hess’s chain, then 17 stores large, as a wholly owned subsidiary.[1] Under Crown American’s leadership, Hess’s enjoyed the booming retail market of the 1980s and expanded to 76 stores by 1990.[5]

In addition to opening stores in available locations, Hess’s purchased other department store chains and converted them to the Hess’s nameplate, such as Penn Traffic Department Stores, based in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1981, and Rices Nachmans, based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1985.[6] Hess's also acquired the Knoxville, Tennessee based Miller's Department Store chain from Allied Stores by hostile takeover in 1987.[7] In September 1987 Hess's agreed to acquire Snyder's, Inc., a privately held Louisville, Kentucky department store, as well as five L. S. Ayres stores in Kentucky that Snyder's had agreed to buy (L. S. Ayres having assumed them from Stewart Dry Goods and Pogue's only a few years earlier). This new division was briefly operated under the Snyder's name, but in November 1987 Hess's announced that it would phase out the Millers and Snyder's names in favor of its own moniker in February 1988.

In a few years, however, Hess’s suffered under increased retail competition and a national recession, so it sold or shuttered 43 of its stores, especially in the South, including the Knoxville stores to Dillard's and 18 sold to Proffitt's in two deals in 1992[8] and 1993. The remaining 30 stores were sold off in 1994, ending a 97-year enterprise; May Department Stores purchased 10 locations, and The Bon-Ton bought 20.[9][10]

The flagship store at Ninth and Hamilton Streets in Allentown was among those bought by The Bon-Ton. However, downtown Allentown had been declining for years starting in the 1970s and continued operation was not profitable, thus it shuttered its doors for good in 1996. In addition, the store was in relatively poor condition and considered unsuitable for any other use, lacking even a central heating system (the light fixtures were used for warmth). A number of inconsistent renovations and cost-cutting measures had been made following the transfer of the chain to Berman and Crown American, including abandoning most of Hess's previous practices such as the flower/fashion shows and celebrity appearances. The store's outside windows were covered up after their annual holiday window decoration displays were ended. With the building considered not worth preserving, the City of Allentown decided to demolish it during late 1999, although the seven-story parking deck remained. The location was then used for The Plaza at PPL Center, an eight-story office building used by PPL as well as other office and retail tenants.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "The Philip I. and Muriel M. Berman Papers: Collection I, Series II". Retrieved 2006-12-20.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Sontag, Samantha (2006). "The Hess Experience". Lifestyles over 50. 1 (9): 12–14. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Hellerich, Mahlon H, and Pennsylvania) Lehigh County Historical Society Allentown. Allentown, 1762–1987 : a 225-year history. Allentown, Pennsylvania: Lehigh County Historical Society, 1987
  4. ^ Whelan, Frank (2005-07-27). "Hess Sign in Allentown Was a Giant in Its Day". The Morning Call. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
  5. ^ "Court Blocks Developer's Bid for Gee Bee - Bankruptcy Court Halts Crown American Corp.'s Bid for Discount Store Chain". Discount Store News. 1990-02-26. Retrieved 2006-12-20.
  6. ^ "Phillips-VanHusen Corporation". Funding Universe. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
  7. ^ Rothchild, John (1991). Going for Broke: How Robert Campeau Bankrupted America's Retail Giants. New York: Penguin. p. 124.
  8. ^ Fashion Forward: Assessing the Future of Apparel Manufacturing in Los Angeles County (PDF). Los Angeles County Workforce Preparation and Economic Development Collaborative. 2002. p. 194. Retrieved 2006-12-21. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  9. ^ "Hess's to Sell Its Last 30 Stores". The New York Times. NYTimes.com. 2 August 1994. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
  10. ^ "ClarificationHess's Department Stores Inc., the..." Baltimore Sun. 2 August 1994. Retrieved 2013-04-07.
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