Oppenheim Collins

Oppenheim Collins was a major women's specialty clothing store, headquartered in New York City, New York.

Oppenheim Collins & Company, Inc.
IndustryRetail
Founded1871[1]
Defunct1979
FateBankruptcy
Headquarters35 W 34th St, New York, New York
Key people
Albert D. Oppenheim, Charles J. Oppenheim, founders, and Isaac D. Levy
ProductsFashion apparel, shoes, accessories, and cosmetics.
ParentCity Stores Company

History

Founding

Oppenheim Collins & Company, Inc. was founded by Albert D. Oppenheim and Charles J. Oppenheim, and was later joined by Isaac D. Levy.[2] Their first store was opened in 1901 in downtown New York City.[3]

Branch stores

In 1905, a branch store opened at 534 Main Street, in Buffalo, New York.[4] The store expanded to include the Miss Vincent's Tea Room and was remodeled in 1935 and in 1951.

In 1922 the Fulton & Bridge, Brooklyn, branch was expanded to (100,000 square feet (9,300 m2)), making it the largest branch of the seven stores at that time. Despite its size, Oppenheim, Collins clarified that it was not a department store, but a women’s specialty store.[5]

In 1956, a suburban Buffalo location opened at Thruway Plaza in Cheektowaga, New York. The "Top of the Town" restaurant operated out of the Downtown Buffalo store. The Buffalo area stores closed in 1979, along with others in the Franklin Simon & Co. chain with the bankruptcy of City Stores. Later expansion in the 1950s, led to the first store outside of New York. In 1958, Oppenheim Collins opened a location in the new Harundale Mall in Glen Burnie, Maryland.

Unionization

In 1944, Local 1250 of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, CIO won a new contract with Oppenheim Collins that included a closed shop, a $2.00 pay increase, and elimination of "free" overtime work during peak sales and inventory periods.[6]

In 1948, Oppenheim Collins employees, represented by Local 1250 of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, CIO, struck against the company.[7]

City stores

A majority interest in Oppenheim Collins was purchased by City Stores Company in 1945. In the 1950s, the store was merged with Franklin Simon & Co. although the two stores operated under their original trade names until the Oppenheim Collins stores were finally renamed Franklin Simon & Co. in 1961/1962.[8]

Presidents
  • Isaac D. Levy, - 1934
  • James C. Bolger, 1934 - [9]
  • Robert D. Levy, - 1941
  • Otto L. Kinz, 1941 - 1945[10]
  • Philip N. Cohan, 1947 - 1949[11]
  • Gordon K. Greenfield, 1949 - [12]

References
  1. H. Wilson, compiler, Trow's New York City Directory (New York: John F. Trow, 1872), 881.
  2. New York Times, "Albert D. Oppenheim Dead," December 9, 1914, p. 13.
  3. Unsourced newspaper clipping: City Stores Co. $2,000,000 Deal is Completed.
  4. Rizzo, Michael F. (2007) Nine Nine Eight: The Glory Days of Buffalo Shopping. Lulu Enterprises, Inc.; Morrisville, North Carolina. ISBN 978-1-4303-1386-1.
  5. "Oppenheim Collins Brooklyn". The Standard Union. January 1922. p. 15.
  6. Department Store Employee, January 28, 1944, Local 1250 Wins New Contract At OC.
  7. Jean Maddern Pitrone (January 2003). F. W. Woolworth and the American Five and Dime: A Social History. ISBN 9780786414338.
  8. New York Times, "Oppenheim Collins Is Merging Into the Franklin Simon Chain; Retailing Chains in Consolidation," December 20, 1961, pg.47.
  9. New York Times, "Bolger Heads Store," October 3, 1934, p. 30.
  10. New York Times, "Kinz to Resign Store Post," October 20, 1945, p. 26.
  11. New York Times, "Get High Posts With Oppenheim Collins," June 26, 1947, p. 33.
  12. New York Times, "Elected to Presidency Of Oppenheim, Collins," October 19, 1949, p. 45.
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