Aldens was an American
catalog merchant
A catalog merchant (catalogue merchant in British and Canadian English) is a form of retailing. The typical merchant sells a wide variety of household and personal products, with many emphasizing jewelry. Unlike a self-serve retail store, most ...
company.
History
Aldens was founded by Benjamin J. Rosenthal
[Chicago Jewish History: "Ernest Byfield: The Pump Room and The Pageant" by William Roth]
September 2006 in 1889 in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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under the name
Chicago
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Mail Order and Millinery Company and was incorporated on December 15, 1902.
[Harvard Business School: "Lehman brothers Collection - Aldens, Inc."]
retrieved December 19, 2017 The company primarily sold fashion apparel and accessories for women and men via its catalog.
In 1906, the name was changed to Chicago Mail Order Company.
In the 1930s, the company expanded through acquisitions: in 1935, it purchased the mailing lists of M.W. Savage Company of Minneapolis; and in 1936, those of Hamilton Garment of New York and D.T. Bohon of
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
.
Soon after, Chicago Mail Order Company began offering a monthly payment plan to its customers, essentially granting credit; and expanded their line to include books, toys, and linens.
In 1938, they expanded to include home furnishings and housewares; and sales increased to $24 million.
In 1943, they built a large distribution warehouse in Chicago with 690,000 square feet of floor space.
In 1944, they began to develop a retail network primarily in the
Midwest (which eventually expanded to 16 stores by 1959).
In 1947, the company was the fourth-largest mail-order distributor in the United States with $79.2 million in sales and changed its name to Aldens, Inc.
In 1957, sales were $102.4 million, they had 4,795 employees, and operated catalog telephone stores in 68 cities.
In 1961, they began selling life insurance via their subsidiary, the John Alden Life Insurance Company.
In 1964,
Gamble-Skogmo
Gamble-Skogmo Inc. was a conglomerate of retail chains and other businesses that was headquartered in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Business operated or franchised by Gamble-Skogmo included Gambles hardware and auto supply stores, Woman's World an ...
(which had previously purchased a 46% interest in Aldens), purchased the remaining stock in the company including the life insurance unit.
The catalog operation was liquidated in 1985.
References
{{reflist
Retail companies established in 1889
Retail companies disestablished in 1985
Catalog showrooms
1889 establishments in Illinois
1985 disestablishments in Illinois
Clothing retailers of the United States