Brody Brothers Dry Goods Company, Inc., more commonly referred to as Brody's, was an upscale fashion merchandise chain formerly headquartered in

Greenville, North Carolina Greenville is the county seat of and the most populous city in Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County, North Carolina, United States; the principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area, Greenville metropolitan area; and th ...

, with branch stores located in eastern North Carolina. The Brody family remains prominent in eastern North Carolina and the

Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University Brody ( uk, Броди; russian: Броды, Brodï; pl, Brody; german: Brody; yi, בראָד, Brod) is a city in Zolochiv Raion of Lviv Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is located in the valley of the upper Styr River, approximately ...

was named in their honor.

History

Brody's was founded by Hyman J. Brody in the early 20th century, with its beginnings as a shoe store in

Sumter, South Carolina Sumter ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. Known as the Sumter Metropolitan Statistical Area, the namesake county adjoins Clarendon and Lee to form the core of Sumter-Lee-Clarendon Tri-county (o ...

. In 1928, one of Brody's sons, Leo Brody, relocated to

Kinston, North Carolina Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States, with a population of 21,677 as of the 2010 census. It has been the county seat of Lenoir County since its formation in 1791. Kinston is located in the coastal plains region of e ...

and founded Brody Brothers Dry Goods. Leo Brody, along with six of his brothers, began to expand the retail business. Upon acquiring Cohen & Sons Clothing in 1973, the family owned chain eventually expanded to six stores in six malls in eastern North Carolina. At the time of its acquisition by

Proffitt's Proffitt's was a department store chain based in Alcoa, Tennessee. On March 8, 2006, the Proffitt's and McRae's stores were converted into Belk stores. Belk acquired the two chains in July 2005 from Saks, Inc. History Beginnings Jeweler Dav ...

in 1998, Brody's stores were located in The Plaza and Carolina East Mall in

;

Golden East Crossing Golden East Crossing is a shopping mall in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, United States. Opened in 1986, the mall features Belk, Books-A-Million, Conn's, Dunham's Sports, J. C. Penney, and Ross Dress for Less. It is managed by Hendon Properties. ...

Rocky Mount, North Carolina Rocky Mount is a city in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, Edgecombe and Nash County, North Carolina, Nash counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The city's population was 54,341 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it ...

; Vernon Park Mall in

; Berkeley Mall in

Goldsboro, North Carolina Goldsboro, originally Goldsborough, is a city and the county seat of Wayne County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 33,657 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Metropol ...

; and Twin Rivers Mall in

New Bern, North Carolina New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and t ...

. Combined retail space at the time of acquisition stood at . In 2005,

Belk Belk, Inc. is an American department store chain founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, North Carolina, with nearly 300 locations in 16 states. Belk stores and Belk.com offer apparel, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, ...

acquired the Greenville, Rocky Mount, Kinston, and Goldsboro stores when Saks sold

to Belk."Saks Incorporated to Sell Four North Carolina Proffitt's Stores to Belk," BNET Business Network: Business Wire, Jan 6, 2005 (retrieved Aug 31, 2008)
Due to Golden East already having a Belk store, that store instead became

Bed Bath & Beyond Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is an American chain of domestic merchandise retail stores. The chain operates many stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Bed Bath & Beyond was founded in 1971. It is counted among the Fortune 5 ...

and

Ross Dress for Less Ross Stores, Inc., operating under the brand name Ross Dress for Less, is an American chain of discount department stores headquartered in Dublin, California. It is the largest off-price retailer in the U.S.; as of 2018, Ross operates 1,483 stor ...

References

"Proffitt's, Inc. Announces Acquisition of North Carolina Based Brody's," BNET Business Network: Business Wire, Mar 6, 1998 (retrieved Aug 31, 2008)
Defunct retail companies of the United States Companies based in North Carolina {{US-retail-company-stub