Wallachs (clothiers)
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Wallachs was a
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men's clothing store which once maintained additional locations in
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in November 1995. Before the demand for tailored suits waned, the conglomerate operated approximately 200 stores. Wallach's also sold women's apparel.


Locations and growth

In 1938 Wallachs'
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and
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stores were located at
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at Forty-Fifth Street; 253 Broadway near
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; 53 Broadway near
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; and
Fordham Road Fordham Road is a major thoroughfare in the Bronx, New York City, that runs west-east from the Harlem River to Bronx Park. Fordham Road houses the borough's largest and most diverse shopping district. It geographically separates the North Bron ...
near the corner of Marion Avenue. Additionally Wallach's had two stores in Brooklyn. One store was located on Court Street and the other in
Kings Plaza Kings Plaza (officially the Kings Plaza Shopping Center) is a shopping center within the Mill Basin section of Brooklyn, New York City, United States. Opened in September 1970, it is located at the southeast corner of Flatbush Avenue and Avenue ...
on Flatbush Avenue. A store measuring was leased by Wallachs and became the largest of its stores in October 1954. It was in a nineteen-story office building at 555 Fifth Avenue. In 1966 Wallachs was a fifteen unit chain of stores.


Price fixing lawsuit

In February 1956 a $3,000,000
antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...
lawsuit was filed against Wallachs and R.H. Macy & Company by
Alexander's Alexander's is a real estate investment trust that owns 7 properties in New York metropolitan area, including 731 Lexington Avenue, the headquarters of Bloomberg L.P. It is controlled by Vornado Realty Trust. It was founded by George Farkas and ...
. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants were engaging in unlawful restraints and monopolies in trade. Alexander's contended that from 1935 to 1955 it purchased more than $1,000,000 in merchandise from clothing manufacturers David D. Doniger & Company and Laurelton Sportswear. For several years prior to 1955 both Wallachs and R.H. Macy & Company bought merchandise from the same manufacturers. Alexander's maintained that the prices for which it retailed the clothing was about 17% less than those offered by the competitors it was instigating legal action against. The complaint stated that since 1953 the defendants had conspired to eliminate Alexander's as a competitor by
price fixing Price fixing is an anticompetitive agreement between participants on the same side in a market to buy or sell a product, service, or commodity only at a fixed price, or maintain the market conditions such that the price is maintained at a given ...
of products.{{Cite news, date=February 8, 1956, title=Alexander Sues Macy, Wallachs; Asks $3,000,000 for Price 'Conspiracy' by Chains, Sportswear Makers, language=en-US, work=The New York Times, url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/02/08/archives/alexander-sues-macy-wallachs-asks-3000000-for-price-conspiracy-by.html, access-date=August 24, 2020, issn=0362-4331, page=44


Consumer friendly

In the mid 1970s, Wallachs held classes to instruct on how to tie a scarf. At one time Wallachs' customers and passersby were asked to come inside to have loose buttons sewn on or missing buttons replaced at no cost. Shoe laces, collar stays, hat bags, and feathers for hats were provided to shoppers who requested them. Additional free extras given out at retail counters included clothes brushes and identification tags which buttoned inside raincoats.


References

Defunct retail companies of the United States Defunct companies based in New York City