Nancy Talbot (August 17, 1920 – August 30, 2009) was an American

businesswoman A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...

who co-founded the

Talbots The Talbots, Inc. (doing business as Talbots and stylized as TALBOTS) is an American specialty retailer and direct marketer of women's clothing, shoes and fashion accessories. As of 2018, the company operated 495 Talbots stores in the United S ...

women's

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and ...

clothing chain with her husband, Rudolf Talbot.

Early life and career

Nancy Orr was born in 1920 in

Charlevoix, Michigan Charlevoix ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Charlevoix County. The population was 2,348 at the 2020 census. Charlevoix is mostly surrounded by Charlevoix Township, but the two are administered autonomously ...

, which was the location of her family's summer home. She was raised in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. She graduated from The Shipley School in

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Bryn Mawr, pronounced , from Welsh language, Welsh for big hill, is a census-designated place (CDP) located across three townships: Radnor Township, Pennsylvania, Radnor Township and Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, Haverford Township in Delaw ...

, a prestigious private prep school. Nancy went on to attend Radcliffe College for one year, but left in 1944 to take a position with the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...

. The Red Cross assigned her to a military

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

unit in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

near the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

where she met her future husband, Rudolf Talbot. The couple married in 1945. The couple returned to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Her

father-in-law A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal affinity (law), affinity with another by being the parent of the other's spouse. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship. A person i ...

opened a Johnny Appleseed clothing store in

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in metropolitan Greater Boston on the South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts in northern Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, t ...

, in 1945, but died suddenly, which forced Rudolf Talbot to take over the business. Rudolf Talbot dropped the Johnny Appleseed franchise in 1947, because he disliked the clothing he was selling. Rudolf and Nancy started a new clothing store, which they first called "The Talbots." The business eventually became known as Talbots and soon moved to a single-family clapboard house in Hingham, Massachusetts. The couple painted the Talbots store's door red, which remains a

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

of Talbots stores up to the present day. In 1949, the couple distributed 3,000 fliers to potential customers from ''The'' ''New Yorker's'' mailing list. This was a precursor to the company's catalog, launched in 1952. Nancy and Rudolf opened three new stores in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

and

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during the next 10 years in order to target female consumers who were relocating to the suburbs following World War II. Rudolf Talbot focused on expanding the Talbots company, while Nancy worked as the company's

buyer Procurement is the method of discovering and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. When a government agency buys goods or serv ...

purchasing agent Procurement is the method of discovering and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, Service (economics), services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. When a government agenc ...

and held creative control over the merchandise. They gradually dropped their men's and children's clothing lines to focus exclusively on women's apparel. The Talbots sold their company, along with its four existing stores at the time, to

General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...

in 1973. In the late 1980s, the company expanded into California. Nancy Talbot remained at Talbots as a

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

until her

retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

in 1983. By the time she retired, Talbots had grown to approximately 30 stores with a catalog circulation of more than 10 million copies per year. As of 2009, Talbots had 586 locations and more than $1.5 billion in revenue.

Personal life

Nancy Talbot married Rudolph Talbot in 1945. The couple had two daughters, six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Rudolf Talbot died in 1987. Nancy Talbot died from complications of Alzheimer's disease on August 30, 2009, at her home in Boulder, Colorado, at the age of 89.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talbot, Nancy 2009 deaths American businesspeople in retailing American business executives People from Hingham, Massachusetts Businesspeople from Chicago Businesspeople from Boulder, Colorado 1920 births Neurological disease deaths in Colorado Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Women business executives 20th-century American businesspeople Radcliffe College alumni People from Charlevoix, Michigan Shipley School alumni 20th-century American businesswomen American expatriates in France 21st-century American women 20th-century fashion