Sy Syms (May 12, 1926 – November 17, 2009) was an American

businessman A businessperson, also referred to as a 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 ...

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

, who founded the

SYMS Syms Corp (styled as SYMS) was an off-price retail clothing store chain, founded by Sy Syms in 1958. Its headquarters was in Secaucus, New Jersey, where it became a public company, traded on the New York Stock Exchange (SYM) in 1983. The compan ...

off-price clothing

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1959.

Biography

Syms was born Seymour Merinsky on May 12, 1926, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. He was the youngest of eight children of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

parents who had emigrated from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

.Duhigg, Charles. "Sy Syms, Founder of Discount Chain, Dies at 83", ''The New York Times'', Wednesday, November 18, 2009.
/ref> His family decided to change their surname from "Merinsky" to "Merns" when his father and elder brother George opened a store on

Vesey Street Vesey Street ( ) is a street in New York City that runs east-west in Lower Manhattan. The street is named after Rev. William Vesey (1674–1746), the first rector of nearby Trinity Church (Manhattan), Trinity Church. History The intersection ...

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

. Syms went to

Midwood High School Midwood High School is a high school located at 2839 Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, New York City, administered by the New York City Department of Education. It has an enrollment of 3,938 students. Its H-shaped building, with six Ionic order, Ioni ...

in Brooklyn. After serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, he attended

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

on the

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

. He initially began a career as a sportscaster and

reporter A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. However, in 1950 Syms returned to

in order to work at the family's store. In 1959, Syms opened a men's clothing store on nearby Cortlandt Street in New York City's

Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies, and other related finance corporations have their headquarters offices. In major cities, financial districts often host ...

. The store, which was initially named Sy Merns, competed directly with his family's original store on Vesey Street. However, he was forced to change the store's name to simply SYMS, after legal action was taken against him. He later had his name legally changed to Sy Syms to match the store. The company slowly expanded during the 1960s and 1970s. By 1983, Syms had taken the company public with an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

and expanded the chain to include eleven

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

locations. At its height, the chain had 48 locations in thirteen states. On November 2, 2011, Syms Corp. and its subsidiary Filene's Basement, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after more than a half a century in the clothing business. Sy Syms remained the company's

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

until his retirement in 1998, when he was succeeded by his daughter, Marcy Syms. He remained the company's

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

until he died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

at his home in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, New York City, on November 17, 2009.

Personal life

His first marriage, to Ruth Glickman Merns, ended in divorce. They had six children: Marcy, Robert, Richard, Laura, Stephen (died in 1998), and Adrienne (died in 1999).Washington Post: "Clothing retailer Sy Syms, 83" By Patricia Sullivan
November 18, 2009 His second wife was Lynn Tamarkin, by whom he had two step-children, Cary Tamarkin and Leslie Tamarkin.SY SYMS Obituary
November 18, 2009 Funeral services were held at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan.

Sy Syms Foundation

The non-profit Sy Syms Foundation was founded by Syms in 1985 with his personal funds, to support education. It has given away over $30,000,000 and has contributed toward the continued growth of many institutions of higher learning including the Syms School of Business at

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

, and many organizations which provide funding for education. The foundation has been a major supporter

Public Broadcasting Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive f ...

and National Public Radio (

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

) through the underwriting of various programming. Marcy Syms was instrumental in developing many of the grant-relationships made possible by her late father's generosity, and is a founding trustee of the foundation, elected to the role of president in 1997. The foundation has its offices in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

References

External links

* https://www.yu.edu/syms/about/mission-history Sy Syms School of Business at

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Syms, Sy 1926 births 2009 deaths American retail chief executives American retail company founders Philanthropists from New York (state) Businesspeople from Brooklyn American people of Russian-Jewish descent Midwood High School alumni New York University alumni 20th-century American philanthropists