The History of Gimbels and Gimbel Brothers Department Store: From 1887 to its Sad Fall by 1987

Gimbels began when Adam Gimbel opened his first general store in Vincennes, Indiana in 1842. In 1887, the Gimbel Brothers Department Store was headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Upon immediate success, Gimbels expanded to Pennsylvania and in 1910, to Herald Square in New York City - becoming immediate rivals to Macys. In 1923, Gimbels acquired Saks and Company and opened up new stores called Saks Fifth Avenue. By 1930, Gimbels had twenty stores and a revenue of 123 million dollars. Continuing acquisitions and expansion, in 1953, they had 300 million dollars of sales annually and upon its peak in 1965, they had 22 Gimbel locations, 27 Saks Fifth Avenue, and 4 Saks 34th Street. Sadly, by the mid 1970s, in areas where Gimbels focused their business on the middle class, the trends in the areas changed and attempting to now focus on the lower income households, the shift was not successful. In 1973, Gimbels was sold to Brown and Williamson, an American subsidiary of British American Tobacco. After over a decade of decreasing sales, Gimbels was closed in 1987 after their stores either shut down or were sold to other companies such as Marshall Fields. #retailrewind
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