e . j . korvette
fact check: e. j. korvette - - eight jewish korean war veterans ?
what were they thinking # 25 e. j. korvette’s goes beyond what they knew
jewish currents | november 13: eugene ferkauf and e. j. korvette (s )
corsair photo electric exposure meter with case from e. j korvette' s c. 1970
eugene ferkauf, founder of e. j. korvette chain, dies at 91 - the new york times
what were they thinking # 25 e. j. korvette’s goes beyond what they knew | that 401k site
and that’s where the legend of e. j. korvette and its founder, eugene ferkauf, really began .
used to buy albums from e j korvettes on goucher boulevard in towson, maryland .
christmas shopping at the e. j. korvette store in new york; operation christmas s... hd stock footage
christmas shopping at the e. j. korvette store in new york; operation christmas s... hd stock footage - youtube
i recall going to at least one e. j. korvette in the st. louis area, when i was a kid .
i also remember korvette having a fantastic record department which was generally better than anything around. in fact i bought my first record with my own money at e. j. korvette .
claim: the discount chain e. j. korvette took its name from a shortening of ‘eight jewish korean war veterans’ in honor of its founding partners .
q. : did the name of the old e. j. korvette department stores actually stand for'' eight jewish korean war veterans'' ?
did you know that e. j. korvettes stood for eight jewish korean war veterans? thats a fact .
e. j. korvettes does not stand for eight jewish korean war veterans. it is an urban legand .
the e. j. korvette store in bath beach, brooklyn, in 1967. prices at the nominally membership - only stores were 10 to 40 percent below more conventional competitors .
2. the one i like to believe, but i don' t think it' s true - e. j. korvette = eight jewish korean (war) vets .
he also made no secret of how he came up with the name e. j. korvette. the “e” comes from the first letter of his first name, the “j” from that of joe swillenberg, an old tilden friend who became a top company executive. korvette is a deliberate misspelling of corvette, a reference to a class of naval ship, not the car .
to this day, e. j. korvette was my favorite discount store chain. i loved working and shopping in korvette' s. possibly some of you remember that game show host bill cullen became their spokesman on tv ads at the time .
i have a pair of xam speakers here in silverton, oregon about as far from any e. j. korvette store as you can get and i bought them local. wonder where they been .
in 1977. ten years later, t. j. maxx was acquired by
so there you have it. e. j. korvettes does not stand for eight jewish korean veterans, not does it stand for eleven jewish korean veterans .
hard work and business acumen parlay this humble beginning into an empire. the eight jewish korean veterans go on to live deserved lives of luxury as their chain, e. j. korvette, succeeds beyond their wildest dreams .
e. j. korvette (initially a retailer of leather goods) was founded in 1948, two years before the korean war began, by a jewish world war ii veteran named eugene ferkauf. ferkauf explained the nomenclature thusly :
when this theater was built it was an expansion of the e. j. korvettes shopping center. and “e. j. korvettes” was not a person’s name, but rather, stood for “eight jewish korean war veterans” — that is, eight jewish army buddies who founded the shopping complex after their returning back home from the korean war .
e. j. korvette name origins according to korvette' s founder, eugene ferkauf, who died on june 5, 2012, the name
e. j. korvette
was coined as a combination of the initials of its founders (eugene and joe) and a re - spelling of the naval term corvette, a nimble sailing warship and later world war ii sub - destroyer. ferkauf' s claim and the name pre - dating the korean war by three years contradict an urban legend it was an acronym for
eight (or eleven) jewish korean war veterans
.
eugene ferkauf, the founder of the e. j. korvette chain of discount department stores, whose 1950s strategy of low prices, quick turnover and high volume helped shape today’s retail landscape, died on tuesday at his home in manhattan. he was 91 .
i had a name picked out for the store, e. j. korvette. “e” is for eugene, my first name, and “j” stands for joe swillenberg, my associate and my pal. as for “korvette, ” it was originally meant to be spelled with a “c” after the canadian marine sub - destroyer, simply because i thought the name had a euphonious ring. when it came time to register the name, we found it was illegal to use a naval class identity, so we had to change the spelling to “k. ”
“i had a name picked out for the store, e. j. korvette. ‘e’ is for eugene, my first name, and ‘j’ stands for joe swillenberg, my associate and my pal. as for ‘korvette, ’ it was originally meant to be spelled with a ‘c’ after the canadian marine sub - destroyer, simply because i thought the name had a euphonious ring. when it came time to register the name, we found it was illegal to use a naval class identity, so we had to change the spelling to ‘k.' ”
kenny miller paid no attention to my comment on the waldbaums' website so i' ll pay no attention to the rules on the e. j. korvettes site. i' m a rebel !
thanks to its discounting, e. j. korvette’s expanded into the suburbs of new york, philadelphia, detroit, and chicago. they expanded the products they sold by initaly subcontracting sales of home furnishings, furniture, and carpet. the problems with e. j. is when they decided to end the practice of subcontracting sales and get into the business of selling furniture, fashion, carpet, and household goods. the problem is that korvette’s had no idea how to sell these products and they failed to focus on their bread and butter: appliances and electronics .
korvette - wikipedia. e. korvette, also known as korvettes, was an american chain of discount department stores, founded in 1. new york city. it was one of the first department stores to challenge the suggested retail price provisions of anti - discounting statutes. korvette did much to define the idea of a discount department store .
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eugene ferkauf sold his share in the e. j. korvette chain (which then encompassed 45 department stores and 60 supermarkets) for more than $ 20 million in 1966. the company went out of business in the early 1980s, and ferkauf passed away in 2012 at the age of 91 .
when mr. ferkauf sold his share in e. j. korvette in 1966 for more than $ 20 million, the company had 45 department stores and 60 supermarkets. it went out of business in the early 1980s. mr. ferkauf gave much of his fortune to cultural and jewish charities .
? in one scene we see peggy return from a curtain shopping expedition with a bag from e. j. korvette; later, megan and her mother board the elevator with an armload of boxes and a bonwit teller bag. at first glance these might seem like arbitrary props, but like any of
in the history of american retailing, the e. j. korvette story is a fairly brief chapter. this brevity does not do justice to the tremendous, arguably unparalleled influence the company and its visionary founder, eugene ferkauf, wielded during its halcyon years – the mid - fifties through the early nineteen - sixties .
e. j. korvette was founded in 1948 (two years before the korean war) by a jewish world war ii veteran named eugene ferkauf. ferkauf explains the nomenclature thusly: â€œi had a name picked out for the store, e. j. korvette. â€˜eâ€™ is for eugene, my first name, and â€˜jâ€™ stands for joe swillenberg, my associate and my pal. as for â€˜korvette, â€™ it was originally meant to be spelled with a â€˜câ€™ after the canadian marine sub - destroyer, simply because i thought the name had a euphonious ring. when it came time to register the name, we found it was illegal to use a naval class identity, so we had to change the spelling to â€˜k. â€™â€
september 2. 01. 3). korvette took its name from a shortening of .
ej korvette was a chain of discount department stores founded in 1948 and closed in 1980 .
electronic discount retailing, also called e - tailing; sells at discount prices over the internet; large assortment of merchandise; good service; generally delivered by mail or parcel service (e. g. , amazon. com) .
moderate width and very low depth of assortments; average to good quality; lower continuity; low prices; little atmosphere and few services; some limited promotion (e. g. , t. j. maxx and burlington coat factory) .
last year saw the passing of one of the most influential figures in retailing history, one who deserves more recognition than he receives today, i’m afraid. eugene ferkauf, founder of the legendary e. j. korvette chain of promotional department stores, passed away on june 5, 2012 in new york city at the age of 91 .
the roots of the company name itself extend to ferkauf’s brooklyn boyhood. “e. j. ” stands for eugene (ferkauf) and joe zwillenberg, friend and korvette employee from the very beginning, and “korvette” is inspired by the corvette, a class of world war ii warships operated by the royal canadian navy. a popular, and false, story behind the name’s origin soon arises - that e. j. korvette stands for “eight jewish korean war veterans. ” (where the myth started remains a mystery, but it endures to this day. evidence of that turned up in nbc nightly news’ report on ferkauf’s passing, where brian williams made mention of it and briefly outlined the name’s true origin. personally, i was just delighted to see the story covered on network news. )
looks like the spur track off the northernmost track just west of the floral park station leading to the
warehouse
buildings shown in this map (nos. 3, 4, and 5). legend says the warehouses were e. j. korvette co. and kingsway plumbing supply co. : urltoken... 7 - 1958. jpg
korvette' s decline has been generally attributed to inconsistent or poor management. by 1966, korvette' s merged with spartan industries as spartan’s management tried to turn the chain around, but by 1971 korvette again changed hands and was owned by arlen realty. they failled miserably at running korvette as by 1980 they had run the chain into the ground! i was especially sad to see them go .
e. j. korvette was an american chain of discount department stores, founded in 1948 in new york city. it is notable as one of the first department stores to challenge the suggested retail price provisions of anti - discounting statutes. it is also notable for its failure to manage its business success which led to decline and its 1980 bankruptcy and closure .
never heard of, or shopped at, a korvette discount store and now no one ever will .
p. s. to ltot: e. j. korvette’s showed up somewhere between ‘55 -' 56 or so. used to buy my hardcover (w / dust jacket) hardy boys books there for a whoppin’ 88 cents! and lps were sold at a decent price in the early ‘60s, like $ 2. 94 each. not too shabby fo’ us po' folk…
a couple of their stores had a grocery department which later became hills korvette. the store brands was food club, topcare, hills, hills korvette, and pantry pride which also took over in the mid 70s .
a major hassle occurred when korvette’s longtime furniture lessee, the h. l. klion company, imploded. lacking the infrastructure to cope with korvette’s continuous expansion and crippled by two labor disputes, klion’s furniture deliveries became hit - and - miss, resulting in a whopping $ 2 million in customer order cancellations in 1964, many of those with custom - ordered upholstery. the crux of the matter, of course, was that the signs all over the department read “e. j. korvette”, (the customers most likely never even heard of klion), so ferkauf and company were compelled to act in order to preserve korvette’s good name and to attempt to ameliorate the damage. in august 1965, korvette took over the klion operation, and around the same time bought out their carpet lessee, the federal carpet company, as well .
given its size and scope, wal - mart’s ultimate demise may seem inconceivable, but the death of a bargain retailer is not unprecedented. > from the original giant retail empire founded by frank woolworth in utica, n. y. , in 1879 to regional powers such as new york’s e. j. korvette and pennsylvania’s fisher’s big wheel, many discount retailers have been discarded into history’s dustbin .
korvette is a 72 - store retail chain that operates only in quebec. they are not related with the former
was a discount department store (not unlike a modern - day wal - mart or target), so it makes sense that ever - sensible peggy would do her shopping here. the e. j. korvette chain (also known as korvette’s) was founded in new york city in the late 1940s with a store on third avenue and 45th street. the chain grew rapidly in the 1950s and 60s, peaking with a total of 58 retail locations in various parts of the country. korvette’s focused primarily on the suburbs, placing many of its discount superstores in strip malls and areas which were easily accessible from major highways .
j hyde: dallas galleria is not as upscale as it used to be. i haven’t been there in years…but can tell by the ...
the company was e. j. korvette’s and they started with a store in manhattan that sold luggage, household appliances, and some jewelry. their prices were a third off retail and the way they ran around the anti - discounting laws on the books was creating a “membership” program that handed out membership cards so that the stores could be treated as a retail cooperative, thereby skirting the anti - discounting laws .
well, i' m happy to report that the
korvette
name is still alive and well ...
stone, kenneth e. (1995). competing with the retail giants: how to survive in the new retail landscape. new york: wiley .
the year 1962 was a momentous year in discount retailing. kmart (reincarnated from an 1899 five and dime store chain, itself modeled after woolworth), wal - mart, and target were all founded that year, as was woolco, woolworth' s discount division. none of these was the discount store pioneer, having been preceded by e. j. korvette, mammoth mart, zayre, and vornado, among others .
the painting is a very accurate portrayal of the logo, which i agree looks great. they later dropped the
e. j .
and added an
s
at the end to just say
korvettes
on the storefronts in a fairly plain lettered logo. the script was much more interesting .
the end of alexander' s highlights the extraordinary difficulties the retail industry has had in the new york area. some of the proudest names in the business have closed in the last decade - - gimbels, b. altman and may' s, as well as ohrbach' s, s. klein and e. j. korvette. others, including bloomingdale' s and macy' s, filed for bankruptcy, but survived .
this is a cool old 8mm reel and case. the tin case bares the name e. j. korvette which is a long gone department store. the 7 inch reel bares the name compco corp and has a 400 foot capacity. both are in great condition. the case does have one small ding in it but it does not affect the function. please use the zoom feature for a closer look. e. j. korvette, also known as korvettes, was an american chain of discount department stores, founded in 1948 in new york city. in 1980, they declared bankruptcy and on december 24, 1980, they closed all of their remaining 17 stores. depending on location actual shipping charges may be less and difference will be refunded upon shipment. check out the audio \ film \ photography section for other cool items urltoken; _ id = 20085831 from a smoke free home
korvette’s was one of the original anchor stores at the northway mall. it was on the farthest east side of the mall .
in the fall of 2008, i wrote a series of short posts on the history of e. j. korvette. i’ve received many responses via site comments and emails from folks who worked at korvette since the posts first appeared, and over the years they’ve continued to come in. for quite a few of them, it was one of their first jobs, where they worked in high school or college. some worked there for just a year or two, yet looking back now from their late fifties or sixties, virtually all consider their tenure at korvette to be among their happiest experiences. if their stories are any indication, it’s safe to say that ferkauf was very well - liked and respected by his employees .
to get around fair - trade laws (price maintenance) intended to protect small store owners, ferkauf declared korvette a membership organization, not a retail store. the store did not invoke a fee like today’s sam’s club, costco, and others. membership cards were handed out to every single shopper who came through the doors. this approach enabled him to persuade distributors to sell him wholesale merchandise at a discount. throughout the 1960s to 1970s, the chain expanded the number of stores and product offerings. ferkauf sold his share in e. j. korvette in 1966 for more than $ 20 million. by that time, the company had 45 department stores and 60 supermarkets. korvette cities measured a whopping 200, 000 - plus square feet and consisted of a “promotional department store” with an adjoining korvette supermarket, furniture / carpet center, and tire store .
mr. beach continued :
it is the same elevation as main street at the richardson on the corner of temple street. it was envisioned as an extension of the main street retail center that included g. fox, sage - allen, brown thomson, e. j. korvette and others. there was to be a land bridge joining the two centers. it was to go down temple street, from main street to the plaza' s clock tower .
but it proved to be a disaster from the start, with zero personal compatibility between ferkauf and hilliard coan, hills’ former chairman, and their respective teams. with coan installed as chairman and ferkauf as president and ceo of the combined organization (still under the name e. j. korvette, inc .), things bumped along uncomfortably for just over a year. it all came to a head in may 1966, when coan tried to force ferkauf out of the company .
korvette also led the charge toward building in suburban locations, often arriving ahead of their department store competitors, including macy’s and gimbels. by the early 60’s, the company was building huge 200, 000 - plus square feet “korvette cities”, consisting of a “promotional department store” (they avoided the term “discount store” like the plague) with an adjoining korvette supermarket, furniture / carpet center and tire store .
boone, louis e. , and kurtz, david l. (2004). contemporary marketing (11th ed .). mason, oh: thomson south - western .
my mom worked at hills supermarket in woodbridge, nj e. j. was seperated by the outdoor home improvement section that looks identical to the one in the picture! is that woodbridge, nj? i got my aurora ho slot cars there, my 5 sp. iverson muscle bike and the 1st monkees album there etc. . great memories and those pretzels yum
but korvette' s was innovative in avoiding the anti - discounting provisions of the robinson - patman act, and undercutting the suggested retail price on such expensive items as appliances and luxury pens. korvette used. in doing so, korvette' s was able to accept deep discounts from suppliers, something that competing department stores, such as macy' s and gimbels, could not do. in fact, macy' s and others filed numerous. the lawsuits helped korvette' s by calling attention to prices so low that competitors thought them illegal. founder eugene ferkauf attributed his idea for membership cards and deep discounts to luggage wholesaler charles wolf. korvette store was located between third and lexington avenues on 4 .
he keyed in on the entertainment culture like no one else. it was reported that one of the eulogists at ferkauf’s funeral related the story of buying his first beatle record at e. j. korvette. no doubt this story rings true for legions of record - buying fans (of the beatles and every other artist imaginable) in those years. he hired a record producer, david rothfeld, to run the operation, and throughout the 1960’s and beyond, korvette easily had the top - selling record departments of any mass - marketer in the country. rothfeld’s group also developed a hugely successful electronics line under the house brand “xam”. (if you’re curious as to what that stood for, it was “max” spelled backwards. max was korvette’s audio equipment buyer’s cat. now you know. )
his solution was to declare korvette a membership organization, not a retail store. this enabled him to persuade distributors to sell him wholesale merchandise at a discount, which he would then further discount. members had only to show membership cards that korvette passed out in front of its stores .
northway’s anchors were ej korvette (later something else), jo - ann fabrics, kids “r” us, lechmere, wards, and steinbach .
of note was e. j. korvette' s venture into the home entertainment business. the retailer established a rather out of context series of high - end audio salons within selected stores. korvettes went so far as to market its own
xam
brand of stereo receivers, amplifiers (some manufactured by roland electronics of japan), television sets, and speakers. at a number of the retail locations the audio department was, on dollar per square foot basis, one of the more profitable departments in the store .
in 1979, korvette’s was purchased by the french corporation agache - willot group. initially, they closed korvette’s least profitable stores and began selling off merchandise, fixtures, equipment, and real estate. in 1980, they declared bankruptcy and closed the remaining 17 stores in december of that year .
from 1971 to 1979, korvette' s was owned by arlen realty, a land development company that used korvette' s 50 stores as a source of cash flow. under arlen' s ownership, korvette' s stores deteriorated and lost market share relative to other retailers to the point that the company was worth more for its real estate assets (such as its ownership or leasehold interests in valuable locations) than its retail sales. during this period, new york area korvette' s stores advertised heavily on local television, using popular game show host bill cullen as a spokesman .
broad, but inconsistent, assortment of general merchandise and apparel; low prices; little atmosphere and service; some limited promotion (e. g. , big lots and tuesday morning) .
i grew up hearing that e. j. korvette was supposed to have stood for the words ,
eight jewish korean veterans
, but found out years ago that this representation of the original owners was an urban legend. the truth was that the founders eugene ferkauf and joe zwillenberg created the name from a combination of their first name and a change in the spelling of a naval term corvette, which was the name of a canadian marine sub - destroyer used in world war ii. i think one of their contributions or defects depending on which side you come down on, is that korvette was one of the chains that led the fight for openly testing sunday closing laws !
the concept of contemporary discount retailing is often credited to e. j. korvette’s, an east coast retail chain that operated between 1948 and 1980. however frank woolworth (f. w. woolworth) “was the pioneer of price - driven retail, building an empire founded on chain stores and volume retailing. sam walton (wal - mart) applied its concepts with his own twist. walton’s example influenced many other great leaders and the development of their companies, including ray kroc (mcdonald’s), bernie marcus and arthur blank (home depot), and howard schultz (starbucks) .
in the early sixties, ferkauf found himself the subject of a fair amount of media attention as his company ascended. by all appearances, e. j. korvette looked to be on the verge of breaking out into a national chain. as the decade rolled on, however, things changed drastically – the company ran into trouble, the dreams were scaled back, and with ferkauf’s departure in 1968, “korvettes” (as it was then officially known) began to wane rapidly. his influence continued, but more on the discount industry as a whole rather than on the company he founded .
the original anchors at mohawk mall were j. m. field (replaced by bradlee’s), a pantry pride grocery - store annex to j. m. field (replaced by price chopper), woolworth’s (replaced by marshall’s), the boston store (replaced by media play), and montgomery ward. there was originally a two - screen cinema at the mall, which eventually expanded to three and then seven screens .
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in 1979, korvette' s was purchased by the agache - willot group of france, which initially closed korvette' s least profitable stores and began selling off merchandise, fixtures, equipment, and real estate. in 1980, they declared bankruptcy and on december 24, 1980, they closed all of their remaining 15 stores .
my husband and i were just looking through a drawer of old items and found the e. j. korvette, inc. , badge he had when he was in security at the store in bethesda / rockville maryland in the mid 60' s. i wanted to find out if korvettes still existed and found this site. we used to go to that store when were married in 1965 until we left in 1971. congratulations to the ferkauf' s on their accomplishments, and a belated happy birthday to you sir! !! hope you and your wife have many more years together !
when its customers began moving out of the city, alexander' s moved with them, establishing beachheads in white plains and paramus, n. j. , offering middle - class shoppers quality goods at bargain prices .
according to former korvette vice president eve nelson, ferkauf was prone to “crushes” on companies, an assertion well supported in his 1977 autobiography “going into business: how to do it, by the man who did it”. (half korvette history, half tutorial for aspiring retailers, it’s a fun and informative read .) from the moment korvette hit the big time in the early 50’s, it seems he was constantly involved in merger talks with one firm or another, often multiple companies at once .
the look of discount stores also began to change in the 1950s as leading discounters (e. g. , masters, two guys, korvette) took on a department - store - like appearance by adding household goods, apparel, and other soft goods .
mill store
discount operations further contributed to this change as they began to surface with their base of soft goods .
korvette played a major role in the downfall of “fair trade” laws – where goods manufacturers were allowed to set retail prices (today’s laws only allow them to “suggest” prices). to a large extent, these laws protected traditional department stores, who sold at typical 40% markup versus the discounters who often sold at margins of 20% or less. on hundreds of occasions, korvette was sued by manufacturers for undercutting their mandated prices. korvette’s response in nearly every case was to switch to a different manufacturer of the same product. the court cases also resulted in a ton of free publicity for korvette, burnishing their image as an advocate for the poor, hapless, overcharged consumer .
packard, e. j. korvette, rca, drexel burnham lambert, pabst, schwinn. once industry leaders, these companies all suffered devastating setbacks because of one pivotal mistake. sobel portrays 15 glaring and enlightening product flops and management foibles. he reveals the histories and management philosophies of the companies involved, the alternative courses of action available to (and recognized by) the managers at the time, and the reasoning behind the crucial choices that were made. in the process, he shows business professionals how they can learn from the mistakes of their predecessors, and guide their own companies onto the path of prosperity .
between 1966 and 1980, korvette’s was dying and through a number of transactions, started to close stores and exit locations until they closed their last 17 stores in december 1980. korvette’s was a pioneer in discounting, but losing focus of what they sold best and trying to be the next department store was a disaster that led to its closure .
originally, the shopping center was typical of the strip malls that grew up along roads like central park avenue after world war ii, as more people moved to the suburbs, said malachy kavanagh, a spokesman for the international council of shopping centers, a trade organization based in manhattan. those first strip malls were service - oriented and anchored by a grocery store, with a drugstore, beauty salon and dry cleaner part of the usual tenant mix. the midway' s first tenants included e. j. korvette; s. s. kresge; datich shopwell, a grocery store; miles shoes; and sunray drugs .
i enjoyed reading your recollections of fulton st. , brooklynjim. i remember the stores that you mentioned including may’s although e. j. korvette was my favorite. it was affordable. i lived on stockton st. , off tompkins ave. and the myrtle ave. el was around the corner from me. i recall passing the peerless theate on my way to fulton st. but never went in there. it looked like a ‘dump’ although i am a ‘dump’ fan. frequented many in my day. however, the rko albee was the cream of the crop and i’ll always remember those enjoyable days i spent there .
in addition, improvement of operational efficiency is continually sought to control costs. modern discount stores may range from specialty shops (such as discount bookstores) to major discount chains that typically sell a wide variety of products including hard goods (e. g. , major electronics, automobile supplies, toys, and small appliances), soft goods (e. g. , apparel, bedding, and bath products), groceries, and other general merchandise .
moderate number of product lines but a low depth of assortments; carry manufacturer' s brands bought discount wholesale at very low prices; limited atmosphere; few services; minimal promotion (e. g. , cub foods) .
in 1. 95. 6, korvette' s had six stores, including stores in philadelphia and harrisburg, pennsylvania. by 1. 95. 8, it had 1 .
geeez…. no one has noticed the huge korvette? ?? ? ba - da - bum…. sorry had to say it. there were a few korvettes in the chicago area .
e. j. korvette, inc. was founded by brooklyn - born eugene ferkauf in may 1948 with a single, cramped second floor store in manhattan, where the main product sold was luggage. the store’s name (contrary to the popular legend which said it stood for “eight jewish korean war veterans”) was derived from ferkauf’s first initial along with that of joe zwillenberg, a childhood friend, who would join ferkauf in his new business. “corvette” was the name of a class of canadian naval ship. the name was modified in deference to canadian naval regulations of the era which apparently forbade commercialization of military nomenclature (this was several years before general motors’ corvette) .
the late author david halberstam, in his masterwork the fifties, an essential read for anyone interested in that decade’s massive effect on late 20 th century american culture – consumer, popular and otherwise, devotes an entire chapter to the rise of e. j. korvette. halberstam sets up a memorable scene: “as ferkauf looked at the potato fields of westbury, he experienced a vision of the new suburbia: a sparkling, huge new store with vast parking facilities. ” (surely you’ve heard of “westbury potatoes”, just like idaho or maine potatoes, right? well, no one else has either; that’s why they built a shopping center on top of the place. )
he had no problem with quick decisions. on his second date with estelle silverstein, he presented her with a small suitcase engraved e. s. f. , explaining, “that’s what your name will be because you’re going to marry me. ”
yeah, i was surprised by the korvette store. i thought it was a new york thing. i don’t think pittsburgh ever had one, so i would not have expected one in illinois !
extensive width and depth of assortments; average - to - good - quality products, often less fashionable; very competitive prices; average atmosphere and minimal services; significant advertising (e. g. , wal - mart, target, and kmart) .
for the most part, ferkauf pursued the talks with a singular goal in mind: to bolster korvette in areas where it was weak, creating a combination where both parties brought complementary strengths to the table. in the early years, when korvette was strong in appliances and other hard goods but lacking in soft goods experience, he focused on department stores with an emphasis on fashion at discount prices .
i bought my first stereo there: a rolecor receiver (korvette exclusive), xam speakers (very bad) and a garrard turntable (genuine walnut grained vinyl), around $ 50 i think .
wow! e. j. korvettes! what a story... i even have a book entitled' the rise and fall of e. j. korvettes'. and, ... i even worked at the ejk store in rockville, maryland from 74 thru 79. shoes, sporting goods, stereos and tvs (xam baby !). what ever happened to marty agins, sal catellano, burke sommers, paul moduleski, reggie, ted, and other guys like steve abundi, paul moreno, shelby kaplan, chet bigelow, dave daggett, charlie miller, nan mullen, mark rubin, sandy ambert, kym densel, joe leotta, al nishi, kim biser, jack ilgenfritz, sherry wilkenson, loretta gruber, rick stein, dave dupree, lane mcconoughey, tom ricucci, tim bieber, sal triolo, denise munson, joanne wachsman, anita ambert, ralph gordon, shawn gordon, dale riley, jimmie vansopark, laura adkins, matt vieman, and that crazy dude in the blue security uniform... mike somebody .
korvette' s expanded into the chicago, northern virginia, and detroit areas in the 1. it successfully disputed the state and local sunday closing ordinances and laws. once those barriers were broken, many other retailers opened on sunday. decline and closure. korvette' s venture into the home entertainment business. the retailer established a rather out of context series of high - end audio salons within selected stores .
it displaced earlier five and dime retailers and preceded later discount stores, like walmart, and warehouse clubs such as costco. korvette' s founder, eugene ferkauf, began his discounting career in a 4 .
when visiting my grandparents in berwyn, i used to go to the korvette store at the corner of harlem & cermak at least once every visit. that place had everything, and a great toy department .
elizabeth arden (elizabeth arden) and estée lauder (estée lauder) pioneered the cosmetics industry for women, while j. c. hall (hallmark) created the greeting card industry into what we know it to be today, including the celebration of valentine’s and secretary’s day .
remember the korvette' s store in arlington heights illinois on route 12. just south on rand rd. was a turn style store. across the street was jack in the box on rand & palatine rd .
david - thanks so much, i really appreciate that. it' s a shame, in a way, that korvette didn' t make it out west, but they had a great influence over the entire industry, and no doubt the leaders of the big california discounters were following what korvette was doing. for sure, a side effect of the fair trade laws was the huge growth of knockoffs and off brands .
korvette was a wonderful company to work for (22 years) unfortunately the stores were too big, the average store was 250. 000 square foot, they could not do the sales to support such big stores
rossy is a korvette - like chain too with small discount stores in rural towns. they operate mostly in eastern canada. they sell clothing, furniture, seasonal, gifts, toys, home products and more .
sometimes referred to as value retailers; limited assortment of foods and general merchandise; caters to the lower - income market; low prices; little atmosphere and few services; minimal promotion (e. g. , dollar tree, family dollar store, and dollar general) .
while the first e. j. korvette store was located on 45th street in manhattan, the first of the type of store i remember were opened in 1954 as the stores generally expanded into the suburbs. by 1956, they had six stores, and eventually they maxed out at around 58 stores. the thing i remember about the one i went to in the st. louis area, was that it was a two story building with cashiers in individual departments like that of a department store. it also included a separate building which housed it’s own furniture store with commissioned salespeople. their furniture store took and delivered custom furniture orders of high quality furniture. korvette also included a full supermarket, a pharmacy and a large hardware department that even sold paneling. their clothing was generally a better grade than found at other discount stores of the time as korvette tried to compete with the department stores, but were never quite successful with the strategy. they also had a tire center and a leased pet department that i worked in. the pet departments located in korvette' s sold full breed dogs, complete with papers. they also sold tropical fish, snakes, monkeys and tropical birds. on more than one occasion, there were monkeys and snakes that got loose and made their way around the store until they were caught. i don' t think the store managers were ever to fond of the pet department !
ferkauf, who sold his korvette stock at the time of the transaction, stayed on briefly in a largely advisory role, but by 1968 he’d had enough and decided to retire. a historic chapter was now closed. sadly, in the midst of the tumult of korvette’s previous few years, harvard’s malcolm mcnair had removed ferkauf from his “greatest merchants” list. but i submit that he still belongs there, for several important reasons :
googled the following info below. come on guys this took about 5 minutes and i grew up using a slide rule... i went to google: found men on the move self - storage facility in floral park address, than to bing maps bird' s eye view. matched this against the maps at: urltoken... alpark. htm 1958 siding for e. j. korvettes and kingsway plumbing supply lirr 1966 map universal millwork, h. berlind inc and kingsway plumbing supply h. berlind, inc. was engaged in the wholesale distribution of household goods and related products with its principal place of business at floral park, new york. found via google quiz: why did korvette need a rail siding and where did it' s name come from ?
the sold merchandise was then shipped to delivery warehouses in east paterson and pennsauken, new jersey, and jessup, maryland for final prep and delivery. this well - managed furniture distribution group was active until it closed at the end of 1. by 1. 96. 6, korvette' s had begun to decline and chose to merge with spartan industries, a soft goods retailer. eugene ferkauf was eased out of the company leadership, and spartan managers attempted to revive the company. from 1. 97. 1 to 1. korvette' s was owned by arlen realty and development corporation, a land development company that used korvette' s 5 .
by 1966, korvette' s had begun to decline and chose to merge with spartan industries, a soft goods retailer. eugene ferkauf was eased out of the company leadership, and spartan managers attempted to revive the company .
as mentioned, by the mid - 60’s korvette’s “supermarket problem” had reached a critical point, but at the end of 1964 it seemed the solution lay right in korvette’s backyard. hills supermarkets, a long island - based operator of 40 - plus stores (mostly located on the island) was growing fast. best of all, they had recently opened a state - of - the - art distribution center smack dab in the middle of korvette’s core territory. the song of synergy, complete with harps and celesta, was in the air, and in february 1965 a merger between the two companies was consummated. nelson riddle couldn’t have arranged things better, it seemed .
1945), discount merchandising grew rapidly. this explosion in growth was fueled by consumer bargain hunting in the face of rising prices, the pent - up demand for goods created by wartime shortages, and the establishment of homes and families by returning gis. many consider e. j. korvette, opened in 1948 by eugene ferkauf, as the first discount store. soon regional discount stores, such as zayres, arlans, gibson' s and two guys, sprang up across the country to satisfy the demand for consumer goods, including television sets and other new products. many of these new discounters sold their merchandise out of other existing businesses or set up in low - cost facilities such as abandoned factories and lofts. despite these often makeshift origins, the modern discount industry was beginning to take shape .
i never worked at any of the stores but i used to walk to the store at 87th & cicero in oak lawn, il. i bought my first records, both 45' s and lp' s at this store. actually, i probably bought every lp between 1965 and 1979 at korvette' s. my first credit card was from korvette' s in 1975 because i couldn' t get one from sears. i bought a new 19
color tv for myself and my new wife for our new apartment. now that i think about it, i' ll bet i did all of my shopping at korvette' s until it closed in 1980 .
ferkauf, still korvette’s largest stockholder by a wide margin, hastily put together a meeting with his friend charles bassine, the chairman of spartans industries, inc. , with the goal of merging the two companies. the net effect, of course, would mean a shift in the balance of power at korvette. spartans operated two discount department store chains, spartan and atlantic mills. they also owned a huge garment manufacturing operation in tennessee (bassine’s original business), which annually churned out zillions of men’s sport shirts (connoisseurs’ items for today’s thrift - shopping hipsters) and other clothing items for their own discount stores and just about everyone else’s. in just about a month, the deal was done. korvette was now a division of spartans industries, and coan and his deputies were shown the door. the hills / korvette food stores would soon be sold off altogether, most to pueblo supermarkets .
owned and operated by the manufacturer; often located in outlet malls; moderate width but poor depth of assortment; some irregular merchandise; lower continuity; very low prices; some atmosphere and service; some promotion (e. g. , bass, levi' s, and totes) .
those enthralled by the rumor found its premise quite plausible in view of korvette’s emergence in the post - korean war, the prevalence of jewish entrepreneurs in the retailing industry, and the fact that the chain did initially employ a number of the founder’s army buddies. besides, no one had ever heard of a mr. korvette associated with this discount chain of appliances and general merchandise, which lent credence to the idea that the name must have been coined .
mass merchandising. the first type of mass - merchandising operation was the department store. the second was the chain store, which included variety stores and
junior department stores .
the third was the mail - order house. these patterns for mass merchandising remained relatively constant through the 1920s. the genesis of discount retailers, known as
undersellers ,
also occurred in the early 1900s. s. kline (1912), j. w. may (1924), and alexander' s (1928) were the early undersellers of soft goods (e. g. , apparel) .
often referred to as wholesale clubs; charge a modest membership fee; broad assortment of food and nonfood items; lower continuity; low to very low prices; some atmosphere and service; some promotion (e. g. , costco, sam' s, and bj' s wholesale) .
during this period, new york area korvette' s stores advertised heavily on local television, using popular game show host bill cullen as a spokesman. in 1. 97. 9, korvette' s was purchased by the agache - willot group of france. in 1. 98. 0, they declared bankruptcy and on december 2. ferkauf' s claim and the name pre - dating the korean war by three years contradict an urban legend it was an acronym for .
small appliances (sold at very low markup) were soon added to korvette’s product mix, and after only two years sales passed the $ 2 million mark. by 1957, nine years after its founding, sales were at $ 71 million, and only five years later were over $ 237 million. by the end of the 50' s, korvette had begun to place a huge emphasis on clothing and and other soft goods, which helped fuel the company' s rise .
arguably it was the opening of korvette’s fifth avenue store in new york city, on march 15, 1962, that prompted the brightest spotlight on ferkauf and his company. though untypical in many ways – a stately, seven - story roman columned building in the heart of manhattan’s toniest shopping district as compared to korvette’s standard sleek, sprawling suburban shopping cities (need more “s” words, there, don’t you think ?) – the sheer boldness of the move caught the media’s fancy.
e. j. korvette , also known as korvettes , was an american chain of discount department stores , founded in 1948 in new york city . it was one of the first department stores to challenge the suggested retail price provisions of anti-discounting statutes . founded by world war ii veteran eugene ferkauf and his friend , joe zwillenberg , e.j. korvette did much to define the idea of a discount department store . it displaced earlier five and dime retailers and preceded later discount stores , like walmart , and warehouse clubs such as costco . the company failed to properly manage its business success , which led to decline and its 1980 bankruptcy and closure . 
e. j. korvette, also known as korvettes, was an american chain of discount department stores, founded in 1948 in new york city. it was one of the first department stores to challenge the suggested retail price provisions of anti-discounting statutes. founded by world war ii veteran eugene ferkauf and his friend, joe zwillenberg, e.j. korvette did much to define the idea of a discount department store. it displaced earlier five and dime retailers and preceded later discount stores, like walmart, and warehouse clubs such as costco. the company failed to properly manage its business success, which led to decline and its 1980 bankruptcy and closure.
e. j. korvette, also known as korvettes, was an american chain of discount department stores, founded in 1948 in new york city. it was one of the first department stores to challenge the suggested retail price provisions of anti-discounting statutes. founded by world war ii veteran eugene ferkauf and his friend, joe zwillenberg, e.j. korvette did much to define the idea of a discount department store. it displaced earlier five and dime retailers and preceded later discount stores, like walmart, and warehouse clubs such as costco. the company failed to properly manage its business success, which led to decline and its 1980 bankruptcy and closure.