There is a great book on the rise and fall of the chain. The korvette was named after the canadian wwii warship a corvette. Join facebook to connect with ej korvette and others you may know. Named in a 1962 time magazine story as one of the six greatest retailers in american history, ferkauf challenged the fair trade laws and. Sure, a classy store is nice, but eugene ferkauf invented the discount experience. My grandmother rode her first escalator at a korvette store. Nov 01, 2007 in the history of american retailing, the e. Founded in 1948 in new york city, it was the first store to challenge the suggested retail pricing commonly in practice. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. Korvette department store, complete with airconditioning and. Im not sure if it has been mentioned here but the person most responsible for ej korvettes success in music, books and audio equipment retailing. On 25 february 1971, frances mccarty bought four tires manufactured by denman rubber manufacturing co. There is an extraordinary amount of information about many of these stores logos, floor directories, ads, etc.
Aug 17, 2006 korvettes has more of what youre looking for. The food and drug administration expects to publish its muchanticipated regulations for ecigarettes in june, as the products are surging in. For many a long island 70s kid, korvettes was the goto place when you had a few bucks to spend on a new album or a couple of 45s. I actually was living more towards the west hempstead border where e. The original photo used for a reference for the dick and jane kids books.
Korvette chain died at his manhattan home tuesday at the age of 91, said yeshiva university, where h before the advent of the big. Korvette department store, complete with airconditioning and escalator service. J, korvette s ruled near the intersection of hempstead avenue and turnpikes and fulton ave. Ej korvette, childhood memories of shopping at the one on white plains rd in the bronx, ny. Before the advent of the bigbox discount store, there was eugene ferkauf. What we lost in the great suburban migration, npr host ray suarez describes e. Oct 29, 2018 long before there was costco or sams club, there was e. The met collection charles james, 1960s fashion, vintage fashion, american, historical clothing. Long before there was costco or sams club, there was e. The only thing that i know for sure was in it was a korvette s. Korvette, also known as korvettes, was an american chain of discount department stores, founded in 1948 in new york city. It was a monday afternoon, i am sure i played hooky from college, and i got there early and got in line with all my bette midler memorabilia which she gladly signed in those days, stars did that.
It was easier to give them away or sell them for cheap than for the deconstruction companies to have to part them out and ship them off and worry about the recycling of materials and dealing with the asbestos. Also known by the general public as korvette s, the new york citybased chains iconic southgate store opened with great fanfare in august, 1963. Charles road and highway 83 was issued by the city of elmhurst. It was located at the corner of pennsylvania road and fort street. Korvette founder eugene ferkauf, dead at 91 newsday. Korvettes matchbook cover by always a treat to go here shopping. Korvette, also known as korvettes, was an american chain of discount department stores, founded in 1948 in new york city, by world war ii veteran eugene ferkauf and his friend, joe zwillenberg, e. Korvettes guess where in the greater parkvilleoverlea area this photo was taken. Growing up in hempstead on long island ca, 196568, s, klein was also a big part of my world. The drawing board, however, would be removed from the headquarters of e. Korvette store in bath beach, brooklyn, in prices at the nominally membershiponly stores were 10 to 40 percent below more conventional competitors. They were also pioneers in importing european records and carrying btlgs. Find great deals on ebay for korvette and korvettes.
I didnt discover it until the plaza was in the process of being demolished, and the mall was being built. Korvettes 1023 looking for change in the seats of the old cars in stuckers junkyard 1024 fishing off the old sunken barge in great kills harbor 1025 jumping and swimming off the cement pier at the bottom of arbutus avenue 1026 elks club bazaar. Its hard to find a long islander from decades past who doesnt remember shopping at korvettes. One of the first discount department stores to emerge from the 1950s, they are best remembered for their low prices and, perhaps surprisingly, their outstanding music departments. He was captured in by new york police in a times square after theater crowd. Xam vintage 1960s 5d ej korvette bookshelf speaker mid. But two decades after the stores grand openings, they were gone. Korvettes as a middlebrow retailer for a middlebrow neighborhood. Vintage 60s ej korvette fab craft black button back shift. One of the first to develop an electronics department, and its record dept. The developers were the korvette company, a retail operation. I think it is a classic example of the wisdom of crowds, and seems the kind of knowledge that, unless you found the companys bankruptcy archives, no other source on the planet would ever have taken the time to document even to a 80% accuracy level.
There also was a howard johnsons restaurant out front. It consisted of an acme supermarket and a 172,000 square feet, twostory e. Korvette chain of promotional department stores, passed away on june 5, 2012 in new york city at the. Korvettes quickly became a shoppers paradise with its low prices, and 30 departments in a. In its final days, the legendary discount store chain ej korvette was shuttered overnight in 1980, when its new owners calculated that the potential lease income from its owned properties could far exceed the profits it could take by selling merchandise. Korvettes department store new york city in the wit of an eye. Korvette, also known as korvettes, was an american chain of. To eugene ferkauf, founder, controlling stockholder and audacious boss of e. Remembering korvette s eugene ferkauf last year saw the passing of one of the most influential figures in retailing history, one who deserves more recognition than he receives today, im afraid. Back in the 1950s the intersection of olden and princeton centered around the extension fields of the local soccer clubs, they would be razed to make way for capitol plaza anchored by e. Delivery times may vary, especially during peak periods. Korvette s store in morton grove, il had a great record department with knowledgable salespeople. Its hard to find a long islander from decades past who doesnt remember shopping at korvette s. If youre feeling nostalgic, here are old photos of some of the department.
Korvette chain died at his manhattan home tuesday at the age of 91, said yeshiva university, where h. Korvettes pension plan inc pension benefit guaranty. Korvette department stores 196070s orange common stock. History deserves to be remembered recommended for you. Time cover, july 6, 1962, success as the hero of u. Oak lawn illinois camping in illinois cicero illinois beaches near me california beach camping camp hill yellowstone. 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. Unfollow e j korvette to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. Korvette the dawn of discounting in the history of american retailing, the e. It was one of the first department stores to challenge the suggested retail price provisions of antidiscounting statutes.
Details about xam vintage 1960s 5d ej korvette bookshelf speaker midcentury modern style xam vintage 1960s 5d ej korvette bookshelf speaker midcentury modern style item information. Korvette store in bath beach, brooklyn nyc, in 1967. A popular, and false, story behind the names origin that e. Well written history of the beginnings and end of this large east coast retailer. Aug 03, 20 perhaps most notably, korvettes prided itself in offering an extensive collection of records and tapes that rivaled the selection of places like sam goody, but at a fraction of the cost. I remember buying lots of odeon german imports of beatles albums there in the late 60s and early 70s. More than they bargained for the rise and fall of korvettes. The best thing about the town drivein was the wetlands behind it wormer, woodbine werent developed yet and thats where we went to catch polywogs. Korvette was a harbinger of future discountoriented chains like walmart. Korvettes developed out of a single insight on the part of an unusually. This is a good book about the history behind a shortlived department store that served two generations. Delivery time is estimated using our proprietary method which is based on the buyers proximity to the item location, the shipping service selected, the sellers shipping history, and other factors. Korvettes, clover and caldor the places where you shopped because you felt you would get the best buy for your money.
Department stores that dont exist anymore business insider. Korvette chain of discount department stores, whose 1950s strategy of low prices, quick turnover and high volume helped shape todays retail landscape, died on tuesday at his home in manhattan. Korvette department stores, commonly referred to as korvettes, were the brainchild of a wwii. I worked at the watchungblue star ej korvettes in new jersey in the 1970s when i was in high school and summers during college. See the photo of the tornado of 67 behind the store for another view. Im going to move out of sequence for a moment to speak about e. Korvette took its name from a shortening of eight jewish korean war veterans in honor of its founding partners. Posted on september 30, 2017 posted in e history fact. By so doing, korvettes displaced the earlier five and dime stores and preceded discount stores and warehouse clubs. In may 2015, the israeli government ordered four saar 6class corvettes, whose design by thyssenkrupp marine systems will be loosely based on that of the braunschweigclass corvette, but with engineering changes to render the baseline platform more militarily robust. Looks like from the info below that the 1d has a 7. In the late 1960s schlitten was involved in labor racketeering at e. 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 midfifties through the early nineteensixties.
Korvettes eight jewish korean veterans replaced the drivein in the early 60s and it was one hell of a fine department store in its prime. These have a great vintage look, they are not perfect but nice heavyduty cases, tweed fabric fronts. Amounts shown in italicized text are for items listed in currency other than canadian dollars and are approximate conversions to canadian dollars based upon bloombergs conversion rates. Apr 09, 20 remembering korvettes eugene ferkauf last year saw the passing of one of the most influential figures in retailing history, one who deserves more recognition than he receives today, im afraid. I even have a book entitled the rise and fall of e. Korvette did much to define the idea of a discount department store. Korvettes chicago shopping, north chicago, chicago. Once plentiful on the island, they sadly never made it out of the 1970s. Korvette was an american chain of discount department stores, founded in 1948 in new york city. Great story of retail giant ej korvettes the precursor to k mart and wal mart.
Korvette would liquidate its assets in the fall of 1980 due to past business practices failing, while also not concentrating on the areas of sale which they were strongest appliances, while also trying to compete with other retailers in areas it did not have the expertise in. Caldor, pergament home centers, loehmanns, pancake cottage, genovese drug stores all long gone but not forgotten. Visit our covid19 page for the latest information and resources. The department store museum is an online homage to americas great, latelamented department stores. He likes to play hooky from the office, go out to mind his stores. Korvette chain of discount department stores, whose 1950s strategy of low prices, quick turnover and high volume helped shape todays retail landscape. The first section of the king of prussia plaza opened september 18, 1962. Korvettes also sold harman kardon tube amps marked xam. New york ap before the advent of the big box discount store, there was eugene ferkauf. Korvette s discount department store was founded in 1948 and closed in 1980. Received an email from us, or wondering if something changed at smashwords.
It is notable as one of the first department stores to challenge the suggested retail price provisions of antidiscounting statutes. It was 90 miles from her home, the farthest away she had ever been from home. More than they bargained for the rise and fall of korvettes book. It was predicted, in the sixties, when korvette s opened its doors, that it would destroy the shopping district in bensonhurst on eightysixth street. Specifically, korvette s had granted mobsters favored refuse maintenance contracts. Korvette isnt short for eight jewish korean war veterans. Korvettes was a membership store and it was quite easy to become a member. I tend to think that might be the case because like you said, these speakers sound nice and can. Korvette the dawn of discounti pleasant family shopping. These photos come from one of the largest collections of original ap, upi and various other news service photos from several news media outlets. Mar 16, 2015 im going to move out of sequence for a moment to speak about e.
Korvette, also known as korvettes, was an american chain of discount. I think it is great that the locations of stores sections exists. It gives him less and less time to do what he really wants to do. I do have a photo copy which would not be usable with the stone used on the. Korvette wyandotte and greater downriver localwiki. Korvette, one of the pioneering national chains to use a membership program to bring discount retail pricing to the suburbs. This brevity does not do justice to the tremendous. Buy boris pasternak autograph envelope signed 11959. One of the partners was an avid music fan and thats. Defunct department store in the new york area, this commercial shows off their incredible audiovideo department. Remembering korvettes eugene ferkauf pleasant family shopping. Perhaps most notably, korvettes prided itself in offering an extensive collection of records and tapes that rivaled the selection of places like sam goody, but at a fraction of the cost. Korvette stands for eight jewish korean war veterans.
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