Alexander's
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alexander's, was a former department store in the New York metropolitan area.
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[edit] History
Founded in 1928 by George Farkas, and catering to low- and middle-income consumers, Alexander's offered discounted designer fashions and high-quality private label goods. At its height, the company operated 15 stores, including locations in midtown Manhattan (the flagship at 59th Street and Lexington Avenue), the World Trade Center, Fordham Road in the Bronx, Queens Boulevard in Rego Park, Valley Stream, Long Island and Paramus, New Jersey among others.
The company's hold on the marketplace began to slip in the 1970s, as customers defected to larger competitors and specialty retailers. In 1980, Interstate Properties took a major stake in the ailing chain, seeking to convert its real estate to more profitable ventures. Throughout the 1980s, Alexander's management struggled to expand the retailer's offerings beyond leisure apparel, but was often distracted by real estate sell-offs. The company made a last-ditch effort to modernize in the early 1990s by expanding its activewear, electronics, housewares, sports equipment, and toy departments, but to no avail. Alexander's finally declared bankruptcy in 1992 as debts to vendors mounted and inventories dwindled. After being reorganized into a real estate company, Alexander's began selling off its valuable properties to developers. The company had owned all the real estate its large stores sat on. Vornado, a real estate firm (which in a previous form was another discount department store chain, Two Guys), had bought a controlling share of Alexanders at bargain prices and refocused the company on development of its land holdings.
[edit] Former locations
[edit] Connecticut
- Milford - Connecticut Post Mall (opened 1950's, closed 1988, now JCPenney)
[edit] New Jersey
- Eatontown - Eatontown (freestanding) (opened 1972, closed 1983)
- Edison - Menlo Park Mall (opend 1972, closed 1988 and sold to Nordstrom)
- Paramus - Paramus (freestanding) (opened 1950's, closed 1992, demolished in 2000, now site of IKEA)
[edit] New York
- Brooklyn - Kings Plaza (opened 1970, closed 1992, now Sears)
- The Bronx - Fordham Road & Grand Concourse (opened 1933, closed 1992)
- The Bronx - 152nd Street & Third Avenue (opened 1928, closed 1992)
- The Bronx - Bruckner Boulevard (opened 1933, closed 1992)
- Manhattan - Lexington Avenue & 59th Street (opened 1965, closed 1992, demolished in 2000, now location of Bloomberg Building)
- Manhattan - World Trade Center (opened 1980, closed 1992, destroyed 2001)
- Queens-Flushing - Flushing (freestanding) (opened 1975, closed 1992)
- Queens-Rego Park - Rego Park (freestanding) (opened 1950's, closed 1992, now Sears)
- Valley Stream - Valley Stream (freestanding) (opened 1967, closed 1992)
- Garden City - Roosevelt Field (opened 1971, closed 1991, now site of Bloomingdales)
- Mohegan Lake - Westchester Mall (opened 1977, closed 1986 1992)
- White Plains, Westchester County - White Plains (freestanding) (opened 1951, closed 1988, now location of Westchester Pavilion)
- Yonkers, Westchester County - Yonkers (freestanding) (opened 1977, closed 1992)
