When my company finally closed its' doors in 2000. there were 37,000 employees left... without jobs, but that was just a tiny part of the history of what was once the second largest retailer in the world.
The saddest part is that there is little left but personal memories, as Wikipedia and other on-line "histories" give little notice to the years that made up most of my w*rking life. Almost no mention of the core catalog business that built the company... no mention at all, of the ten catalog "houses" which employed tens of thousands more jobs (at one time... not cumulative) between 1936 and 1986... See the pic below, for my Albany NY, Catalog House... One of many around the country. Each catalog house employed about 1,000+ individuals. Albany, Baltimore, Portland, Fort Worth, Denver, Oakland, Kansas City, Chicago.
BTW... At one time my office was in the "Tower" on the 9th floor. The building is now upscale apartments. ...Also, later on, in the Chicago offices as sales promotion mgr, on the 19th floor. (2nd pic...) third pic is of the Chicago warehouse. 1,300,000 square feet.
But that wasn't all... In addition to Catalog, there were 900+ full retail stores.
Not even mentioned in the histories, were the 1700 "Sales Agents" ... mom and pop franchise businesses... free standing, and providing community "grounding" in small towns across the US. Neither were the company operated Catalog Stores noted... at one time another 500+ operations, with sales of from 500K to 6Million each... plus telephone "offices"...
My final MW position was as special project manager, in charge of closing field catalog operations... a three year project, that was bittersweet, as I got to tell hundreds of people that they would be out of their careers... since I had put hundreds of them into the business. Easier to come from a friend, than a non-involved youngster.
Yeah... so no big deal here, but a small reminisce of a forgotten period of our US history. Perhaps an indication of the way today's biggest businesses may be seen in the perspective of history.
Any history of your own to share?
The saddest part is that there is little left but personal memories, as Wikipedia and other on-line "histories" give little notice to the years that made up most of my w*rking life. Almost no mention of the core catalog business that built the company... no mention at all, of the ten catalog "houses" which employed tens of thousands more jobs (at one time... not cumulative) between 1936 and 1986... See the pic below, for my Albany NY, Catalog House... One of many around the country. Each catalog house employed about 1,000+ individuals. Albany, Baltimore, Portland, Fort Worth, Denver, Oakland, Kansas City, Chicago.
BTW... At one time my office was in the "Tower" on the 9th floor. The building is now upscale apartments. ...Also, later on, in the Chicago offices as sales promotion mgr, on the 19th floor. (2nd pic...) third pic is of the Chicago warehouse. 1,300,000 square feet.
But that wasn't all... In addition to Catalog, there were 900+ full retail stores.
Not even mentioned in the histories, were the 1700 "Sales Agents" ... mom and pop franchise businesses... free standing, and providing community "grounding" in small towns across the US. Neither were the company operated Catalog Stores noted... at one time another 500+ operations, with sales of from 500K to 6Million each... plus telephone "offices"...
My final MW position was as special project manager, in charge of closing field catalog operations... a three year project, that was bittersweet, as I got to tell hundreds of people that they would be out of their careers... since I had put hundreds of them into the business. Easier to come from a friend, than a non-involved youngster.
Yeah... so no big deal here, but a small reminisce of a forgotten period of our US history. Perhaps an indication of the way today's biggest businesses may be seen in the perspective of history.
Any history of your own to share?
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