Alexander's
| Former type | Public (NYSE: ALX) |
|---|---|
| Industry | real estate |
| Founded | 1928 |
| Defunct | 1992 |
| Headquarters | Paramus, New Jersey |
| Key people | George Farkas |
| Website | http://www.alx-inc.com/ |
Alexander's (NYSE: ALX) was a department store chain in the New York metropolitan area. 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 16 stores. Its advertising slogan was "You'll find Alexander's has what you're looking for; how lucky can you get?!". The company still exists as a REIT.
The Paramus, New Jersey, location was notable because the building was the site of the world's largest mural painted by Polish artist Stefan Knapp. Although the location closed in 1992, the mural remained on the vacant building until 1998 when it was disassembled and put into storage. Several attempts to relocate the mural have failed including a plan to include it in the Xanadu complex.
Also notable was the flagship location in the World Trade Center mall. Upon completion in 1974, Alexander's became the anchor tenant for the new mall located on the concourse level of the complex. It took up roughly 1/6 of the 500,000 sqft mall, the largest in New York City, and was located underneath 4 World Trade Center, immediately to the east of the south tower. Like the rest of the chain, it closed in 1992 and the lease was sold.[1]
[edit] History
The chain was founded in 1928 by George Farkas, a Brooklyn native who opened a store on Third Avenue in the Bronx and named it for his deceased father. The store managed to thrive during the following Depression, and another location was opened at Fordham Road (also in the Bronx) in 1933. Post-war prosperity further increased the company's fortunes, and led to a steady increase of locations throughout the area.
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, and the stores' physical appearance and merchandise quality suffered. The company made a last-ditch effort to modernize in the early 1990s by expanding its activewear, electronics, housewares, sports equipment, and toy departments. It also began to update its infrastructure by replacing aging mechanical cash registers which could no longer be repaired with computerized registers (an earlier attempt in the 1980s had failed due to poor planning). Unfortunately, these changes came too late, and 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 aside from the World Trade Center location). Vornado, a realty trust firm (which itself in a previous form was another discount department store chain, Two Guys), bought a controlling share of Alexander's at bargain prices and refocused the company on development of its land holdings.
