Aldens (department store)

Aldens was an American catalog merchant company.

History

Aldens was founded by Benjamin J. Rosenthal^[1] in 1889 in Chicago under the name the Chicago Mail Order and Millinery Company and was incorporated in on December 15, 1902.^[2] The company primarily sold fashion apparel and accessories for women and men via its catalog.^[2] In 1906, the name was changed to the Chicago Mail Order Company.^[2] In the 1930s, the company expanded through acquisitions: in 1935, it purchased the mailing lists of M.W. Savage Company of Minneapolis; and in 1936, those of Hamilton Garment of New York and D.T. Bohon of Kentucky.^[2] Soon after, Aldens began offering a monthly payment plan to its customers, essentially granting credit; and expanded their line to include books, toys, and linens.^[2] In 1938, they expanded to include home furnishings and house wares; and sales increased to $24 million.^[2] In 1943, they built a large distribution warehouse in Chicago with 690,000 square feet of floor space.^[2] From 1944, they began to develop a retail network primarily in the Midwest (which eventually expanded to 16 stores by 1959).^[2] In 1947, the company was the fourth-largest mail-order distributor in the United States with $79.2 million in sales and changed its name to Aldens, Inc.^[2] In 1957, sales were $102.4 million, they employed 4,795 employees, and operated catalog telephone stores in 68 cities.^[2] In 1961, the began selling life insurance via their subsidiary, the John Alden Life Insurance Company.^[2] In 1964, Gamble-Skogmo (which had previously purchased a 46% interest in Aldens), purchased the remaining stock in the company including the life insurance unit.^[3] The catalog operation was liquidated in 1985.

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