The classic retailer is long gone, but the “ASQ Center” lives on.
The classic retailer is long gone, but the “ASQ Center” lives on. Back to the full article.
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The Gimbels Building and it only should be called that btw–Marshall Fields DID NOT BUY the Gimbels stores in Wisconsin aka Gimbels Midwest. Gimbels also did not “falter”! The board members in London of BATUS (British American Tobacco -US) decided to pare down their vast retail empire and only keep what they thought to be well recognized stores like Marshall Fields and Saks (which by the way was a division of Gimbels!).
Despite the monies that Gimbels Midwest Executives put together to buy out the Gimbels division in Wisconsin-the London board decided to “give” the real estate to Marshall Fields once that Gimbels stores and warehouses were completely stripped bare of their merchandise. This was a horrid mistake by the BATUS board as it impaired the fragile nature of long range planning for a healthy merchandiser as Marshall Fields had been-advertising monies had to be spent in markets that were not as upscale as MF, stores had to be staffed and merchandised-all of which eventually robbed the slow but steady long range growth for MF. Many many bad decisions were made in the few short years after the “merger”. Eventually both Marshall Fields met its demise and Saks Fifth Avenue has been through numerous management changes and ownerships as well.
But back to the glorious building that once held a wonderful Milwaukee retail emporium. The river façade of Gimbels is copied directly from “Selfridges” in London as one of the management members had been totally “Wowed” by Selfridges new store in London during a buying trip to England. and originally there had been a fabulous marble staircase and entrance that was centered on the river façade-but that had been closed up during a interior renovation that had been done to Gimbels during the 1980’s–it was gutted during the total redo after the building was no longer functioning as a retail department store.