Simon Lazarus

Simon Lazarus, founder of the predecessor of what was to become The F&R Lazarus & Co., an operation which blossomed into what is today known as Macy's, Inc. In 1850, Lazarus, a rabbinical scholar, arrived in Columbus, and in 1851 he opened the Lazarus store. Assisted by his wife Amelia and sons Fred and Ralph, Simon and his store gradually began to prosper. Simon Lazarus was once described as "a good man, a gentle man, a scholar--and no merchant,"--and Simon's own grandson, the late Robert Lazarus, Sr., was the man who said it. By 1870, industry improvements (primarily attributable to the mass manufacture of men's uniforms for the Civil War), led the family to expand the business to include ready-made men's civilian clothing and eventually a complete line of merchandise. Simon Lazarus served as the first Rabbi of Central Ohio's oldest Reform synagogue, Temple Israel.

Later Simon sons, Fred Lazarus and Ralph Lazarus, joined the business, adding many innovative marketing techniques. After Simon's death in 1877, his widow Amelia continued running the store with their two sons. After Amelia's death in 1899, the store was renamed The F&R Lazarus & Company and positioned the company for rapid expansion of the company. In 1928, the company purchased The John Shillito Company department store in Cincinnati. In 1929, Federated Department Stores, Inc., was organized in Columbus, Ohio, as a holding company for founding members F&R Lazarus & Company, its subsidiary The John Shillito Company, William Filene's Sons & Company and Abraham & Straus department stores. The group was led by Fred Lazarus, Jr., whose namesake company was by then the dominant retail store in Columbus.

The Lazarus family pioneered many shopping firsts such as the concept of "one low price" (in which no bargaining was required); theirs was also the first department store with escalators and the first air-conditioned store in the country. The family also successfully lobbied President Franklin Roosevelt to permanently set the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving, thereby ensuring a more definitive Christmas shopping season.

External links

Biographical information

* [http://www.wosu.org/archive/lazarus/index.php Many Happy Returns to Lazarus] "WOSU-TV Documentary"
* [http://www.columbusjewishhistoricalsociety.org/Oral%20Histories/Interviews/HTML/lazarus.htm Charles Lazarus Interview] "Columbus Jewish Historical Society"
* [http://dispatch.com/dispatch/content/local_news/stories/2007/05/14/lazarus.html Former Lazarus Chairman and Federated Director Charles Lazarus Dies at Age 93] , "Columbus Dispatch", May 14, 2007
* [http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/content/business/stories/2007/05/15/Chas_Lazarus_obit.ART_ART_05-15-07_A1_2K6NIKD.html Charles Lazarus Recalled as Retail and Civic Leader] , "Columbus Dispatch", May 15, 2007
* [http://www.templeisrael.org/history.htm Temple Israel Columbus History]
* [http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2001/12/24/focus1.html Best of times: Staffers remember when work seemed like a family] , "Columbus Business First", December 21, 2001
* [http://www.libraries.uc.edu/research/subject_resources/business/book_ralph_lazarus.html Biography of Ralph Lazarus (1914 - 1988)] "University of Cincinnati"
* [http://www.gccc.com/usaccc_b.aspx?id=1181&rid=940 Great Living Cincinnatians: Fred Lazarus, Jr.] "Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce"
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,793281,00.html Prospecting Pays] "Time Magazine," December 9, 1946
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,899873,00.html Shuffling the Lazari] "Time Magazine," September 29, 1967
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,841208,00.html Time to Get Involved] "Time Magazine," January 19, 1968
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,939488,00.html Personalities] "Time Magazine," April 3, 1964
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,868850,00.html Family Affair] "Time Magazine," September 8, 1958
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,792224,00.html How Much is Enough?] "Time Magazine," July 16, 1945
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B03E5DD1E3EF932A15756C0A9659C8B63 Obituary of Philanthropist and New York Yankees Owner Charlotte Lazarus] "New York Times"
* [http://columbusjewishhistoricalsociety.org/Oral%20Histories/Interviews/HTML/witkind_charlotte.htm Interview with Charlotte Lazarus Witkind] "Columbus Jewish Historical Society"

Other

* [http://www.fds.com/pressroom/about/his_2.asp History of Federated Department Stores]
* [http://www.wosu.org/archive/lazarus/index.php WOSU-TV Documentary: Many Happy Returns to Lazarus Documentary]
* [http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2001/12/24/focus1.html Business First Article: Staffers Remember When Work Seemed Like a Family]
* [http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2004/09/27/editorial2.html Business First Article: So Long, Lazarus]
* [http://www.dispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/06/06/20060606-F1-01.html Columbus Dispatch Article: Name Change Hurt Macy's: Decision to drop ‘Lazarus’ not a hit here]