Lazarus (department store)

This article concerns the store named Lazarus. For other uses of the name, see Lazarus (disambiguation).

F&R Lazarus & Company (commonly known as Lazarus) was a regional department store retail chain primarily in the U.S. Midwest, based in Columbus, Ohio, which operated until March 6, 2005.

History

Family patriarch Simon Lazarus, opened a one-room men's clothing store in downtown Columbus in 1851. By 1870, with improvements to the industry in the mass manufacture of men's uniforms for the Civil War, the family business expanded to include ready-made men's civilian clothing and eventually a complete line of merchandise. Sons Fred Lazarus, Sr. and Ralph Lazarus joined the business and added many innovative marketing techniques. The company acquired the John Shillito Co. of Cincinnati in 1928 (established in 1830) and a year later, was one of the four founding members of Federated Department Stores in 1929 (along with Williams Filene's Sons Co., Abraham & Straus and Bloomingdale Brothers).

Lazarus developed many shopping firsts such as "one low price" (no bargaining necessary), first department store escalators in the country, first air-conditioned store in the country, and Fred Lazarus, Jr. successfully lobbied President Franklin Roosevelt to permanently fix Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday in November, ensuring a stable timetable for the official beginning of the Christmas shopping season.

Fred Lazarus, Jr. served as President of Federated Department Stores, Inc. from its founding until 1957, and thereafter served as board Chairman until his death in 1973. He was succeeded by his son Ralph Lazarus who led Federated through the 1980's. Various Lazarus family members also held key positions on Federated's board and within its various divisions, namely, Foley's, Filene's, Lazarus and Shillito's. As of January, 2002, Robert Lazarus Jr. was the only family member still with an official role at Federated, serving as assistant to Ron Klein, then chairman and CEO of the Rich's/Lazarus/Goldsmith's operating unit of Federated, now Macy's South.

Primarily operating in central Ohio, Lazarus dominated its market, driving the last of its traditional rivals out of business by 1982. Eventually expanding into Indianapolis, Indiana in 1973 and Huntington, West Virginia in 1981, in 1986 Lazarus merged with fellow Federated division 'Shillito Rike's, itself the result of 1982 merger between Shillito's (John Shillito Co.) and Dayton, Ohio-based Rike's (Rike-Kumler Co., acquired by Federated in 1959). The new division adopted the Lazarus nameplate, while assuming Shillito's Rike's headquarters in Cincinnati. In 1987, Federated acquired William H. Block Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, and Herpolsheimer's of Grand Rapids, Michigan from Allied Stores and incorporated them into Lazarus. After the Federated's 1990 bankruptcy, several marginally-profitable and outdated stores were closed. In 1994, Joseph Horne Co., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was acquired by Federated and its 10 locations absorbed by Lazarus.

Having absorbed several department stores itself over the years, in 1995 the chain was integrated into an Atlanta, Georgia-based division of Federated along with that city's Rich's and Memphis, Tennessee's Goldsmith's, while retaining its name in local markets. The so-called RLG division was among Federated's five smaller nameplates absorbed into the Macy's brand, along with Miami, Florida's Burdines and Seattle, Washington's The Bon Marché. The Lazarus stores were eventually co-branded with Macy's in 2004, becoming Lazarus-Macy's prior to the 2005 name change.

Macy's South is the successor to Lazarus. In early 2007, after systems integregations are completed, the stores in Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia and Kentucky will be transferred to the Macy's Midwest division, based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Original F&R Lazarus Locations

Indiana

* Macy's, Evansville - Eastland Mall (opened 1982 as Lazarus)
* Macy's, Indianapolis - Castleton Square (opened 1973 as Lazarus)
* Macy's, Indianapolis MSA/Greenwood - Greenwood Park Mall (opened 1980 as Lazarus)

Former Locations Now Closed:
* Lafayette Square Mall, Indianapolis, Indiana
* Washington Square Mall, Indinapolis, Indiana

Ohio

* Macy's, Columbus - Eastland Mall (relocated store) (opened 2005 as Kaufmann's, closed March, 2006 and reopened as Macy's in April, 2006)
* Macy's, Columbus - Eastland Home Store (freestanding) (opened 1972 as Lazarus)
* Macy's, Columbus - Easton Town Center (opened 2001 as Lazarus)
* Macy's, Columbus - Polaris Fashion Place (opened 2001 as Lazarus)
* Macy's, Columbus - Westland Mall (opened 1962 as Lazarus)
* Macy's, Columbus MSA/Dublin - The Mall at Tuttle Crossing (opened 1997 as Lazarus)
* Macy's, Columbus MSA/Dublin - Tuttle Crossing Furniture Gallery (freestanding) (opened 1996 as Lazarus)
* Macy's, Columbus MSA/Upper Arlington - Kingsdale Shopping Centyer (opened 1970 as Lazarus)
* Macy's, Lancaster - River Valley Mall (opened 1987 as Lazarus)
* Macy's, Lima - Lima Mall (opened 1971 as Lazarus)

Former Locations Now Closed:
* Downtown Columbus (Closed August, 2004)
* Eastland Mall (opened 1967 as Lazarus, closed and relocated to Kaufmann's building April, 2006)
* Northland Mall (opened 1964 as Lazarus, closed Fall 2001)
* Westerville Square Shopping Center, Westerville, Ohio
* Northwest Center, Upper Arlington, Ohio
* Town & Country Shopping Center, Columbus, Ohio (Capri Shop located in former Boston Store location; Later relocated to former Halle's location)
* Indian Mound Mall, Newark, Ohio
* Colony Square Mall, Zanesville, Ohio
* Lazarus Warehouse and Clearance Center, 562 W. Whittier St.
* Macy's, Mansfield MSA/Ontario - Westfield Richland (Richland Mall) (opened 1969 as Lazarus, closed 3/2006; Macy's will relocate to Kaufmann's building September, 2006)

West Virginia

* Macy's, Huntington/Barboursville - Huntington Mall (opened 1981 as Lazarus)

Former Shillito's Locations Rebranded as Lazarus in 1986

Kentucky

* Macy's, Lexington - Fayette Mall (opened 1971 as Shillito's)
* Macy's, Louisville - Jefferson Mall (opened 1979 as Shillito's)
* Macy's, Louisville - Oxmoor Center (opened 1970 as Shillito's)
* Macy's, Cincinnati, Ohio MSA/Florence - Florence Mall (2 locations) (opened 1977 as Shillito's, home store 1994 as Lazarus)

Ohio

* Macy's, Cincinnati - Fountain Place (downtown) (opened 1997 as Lazarus)
* Macy's, Cincinnati - Anderson Towne Center (Beechmont Mall) (opened 1969 as Shillito's)
* Macy's, Cincinnati - Northgate Mall (opened 1993 as Lazarus)
* Macy's, Cincinnati MSA/Kenwood - Kenwood Towne Centre (opened 1988 as Lazarus, expanded 2005)
* Macy's, Cincinnati MSA/Kenwood - Kenwood Furniture Gallery (opened 1989 as Lazarus)
* Macy's, Cincinnati MSA/Sharonville - Tri-County Mall (opened 1960 as Shillito's)

Former Locations Now Closed:
* Downtown Cincinnati (Relocated to Fountain Place in 1997)
* Western Woods Mall, Cincinnati, Ohio
* Oxford Shop, Oxford, Ohio
* Kenwood Mall, Cincinnati, Ohio (Relocated to Kenwood Town Center in 1989; Remains open as Kenwood Furniture Gallery)

Former Rike's Locations Rebranded as Lazarus in 1986

Ohio

* Macy's, Dayton - Dayton Mall (opened 1969 as Rike's)
* Macy's, Dayton MSA/Beavercreek - The Mall at Fairfield Commons (opened 1994 as Lazarus)
* Macy's, Springfield - Upper Valley Mall (opened 1971 as Rike's)

Former Locations Now Closed:
* Downtown Dayton
* Salem Mall, Dayton, Ohio
* Kettering Mall, Kettering, Ohio (Now Elder-Beerman)

Former Horne's Locations Rebranded as Lazarus

Pennsylvania

*Macy's, Pittsburgh - Ross Park Furniture Gallery (opened 1997 as Lazarus)
*Macy's, Pittsburgh - South Hills Village (opened 1965 as Horne's)
*Macy's, Pittsburgh - South Hills Furniture Gallery (opened 1993 as Horne's)
*Macy's, Pittsburgh MSA/Monroeville - Monroeville Mall (opened 1969 as Horne's)
*Macy's, Pittsburgh MSA/Natrona Heights - Heights Plaza Shopping Center (opened 1956 as Horne's)

Former Locations Now Closed:
*Macy's, Pittsburgh - Ross Park Mall ''(opened 1986 as Horne's, closed 3/31/2006

Other Former Locations

Kentucky

* Macy's, Owensboro - Wesleyan Park Plaza (opened 1987 as Lazarus, closed 3/2006)

Indiana

* Tippicanoe Mall in Lafayette, Ind

External links

* History of Federated Department Stores
* WOSU-TV Documentary: Many Happy Returns to Lazarus Documentary
* Interview with Charles Lazarus for the Columbus Jewish Historical Society
* Business First Article: Staffers Remember When Work Seemed Like a Family
* Columbus Dispatch Article: Name Change Hurt Macy's: Decision to drop ‘Lazarus' not a hit here
* University of Cincinnati: Biography of Ralph Lazarus (1914 - 1988)
* Great Living Cincinnatians: Fred Lazarus, Jr.