THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 15, 1995 TAG: 9511150252
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Shulman's, a tradition in Tidewater clothing stores since 1904, has quietly vanished.
The retailer's last two stores - in Virginia Beach's Lynnhaven Mall and Norfolk's Military Circle Shopping Center - closed last week after the company's owner went bankrupt.
``We turned over the keys to both stores on Friday,'' Joan Sullivan, who managed the Lynnhaven shop, said Tuesday. ``It happened so quickly that I haven't had a chance to absorb it.''
Shulman & Co. was founded by LeRoy Shulman Sr., who saw gold while visiting the area.
``The city looked wide open for a good clothing store, so I got a job and waited for a chance to open my own place,'' Shulman said in a 1953 article in the then-Norfolk Virginian-Pilot.
His first store opened in Norfolk in 1904, wedged in a small room under the old Monticello Hotel. Shulman moved his store to Granby and Tazewell streets in 1940.
Customers knew Shulman had the right touch. He knew how to spot trends, like rising skirts or a need for more sports clothing as people began to work shorter weeks.
Shoppers also knew Shulman had a sharp eye for detail and quality. He scrutinized everything from thread counts in shirt fabrics to the number of stitches in coat collars. He ordered his buyers and sales staff to receive proper training.
``The maintenance of quality standards in merchandise is essential to the long-run public acceptance of any store,'' Shulman once said. ``These standards can be maintained only by never-ending attention to detail by those responsible for a store's merchandise and service.''
Shulman's sons took over the business after his death in 1955. A decade later, they sold the company to Chicago-based Hart, Schaffner & Marx Inc., now known as Hartmarx Inc.
Over the years, Shulman's stores opened in Military Circle, Portsmouth's Tower Mall, Lynnhaven Mall and in Newport News. In the 1980s, the stores in downtown Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News were closed.
In 1992, Hartmarx shed Shulman's. And then it all fell apart.
The stores went to HSSA Group Ltd. and then to the Hastings Group Inc. Last month, Hastings filed for bankruptcy in Delaware. The company said it would sell or close all its stores, including the two-store Shulman's chain.
The turmoil did not go unnoticed.
Alotha Willis, a Portsmouth juvenile court judge, has shopped at the Virginia Beach store for years. Her favorite saleswoman was friendly and honest about clothing styles and fits. The merchandise was tasteful and well made.
``It was a fine store,'' Willis said. ``They had lovely merchandise and fine quality.''
But Willis stopped visiting the store as often when the clothing selection changed and her saleswoman left.
``I will say, that when they did change, I did notice it,'' she said.
What happened to the tradition?
``It's a long, long story,'' said Stan Smolen, a former executive of both Shulman's and Hartmarx.
Apparel sales have been soft, which has hurt many retailers. But in Shulman's case, the apparel slump might be just part of the story.
Smolen said Hartmarx was ``a very fine retail group.'' But along the way, LeRoy Shulman's standards were forgotten, Smolen said. Over the years, the out-of-state owners did little to keep his once robust operation healthy.
``It's a shame,'' said Smolen, who is now a retail consultant. ``They were fantastic stores. They were really well thought of.''
KEYWORDS: PROFILE by CNB