11 Facts About Gimbels

Gimbels was considered the chief rival of Macy's with their feud popularized in American culture.

In 1894, Gimbels—then led by the founder's son, Isaac Gimbel—acquired the Granville Haines store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and in 1910, opened another branch in New York City.

Gimbels became so successful that in 1922 the chain went public, offering shares on the New York Stock Exchange .

In 1962, Gimbels acquired Milwaukee competitor Schuster's, and in that region operated stores from both chains for a while as Gimbels Schuster's.

The Philadelphia Gimbels specifically offered fine jewelry, men's clothing, women's clothing, children's clothing, furniture, toys, art supplies, and appliances for the house.

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Gimbels gained publicity from the 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street, the 1967 film Fitzwilly, and was frequently mentioned as a shopping destination of Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz on the hit 1950s TV series I Love Lucy.

Also, the Philadelphia Gimbels was the first department store in the world to move customers from floor to floor via the escalator.

When Gimbels ceased operating in 1986, television station WPVI assumed responsibility for the parade, with sponsorship by Reading, Pennsylvania-based Boscov's.

In 1977 Gimbels moved to a new store across Market Street and the original buildings were demolished except for the 1927 addition which was converted to professional office spaces.

In 1923, Gimbels purchased Saks, which became a subsidiary of Gimbel Brothers, Incorporated, a publicly traded company.

Gimbels is featured prominently in Fitzwilly, a 1967 Christmas classic heist film.