Andrew Saks | |
---|---|
Born | June 5, 1847 Baltimore, Maryland |
Died | April 8, 1912 New York City |
(aged 64)
Andrew Saks (June 5, 1847 – April 8, 1912) was an American businessman known as the founder of Saks Fifth Avenue.
He was born to a German Jewish family, in Baltimore, Maryland, Saks became a peddler and paper boy who moved to Washington, D.C. to establish a men's clothing store. He established a successful clothing business in 1867, and opened a store in New York on 34th Street in 1902 as Saks & Company. Andrew Saks ran the New York store as a family affair with his brother Isadore, and his sons Horace and William. Saks married Jennie Rohr and had two sons Horace and William Andrew and daughter Leila Saks who survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic.
After Andrew died his son Horace merged Saks & Company with Gimbel Brothers, Inc., in 1923. On September 15, 1924, Horace Saks and Bernard Gimbel opened Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City.