Hart Schaffner Marx
 |
|
| Defunct | |
| Industry | Consumer Goods |
| Founded | 1887; 1911 incorporated as Hart Schaffner & Marx |
| Founder | Harry and Max Hart |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
|
Area served
|
United States |
|
Key people
|
Homi B. Patel (Chairman of the Board) (President) & (CEO) |
| Products | Textile - Apparel Clothing |
| Revenue |
 US$ 564.87 Million (2007) |
|
US$ 2.49 Million (2007) |
|
|
US$ -4.18 Million (2007) |
|
| Total assets |
US$ 269.55 Million (2007) |
| Total equity |
US$ 228.04 Million (2007) |
|
Number of employees
|
3,800 |
| Website | www.hartschaffnermarx.com |
Hart Schaffner Marx, founded in 1887 and incorporated in 1911 as Hart Schaffner & Marx, is an American manufacturer of tailored menswear. It is owned by the New York-based Authentic Brands Group. Hart Schaffner Marx is located in Chicago.
The company has roots dating back to 1887, when brothers Harry and Max Hart opened a small men's clothing store on Chicago's State Street, called Harry Hart and Brother. In 1879, the Harts' brothers-in-law, Levi Abt and Marcus Marx, joined the partnership, which was renamed Hart, Abt and Marx.
Eight years later, Marx and Abt left the business and were replaced by a cousin, Joseph Schaffner, and the firm was renamed Hart Schaffner & Marx. At the same time, however, the wholesale business began to grow, overtaking the retail operations. On the strength of wholesale production, Hart, Abt and Marx won contracts to produce clothing for the U.S. military. This introduced the partners to prefabricated off-the-rack clothing and marked their entry into the ready-to-wear suit trade.
In 1897, the company began running national advertisements for its products and began selling off-the-rack suits through a variety of distributors. Hart Schaffner & Marx commissioned well-known illustrators, such as John E. Sheridan, to paint pictures for style books and retail posters. These ads portrayed the company's latest fashions in rich surroundings, establishing Hart Schaffner & Marx as a premium brand.
By 1906 the company had branched into sizes for men who were unusually tall, short, or overweight. Hart Schaffner & Marx thus became a mass-market brand, enabling virtually any man to have a fine quality suit at a lower price than a custom tailored suit.
In 1910, the company was targeted by the Chicago garment workers' strike, also known as the Hart, Schaffner, and Marx strike, which led to improved conditions for workers and the founding of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America.
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Wikipedia