Joseph Magnin

The Joseph Magnin Company was a high-end specialty department store founded in San Francisco, California by Joseph Magnin.

Joseph Magnin was the son of Isaac and Mary Ann Magnin. Mary Ann Magnin was the founder of the I. Magnin & Co. high-end specialty department store she named after her husband. Joseph Magnin was active in the running of the I. Magnin Co. until 1913. He had been passed over by Mary Ann, offering more prominent company positions to her other three sons John, Samuel and Grover. Joseph left I. Magnin and cashed in his share of ownership. He initially went into real estate before returning to retail. He bought into a store named Newman-Levinson and changed it to Newman-Magnin. Eventually he bought out his partners and changed the name to Joseph Magnin Co.

The store was located at the corner of and O’Farrell Streets. At the time, I. Magnin Co. was located at Grant and Geary Streets. However in 1948 when I. Magnin built the new flagship store at Stockton and Geary streets, the two flagship stores were less than a block apart. Initially Joseph Magnin was a midrange purveyor of apparel and millinery and was viewed as a second-rate I. Magnin. Within the garment industry, Joseph Magnin Co. was known as “the other Magnin.” For many years Joseph Magnin Co. operated in the shadows of I. Magnin. I. Magnin had many established providers of better fashions and demanded exclusivity; the sellers were barred from selling to Joseph Magnin if they wished to continue to do business with I. Magnin. Joseph Magnin at times did use consumer confusion on the Magnin name to their advantage by calling the store J. Magnin in signage, advertisements, and store bags. The store also self identified as JM.

After World War II, under the leadership of Joseph’s son Cyril Magnin, the Joseph Magnin Co. went more upscale and began courting the younger woman’s market. JM advertisements were distinctive as being glamorous, sophisticated, trendy and youthful. One newspaper ad went to print without the Magnin name. Cyril was furious until he was told the item had sold out; everyone knew it was a JM ad. Marilyn Monroe purchased the suit she wore when she married Joe DiMaggio in 1954 at JM. As of 1960 the store was one of the first in San Francisco to employ Asian-Americans in customer service.

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