Lipmans

Lipmans was a department store chain based in Portland, Oregon. The company was originally known as Lipman-Wolfe & Company, named after the two founding partners; Adolphe Wolfe and his uncle, Soloman Lipman. It is now defunct.

History

In 1850, Lipman and Wolfe formed a partnership in Sacramento, California during the California Gold Rush. They became prosperous merchants, expanding into Nevada during the great silver rushes. The later decline of the Comstock Lode impacted the business, prompting Wolfe to move to Portland in 1880.

Wolfe opened a new store in Portland, re-establishing his business. Floods and space limitations forced the store to move three times, the last of which was in 1912 when the flagship store was opened at Fifth and Washington Streets. The new store was just across the street from Meier & Frank's flagship store, sparking an intense rivalry.

Lipmans was well-known locally for establishing several "firsts" in Portland retail history:

*The first use of an elevator system in a department store.
*The first retailer to mark set prices on merchandise, eliminating haggling and the fashion code price system.
*The first retailer to make change down to the penny instead of nickel.

By the end of its identity, the Lipmans brand had grown into a chain of six stores. Adolphe Wolfe died in 1938, passing the company on to his nephew. In the 1950's, the Wolfe family sold Lipmans to the Dayton Hudson Company, which kept the Lipmans brand as a division. Lipman's began to lose market share to Meier & Frank in the 1970's when Marshall Field's bought all six stores in 1979. All were rebranded as Frederick & Nelson in 1980.

Brief resurrection

In early 1987, F&N Acquisition Corp., the owners of Frederick's announced that they would bring back the Lipman's name as an off-price retail division. Five Frederick & Nelson stores in Oregon and Four Great Clothes Outlets in Washington were to be renamed Lipman's, but the Oregon locations instead were sold to The Crescent. These stores were slightly smaller in size to normal stores and catered to "fashion-conscious 20- to 40-year-olds with money to spend on career and casual wardrobes". The division was meant to compete directly with Nordstrom along with complementing its sister store. By January of 1988, sales at the stores fell short of the 125$ per square foot target. Ownership was handed over to F&N executives and all the stores became Frederick & Nelson Red Tag Clearance Centers by mid 1988. All these stores were closed during 1990 cutbacks.

Cinnamon Bear

Lipmans is probably best remembered for the Cinnamon Bear, a popular Portland Christmas time tradition since 1937. The Cinnamon Bear was introduced as a Lipmans-sponsored radio story character, meant to count down the days until Christmas. Along with Santa Claus, His costumed likeness appeared every Christmas at Lipmans stores handing out cookies to children. Frederick & Nelson continued the practice after absorbing the brand. The Cinnamon Bear survives today as a souvineer at the Fifth Avenue Suites.

Portland flagship store reuse

Frederick & Nelson closed the former Lipmans flagship store during a reorganization of the chain in 1986. Ten years and a massive renovation later, the ten-story, half-block building reopened as the Fifth Avenue Suites, a 222-room hotel. 2007: Fifth Avenue Suites renamed to Hotel Monaco.

Restaurants

Tea Room, on the 10th floor - Downtown Portland

Former locations

Oregon

*Corvallis - Downtown (opened ? as Lipman's, became Frederick & Nelson in 1979, became The Crescent in 1988, Lamonts in 1990's, Gottschalks in 2000, closed 2004)
*Portland - Downtown Portland - (Former Flagship) (opened 1912 as Lipmans, became Frederick & Nelson 1979, turned back to Lipmans in 1979, closed 1986)
*Portland - Eastport Plaza (sold to Mervyns 1979, location closed in 1986) [citeweb|url=http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/eastport_plaza.html|title=Deadmalls.com History of Eastport Plaza]
*Portland - Lloyd Center (opened 1960 as Lipmans, became Frederick & Nelson 1979, turned back to Lipmans in 1979, closed 1986, became a second Nordstrom in 1986, converted to mall space 1990 with construction of adjoining new Nordstrom)
*Salem - Downtown Salem (Near Salem Center Mall) (sold to Frederick & Nelson 1979, location closed in 1987) [citeweb|url=http://photos.salemhistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/sj&CISOPTR=955=|title=Oregon Historic Photo Collection Salem Public Library]
*Tigard - Washington Square (opened 1974, sold to Frederick & Nelson 1979, closed in 1991, became a Nordstrom in 1994)

Washington

*Vancouver - Westfield Vancouver (Proposed but never built. Location became a Mervyns in 1982, closed in 2007)

References

External links

* [http://www.pdxhistory.com/deptstores/fredericknelson/lipmans/lipmans.html Lipmans at PDXhistory.com] -Mark Moore's page on the Lipman-Wolfe Company
* [http://www.5thavenuesuites.com/fashist/ Fifth Avenue Suites Portland] -History of the building
* [http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=30221 "Portland Tribune"] -Article comparing the Lipman building reuse to a similar plan for the nearby Meier & Frank Building.