Hahne and Company facts for kids
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| Industry | retail |
|---|---|
| Fate | Merged into Lord & Taylor |
| Successor | Lord & Taylor |
| Founded | 1858 |
| Defunct | 1988 |
| Headquarters | 609 Broad Street, Newark, NJ until 1987 Edison, NJ 1987 to 1989 |
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Key people
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Julius Hahne, Alan Kane |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, jewelry, furniture, bedding, beauty products, electronics |
| Parent | Associated Dry Goods, May Company |
Hahne & Company, often called Hahne's, was a well-known department store chain. It was based in Newark, New Jersey. Hahne's had many stores across central and northern New Jersey.
Contents
A Store with a Friendly Spirit
Hahne's started in 1858. Julius Hahne opened it as a special shop. Over time, it grew into a big department store. Its motto was "The Store With The Friendly Spirit." People in Newark called it the "carriage trade" store. This meant it was a fancy place where wealthy people shopped.
In 1911, a new main store opened in downtown Newark. It was designed by architect Goldwin Starrett. This huge building had five floors of shopping space. It even had a large open area called an atrium in the middle. The store also had two popular dining rooms. One was the "Pine Room" and the other was the "Maple Room." During Christmas, the Newark store even had a Merry-Go-Round in the basement!
In 1916, Hahne's joined a group of stores called the Associated Dry Goods Corporation (ADG). This helped them grow even more. In 1929, Hahne's was the first Newark department store to open a branch in Montclair.
Growing into the Suburbs
Starting in the 1950s, Hahne's began to open more stores outside of cities. The Montclair store was replaced with a bigger one. In 1963, a store in Westfield was added. However, Hahne's was slow to open stores in the new shopping malls. This made it hard to keep up with other big stores.
Hahne's focused too much on its Newark store in the 1960s. The Newark area started to decline. Shoppers felt the area was unsafe and there wasn't enough parking. This caused sales to drop. Alan Kane became the CEO in 1978. He tried to make the stores more appealing to a wider range of shoppers. He opened new stores in Woodbridge Center and Rockaway Townsquare. The Livingston Mall location became the company's main store during this time.
Changes and New Beginnings
In 1986, Hahne & Co. announced big changes. The downtown Newark store would close. The company offices would also leave Newark. The parent company, ADG, bought a large store space at the Garden State Plaza. They planned to open a new Hahne's there.
Soon after, ADG was sold to the May Company. The May Company decided to close the Newark store in 1987. A new Hahne's store did open at the Garden State Plaza. However, by 1988, the May Company decided to stop using the Hahne's name. Most Hahne's stores became new locations for Lord & Taylor, another department store chain.
What Happened to the Old Buildings?
The Montclair store, built in 1951, was empty for about 20 years. It was torn down in 2007. New apartments were built there instead.
The main Newark store was empty for almost 30 years. But in 2013, plans were made to fix it up! It reopened in 2017. Now, the building has a Whole Foods Market and other shops on the ground floor. There are also apartments above. Rutgers University opened a new arts center there called "Express Newark." It has art studios, a media center, and spaces for artists. The building also has other businesses like a Petco, a bookstore, and restaurants. This helped bring new life back to downtown Newark.
Images for kids
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Montclair store in 1951
