Storekeeping Atlas

Two years ago Bonwit Teller became the only big Manhattan store with a woman chief executive. The job went to Mrs. Hortense McQuarrie ("Tenney") Odlum, sprightly wife of Floyd Bostwick Odlum, who had discovered the store among the assets of one of the investment trusts picked up by his Atlas Corp. during Depression.* It was Mr. Odlum's idea that the logical person to run a women's store was a woman. Since then the Odlums have been divorced, Mr. Odlum marrying Aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran, Mrs. Odlum becoming Mrs. Porfilio Dominici by mar rying a Paris surgeon. The corporate relationship of the Odlums, however, was not disturbed.

Under Atlas management Bonwit Teller has changed from an involuntary merchandising venture with bleak prospects to a likely-looking investment with a return expected this year. Last week in celebration of the second anniversary of her entry into business, President Dominici was given a cocktail party, to which the press was invited to watch her cut a cake model of her store. On the confection roof was a decorative "2" to record not only President Dominici's tenure but also the fact that Bonwit Teller had doubled its business.

With this successful storekeeping experience behind it, Atlas last week bought another big Manhattan store, Franklin Simon & Co. Like Bonwit Teller, Frank lin Simon is a collection of women's specialty shops, not a department store. Founded in 1902 by the son of a Manhattan cigar maker who started at 13 as a sample boy with Manhattan's Stern Brothers, Franklin Simon was the first big Fifth Avenue store above 34th Street. As Stern's foreign buyer, Simon became impressed by French style. When he opened his own store, he picked a Frenchman for his original partner, picked French clothes as his specialty. By 1925 Franklin Simon's was selling $25,000,000 worth of merchandise annually. For his part in putting U. S. women into French clothes Franklin Simon was made a chevalier of the Legion of Honor. Once prosperous, the store has been in the red since 1932, losing $147,000 last year on sales of $10,000,000.

Founder Simon died in 1934, leaving the store to be run by his family. The family could not always agree on policy or practice. Slowly, Franklin Simon lost its style leadership.

From the Franklin Simon Estate and members of the family Atlas finally rounded up all the store's common stock and part of the preferred, cut some friendly bankers into the deal for a minority interest. Final price was not revealed but the reported figure was $2,000,000. Son George Simon stayed on as vice president. A new board of directors and a new executive vice president were promptly installed last week. The vacant presidency is yet to be filled.

* Since 1929 Atlas has bought 22 investment trusts, sold two. Last week President Odlum announced the last step in a corporate simplification program which will leave Atlas a single $110,000,000 unit. To be consolidated with the parent company are the three remaining subsidiary trusts, Shenandoah Corp., Sterling Securities Corp. and Pacific Eastern Corp., once called Goldman Sachs Trading Corp. At the same time two outside directors will be taken on the Atlas board, Sears, Roebuck & Co.'s Robert E. Wood and United Fruit Co.'s Samuel Zemurray, for other news of whom see p. 74.

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