|
Akron Stores or The Akron was a Southern California-based imported goods and home decor retail chain that was started by Bernard Field and Hyman Fink in 1948 as the ''Akron Army & Navy Stores'' on Sunset Blvd. In 1952 or 1953, the company was renamed ''The Akron''. The chain had over 30 stores throughout Southern California before it was forced to close in 1985. In a 2001 interview in Los Angeles Magazine, Fink describes selling "everything from handkerchiefs to fire hydrants to motorcycles to live Mexican monkeys" in his stores.〔 The product mix offered in the stores are best described as ''eclectic''. A 1960 article in the Los Angeles Times described the store as "a pioneer in new and distinctive merchandising techniques" that "long specialized in decorator items from abroad" that included "original Italian oil paintings, native African sculptures from Kenya, and contemporary teakwood furniture from Denmark".〔 ==History== In 1948, Bernard Field and Hyman Fink opened the ''Akron Army & Navy Stores'' on Sunset Blvd. between Virgil Place and Fountain Avenue by selling army surplus goods. One of their first ads appeared in classified ad section of the December 1948 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine for 2-way combat phones while another ad in the same issue advertized for Army identification bracelets. The address given in the ad was 4379 Sunset, currently a parking lot for a television studio. By 1950, Akron Army & Navy was purchasing conventional ads in magazines and in the Los Angeles Times, and had moved to their main location to 4400 Sunset Blvd. In their April 1950 ad in the Los Angeles Times, Akron was selling typewriters, watches, bunk beds, camping gear, power tools, and house paint.〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕 Their September 1951 ad in Popular Mechanics was for hand-held power tools. Their February 1952 ad in Popular Science offered telescopes and microscopes. The last mention as the ''Akron Army & Navy Store'' occur in a April 1952 article in the Los Angeles Times describing a fire that caused major damage to their warehouse that was adjacent to their store at 4400 Sunset Blvd.〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕 Besides selling to walk-in customers at their store, Akron was selling nationwide via mail order through ads placed in Popular Mechanics and Popular Science magazines during the 1950s. By June 1953, ads were beginning to appear in the Los Angeles Times in which the firm began to trade under the name ''The Akron''. In these ads, the variety of advertized goods was getting larger, which included such items as clothes, furniture, and live plants. Around this time, the army-navy label was dropped since the new products offered by the firm began to sharply deviated from the usual goods obtain through government surplus.〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕 In March 1954, the firm expanded into the San Fernando Valley by opening their first branch store in Burbank.〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕 A third store was opened in West Los Angeles in June 1957,〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕 followed by a fourth store in West Covina in August 1958.〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕 Stores built during this time period occupied 40,000 square feet of retail space. The growth rate of the firm accelerated during the 1960s. In 1960, Akron opened both their fifth store in Torrance〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕 and sixth store in Anaheim.〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕 According to a 1961 article in the Los Angeles Times, Akron had eight stores in Los Angeles and San Francisco and was in the process of build a new headquarters building that was separate from the main store at that time.〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕 Unfortunately, the article does not mention how main stores were opened in the San Francisco area or when did it occur.〔 In early 1963, the chain replaced their original store on Sunset with a new larger building on the same property while still conducting business in the original building during the construction process.〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕 The original building was located on the southwest side of the property while the newer building was on the northeast side of the property. In 1963, a store was opened in Los Angeles on Crenshaw〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕 and in Tarzana.〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕 A 1963 article in the Times called the Crenshaw store the ninth store in the chain.〔 The first mention of the Ventura-Oxnard occurred in an ad in the September issue of the Times. In 1966, 20,000 square feet was added to the just two year-old West Los Angeles store to keep up with the increase of business.〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕 Later in the same year, a store was opened at the Northpoint Shoppint Center in San Francisco.〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕 According to an 1966 article in the Times, this is the first store in San Francisco and the tenth in the chain.〔 Renamed The Akron in the 1952, they had stores as far north as San Francisco and far south as San Diego; large expansion during the 1950s-1970s〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕 closed 1984 with many remaining store leases〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕〔 (Alternate Link ) via ProQuest.〕 sold to Circuit City 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Akron」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|