Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA) - May 29, 2005
Deceased Name: WILLIAM B. THALHIMER JR. DIES AT 90 IN DECADES AS LEADER, HE GREW RETAIL CHAIN TO 26 STORES IN FOUR STATES
William Blum Thalhimer Jr., the businessman and philanthropist who was the fourth generation of his family to run the venerable Richmond department store chain Thalhimers Bros. Inc., died early Saturday at his Richmond home.

He was 90. Thalhimers was founded in 1842 by Mr. Thalhimer's great-grandfather, William, a native of Germany who immigrated to Richmond. What would become a retailing empire began as a one-room dry goods and notion store.

Under the stewardship of the two generations that followed William as the store's president, Thalhimer Bros. expanded to fill a five-story building on Broad Street.

Mr. Thalhimer effectively took the store's reins in 1948, when he was named executive vice president and general manager. In the following years, he defined successful retailing in Richmond, earning a reputation as a savvy merchant with wit and charm.

Between 1948 and his retirement in 1990, Mr. Thalhimer guided the company from a one-store operation in Richmond to a chain of 26 department stores in four states.

Along the way, he made Thalhimers chocolate cake, popovers and Snow Bear household words.

He also found time to support numerous causes. Mr. Thalhimer served on the board of directors of a few dozen businesses and community organizations, including several hospitals, the Science Museum of Virginia and the Richmond Jewish Community Council.

"He felt that for a business to grow and thrive, the community had to be strong," said a son, William B. Thalhimer III of Richmond. "He knew that he wanted to participate . . . where he could make a contribution in various areas of the community."

Even though Thalhimer Bros. was sold to merchandising conglomerate Carter Hawley Hale Stores Inc. in 1978, Mr. Thalhimer ran the stores that bore his name until the end of 1990. His last move as the company's chairman was to negotiate the chain's sale to The May Department Stores Co. of St. Louis.

"My family always based its way of doing business on three things: honesty, quality and service," Mr. Thalhimer told The Richmond News Leader in 1990. "I know it sounds silly, but honest to God, in the long run that's what makes any business successful."

In 1992, the May Co. closed the Thalhimers flagship store at Sixth and Broad streets.

Last year, on the day Mr. Thalhimer celebrated his 90th birthday, demolition work began on the store. It was torn down to make way for construction of the proposed Virginia Performing Arts Center.

Before the demolition started, the Thalhimer family was presented with the clock that rested for decades above the store's entrance.

"It was a bittersweet kind of a day," said William B. Thalhimer III, who attended the demolition ceremony with his father. "When you spend your life, and generations of your family have spent their lives building a business, it's very tough to see [it demolished], even though we realize that things have to move forward."

Mr. Thalhimer, known as Billy, was one of two children born to William Thalhimer Sr. and Annette Goldsmith Thalhimer. In 1912, his father was already on track to become the store's president. Mr. Thalhimer's brother, Charles, would one day lead the company with him.

As a child, Mr. Thalhimer learned the fundamentals of business by working after school at the store. He stamped letters and wrapped packages for a nickel a day, he told The News Leader in 1954.

Even before he graduated from John Marshall High School in 1932, Mr. Thalhimer knew he wanted to pursue retailing as his career. But he decided to start where no one knew his name.

At the age of 18, he moved to New York City and found a job at Stern Brothers department store. Within two years, he rose from stock boy to assistant hosiery buyer.

In 1934, he returned to Richmond and Thalhimers, where his father had been named company president. He began at Thalhimers as a buyer in the art-needlework department and by 1942 had become the home-furnishings divisional merchandise manager.

When America entered World War II, Mr. Thalhimer joined the Marine Corps Reserve as a second lieutenant. He served stateside until 1946, leaving the military as a captain.

After the war, Mr. Thalhimer continued his climb through Thalhimers' ranks. He became executive vice president and general manager in 1948 and president and general manager in 1950, when he was 36.

By 1954, he oversaw a complex organization of 2,200 employees in Richmond, with several hundred more at the three-story Sosnik-Thalhimer's store in Winston-Salem, N.C. The company also owned warehouses and other buildings covering 5 acres off Broad Street.

"Even though he had three generations in front of him, the real growth of the business came under his leadership," said son William B. Thalhimer III, who worked at Thalhimers as well.

During the 1950s, Thalhimers bought two stores in North Carolina and opened two others. The company also purchased a store in Danville.

The company's expansion continued for the next three decades, with the opening of more than two dozen stores in Richmond, Hampton and Virginia Beach, as well as North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Nine stores also closed during that period.

When Mr. Thalhimer retired in 1990, the chain's sales were approaching $500 million. The stores were known as the biggest profit generators in the Carter Hawley Hale company, William B. Thalhimer III said.

No matter what he accomplished, Mr. Thalhimer always gave the credit to his employees and the community, his son said. And whenever he received an award, he would say that he owed everything to his wife, Barbara.

"His wife was his greatest source of strength," his son said. "They were a great team."

In addition to his wife and son, Mr. Thalhimer's survivors include a daughter, Barbara Thalhimer; another son, Robert Leslie Thalhimer; a brother, Charles Goldsmith Thalhimer; seven grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. All are Richmond residents.

A funeral will be held Tuesday at 11 a.m. at Congregation Beth Ahabah, 1111 W. Franklin St. in Richmond. Burial will be private.

THE HISTORY OF THALHIMERS BROS.

*1842: William Thalhimer, a 33-year-old professor from Heidelberg University, stops in Richmond to see his sister, who immigrated to America years earlier. Thalhimer falls in love with Mary Milhiser, his sister's roommate, settles in Richmond and opens a one-room, six-employee dry goods and notions store on 17th Street between Franklin and Main streets.

*1845: Thalhimer moves his store one block north on 17th Street, between Franklin and Grace streets.

*1862: The store, now named William Thalhimer & Sons, moves to East Broad Street between Third and Fourth streets.

*1870: Thalhimer & Sons moves to 601 E. Broad St.

*1877: William Thalhimer gives the store to his sons Isaac, Charles and Moses. The store changes its name to Thalhimer Bros., which remains the chain's name until its closing in 1992.

*1880: Store moves to East Broad and Fifth streets.

*1883: Founder William Thalhimer dies.

*June 12, 1914: William Blum "Billy" Thalhimer Jr., great-grandson of founder William Thalhimer, is born.

*1922: Store moves to a five-story building on Broad Street between Sixth and Seventh streets, the block where the Thalhimer family had once lived. The store remains there until closing in 1992. The company incorporates, and the name changes to Thalhimer Bros. Inc.

*1930: Isaac Thalhimer dies.

*1932: William B. Thalhimer Jr. graduates from John Marshall High School, moves to New York City and goes to work for Stern Brothers department store.

*1934: William B. Thalhimer Jr. returns to Richmond and joins Thalhimer Bros., where his father has been named president. William B. Thalhimer Sr. is the third generation of the family to lead the firm.

*1939: William B. Thalhimer Jr. marries Barbara Jacobs of San Francisco.

*1945: William B. Thalhimer Sr. becomes chairman of the board.

*1948: William B. Thalhimer Jr. is named executive vice president and general manager, in effect taking the reins of the chain. Company sells 25,000 shares of stock at $100 per share.

*1950:William B. Thalhimer Jr. is elected president and chief executive officer.

*1960: Blacks boycott Thalhimers and Miller & Rhoads for segregationist policies. Both begin to change policies before year's end.

*1973: William B. Thalhimer Jr. is elected chairman of the company and remains chief executive officer. His brother, Charles G. Thalhimer, is elected president.

*1978: Los Angeles-based merchandising conglomerate Carter Hawley Hale Stores Inc. buys Thalhimers chain, which has grown to 21 department stores and five smaller stores, with $139.4 million in annual sales. William B. Thalhimer Jr. remains the chain's chief executive officer and is elected to the Carter Hawley Hale board of directors.

*1986: William B. Thalhimer III, the fifth generation of the family in the business, is named executive vice president. The company appoints Stewart M. Kasen as the first nonfamily chief executive officer. William B. Thalhimer Jr. remains chairman.

*1990: Carter Hawley Hale, struggling with cash-flow problems, sells the 26-store Thalhimers chain (six in the Richmond area) to another conglomerate, The May Department Stores Co. of St. Louis. At the end of the year, William B. Thalhimer Jr. retires as the chain's chairman.

*Jan. 22, 1992: The flagship Thalhimers store on East Broad Street closes its doors to the public for good. The May Co. closes several Thalhimers stores and transfers the rest to sister chain Hecht's.

*June 12, 2004: On William B. Thalhimer Jr.'s 90th birthday, the Thalhimers building on East Broad Street is demolished to make way for the eventual construction of a performing arts center.

Sources: The Thalhimer family and Times-Dispatch archives

ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO