Sakowitz, Bernard

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SAKOWITZ, BERNARD

SAKOWITZ, BERNARD (1907–1981), U.S. retailer. Sakowitz was born in Galveston, Texas, five years after his father, To-bias, and his uncle Simon co-founded the specialty store that carried the family name in nearby Houston. Under Bernard Sakowitz's leadership, Sakowitz Brothers would not only become a Houston institution but would enjoy national prominence. It would never go public but remained the last of the family-owned major specialty chains in the U.S. Sakowitz left Texas to attend the Wharton School of Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania, earning a B.S. in 1929. Almost immediately, he began his retail career at R.H. Macy & Co. in New York City, but before the year was out he returned to Houston to join the family business. He married the former Ann Baum in 1933. They had two children, robert (1938– ), who would eventually head the store, and lynn, who would marry Oscar Wyatt, a controversial energy tycoon, and become an internationally distinguished hostess. In 1937, Sakowitz was named vice president in charge of merchandising. He served as a captain with the U.S. Army Air Force during World War ii, then rejoined the store. In 1957, he was appointed president of the company, which by then had opened four stores in Houston. Two years later, Sakowitz expanded to the suburbs, building a store on Westheimer Road. The move turned that location into a robust retail destination. Neiman-Marcus soon joined Sakowitz there, as did the Galleria shopping mall, and the area became known as Uptown Houston. In the 1960s, Sakowitz opened branches in other cities, including Dallas and Midland, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona. By the 1970s, the chain had 17 specialty stores in Texas, Arizona, and Oklahoma. Sakowitz, who was named Retailer of the Year by Esquire magazine in 1972, became chairman in 1975. He was succeeded as president by his son, who had joined the business in 1963 after graduating from Harvard University. When Sakowitz died in 1981, Robert added the titles of chairman and chief executive officer. Bernard Sakowitz was a prominent member of the Houston community. His interests ranged from the Houston Farm and Ranch Club to the city's Contemporary Music Society. He was on the board of Congregation Beth Israel and was a director of the Texas Medical Center and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, leading many fundraising campaigns for cancer research. Within four years after his death, a recession in the oil industry, upon which the Houston area was so dependent, had taken its toll and the store declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Hooker Corporation of Australia funded the Chapter 11 petition and took majority control, but to no avail. Sakowitz was put up for sale, but liquidated in 1990 after failing to find a buyer.

[Mort Sheinman (2nd ed.)]