Charles G. Thalhimer Sr., former Thalhimers leader, dies

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Wed Sep 3, 2014, 03:37 PM - Edit history (3)

I used to drive to Richmond to hit the stores in the big city. I have things from Thalhimers and from Miller & Rhodes. They've been gone for years.

Charles G. Thalhimer Sr., former Thalhimers leader, dies

Posted: Tuesday, September 2, 2014 10:30 pm
BY RANDY HALLMAN Richmond Times-Dispatch

Charles Goldsmith Thalhimer Sr. was a leader of the iconic department store chain that bore his family name and a philanthropist whose generosity is a cornerstone of many Richmond-area institutions. ... Mr. Thalhimer, of Richmond, died Tuesday at the VCU Medical Center after a brief period of declining health. He was 94.
....

Mr. Thalhimer retired as vice chairman of Thalhimer Bros. Inc. in 1986. ... He, along with his brother, Chairman William B. Thalhimer Jr., who died in 2005, were the fourth generation of their family to lead the firm, a chain with its flagship store in downtown Richmond. ... Despite retiring, Mr. Thalhimer stayed in contact with employees and their families. By 1992, the Thalhimers chain had been acquired by another department store company. Stores were being closed and employees laid off.

Bill Baxter, who worked for Thalhimer Bros. for 27 years and was the chain’s senior vice president of stores when he retired, recalled that time.

“We had 1,600 employees who had been classified as redundant,” Baxter said. “Charles followed up with those families. He cared about their lives and their livelihood.” ... Mr. Thalhimer donated $1 million to establish an emergency assistance program to help employees hurt by the closings and layoffs.

ETA: because kids won't have any idea what I'm talking about, here are the links for those stores:

Thalhimers

Downtown Richmond store

....
Along with several other Thalhimers locations, the downtown flagship closed on January 22, 1992 after purchase by the May Company. It had been the last major department store in the once-bustling retail corridor; Miller & Rhoads had closed in January 1990. The building remained vacant until demolished on June 12, 2004 to make way for a performing arts center.

Miller & Rhoads

The beginning of the end, and new beginnings

....
The May Department Stores Company purchased four of Miller & Rhoads' larger suburban units in Richmond and Hampton Roads for about $22.7 million and reopened them as Hecht's in late 1990. May would in turn take over Thalhimers that same year and eventually combine that chain with Hecht's as well.

At both Regency Square and Lynnhaven Mall, Hecht's would operate 2 stores, one each in the former Miller & Rhoads and Thalhimers spaces. Hecht's eventually consolidated its Lynnhaven Mall stores into a single location, but at Regency Square, both stores were occupied by the chain until September 2006 when the Hecht's name was replaced with Macy's.

[underpants]

1. They still own a ton of real estate here