Fred Pressman (1923 – July 14, 1996) was the chairman of

Barneys New York Barneys New York is an American brand founded in 1923 by Barney Pressman that operated full-line department stores from 1923 until 2020. Authentic Brands Group acquired Barneys' intellectual property in 2019, and has licensed the brand to Saks F ...

. He assumed the role after taking over from his father, Barney Pressman. Under Fred Pressman's leadership, the store changed from being a discount men's suit shop to a luxury department store showcasing designer

fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

Early life and education

Pressman was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the son of Barbara and Barney Pressman.Barney Pressman, Retailing Legend, Is Dead at 96
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', STEPHANIE STROM, August 27, 1991 His father founded Barneys, a clothing store that focused on selling name

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

suits at a deep discount to the

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

by purchasing inventory at auctions, bankruptcies, and in odd lots.Los Angeles Magazine: "Barneys in Rubble" by Jesse Kornbluth
March 1996New York Observer: "Real Goatskin and Lotsa Gas: The Pressman Saga Unzipped" By Francine Prose
March 22, 1999Orlando Sun Sentinel: "A Tale Of Wolves Swaddled In Sheep's Clothing" By L.A. LOREK
May 16, 1999 He attended

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

before enlisting in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. In 1946, he joined the family business where he excelled at finding quality goods that he could purchase for a discount and sell using innovative

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

Career

In the late 1950s, he became chairman of the company and slowly transitioned it from a discount retailer and instead replaced the inventory with top-name designers from Europe that were relatively unknown in the United States. He also added women's clothing, housewares, cosmetics and gifts. He was credited with introducing

Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer and a billionaire. He first gained renown working for Cerruti 1881. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expanded into music, sport, and luxury hotels. By 200 ...

to the American market in 1976 as well as one of the first American retailers to sell

Hubert de Givenchy Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy (; 20 February 1927 – 10 March 2018) was a French fashion designer who founded the luxury fashion and perfume house of Givenchy in 1952. He is famous for having designed much of the personal and professi ...

and

Pierre Cardin Pierre Cardin (born Pietro Costante Cardin; 2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020) was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometry, geometric shap ...

products. In the 1970s, his sons, Gene and Bob, joined the business. In the late 1980s, Barneys entered into a partnership with the Japanese retailer

Isetan ( unlisted on March 26, 2008, ) is a Japanese department store. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Isetan has branches throughout Japan and South East Asia, including in Jakarta, Jinan, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Shanghai, Singapore, Surabaya and Tianjin, ...

to expand the Barneys name internationally. In January 1996, Barneys filed for bankruptcy protection after a dispute with its Japanese lender.New York Post: "PRESSMANS MAKE WAR ON THEMSELVES OVER $" By Allyson Lieberman
August 13, 1999 Barneys New York 60 jeh

Personal life

Pressman was married to Phyllis Pressman; they had four children: Bob Pressman, Gene Pressman, Elizabeth Pressman-Neubardt, and Nancy Pressman-Dressler. His niece, Louise Sunshine, is the co-founder of the real estate marketing and sales company Sunshine Group.New York Times: "Louise Sunshine, Martin S. Begun"
February 16, 1997The Real Deal: "Louise Sunshine" By Lauren Elkies
retrieved September 27, 2015

Death and legacy

Pressman died on July 14, 1996, at his home in

Harrison, New York Harrison is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town and Administrative divisions of New York (state), village in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York Cit ...

, at the age of 73 of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

. Services were held at the Central Synagogue in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. The Fred Pressman Summer Youth Program invites high school students to

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

and attend seminars in business etiquette, customer service, resume writing, and interviewing.Greta Braddock
A Summer Of Opportunity For Tomorrow’s Superstars
''The Window'' August 18, 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pressman, Fred 1996 deaths Deaths from pancreatic cancer in New York (state) 20th-century American Jews American retail chief executives American businesspeople in retailing 1923 births