Luskin's was an electronics retailer based in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

that operated between 1948 and 1996. It focused on low prices and was known for its slogan "The Cheapest Guy in Town". At its peak, it had 56 stores in 11 states.

History

Luskin's was founded as an ice supply company by Jack Luskin and his brother Joe in 1948; it then sold refrigerators and electronics to its customers. In 1981, it acquired George's, a 15-store electronics chain in the Baltimore and

Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also referred to as the National Capital Region, Greater Washington, or locally as the DMV (short for Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), is the metropolitan area comprising Washing ...

, from

Douglas Jemal Douglas Jemal (born November 30, 1942) is an American real estate developer, landlord, and the founder of Douglas Development. Jemal first worked in electronics retailing, like his father. However, in 1993, he sold his interests in retail and beg ...

, who bought it from the estate of George Wasserman a year earlier. In 1984, it expanded into the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

by acquiring Tokyo Shapiro, 5-store chain under bankruptcy protection. In May 1985, Luskin's became a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of share capital, stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) co ...

via an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

. The Luskin family maintained a 72% interest in the company, and owned the land on which several stores were located. At that time, it had 29 stores. In November 1985, it expanded further in the

by acquiring Sound & Sight, an 11-store chain. In early September 1996, the company closed 8 of its stores in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area, citing competition from

Best Buy Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was r ...

. However, in late September 1996, the company closed its 12 remaining stores in the area. In November 1996, it closed stores in Virginia. In February 1997, the company filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

protection. Jack Luskin died on December 1, 2017 at the age of 89; his daughter is

Jamie McCourt Jamie D. McCourt ( Luskin; born December 5, 1953) is the former United States Ambassador to France and Monaco who served from 2017 to 2021. She was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in on November 2, 2017. Ambassador McCourt is also the United St ...

Controversies and legal issues

In 1981, the

Attorney General of Maryland The Attorney General of the State of Maryland is the chief legal officer of the State of Maryland in the United States and is elected by the people every four years with no term limits. To run for the office a person must be a citizen of and qual ...

sued Luskin's over deceptive advertising prices; the company settled out of court. A July 1992 promotion of free airfare and discounted hotel rates was controversial for requiring a purchase; however, a judge ruled that the ads were not deceptive.

References

{{Reflist 1948 establishments in Maryland 1980s initial public offerings 1996 disestablishments in Maryland Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1997 Defunct companies based in Baltimore Defunct consumer electronics retailers of the United States Retail companies disestablished in 1996 Retail companies established in 1948