Marvin Traub (May 14, 1925 – July 11, 2012) was an American businessman and writer. He was a prominent business executive in the retail sector known for his impact on merchandising and marketing. Traub was CEO and President of

Bloomingdale's Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain founded in 1861 by Joseph Bloomingdale and Lyman Bloomingdale. It was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1930, which purchased the Macy's department store chain in 1994, ...

for twenty-two years leaving in 1992 to found his own consulting firm, Marvin Traub Associates. Between 1994 and 2000, Marvin Traub Associates participated in a joint venture with retail-focused investment banking firm, Financo, Inc. Traub is the author of two books. In 1993, Traub wrote ''Like No Other Store...:: The Bloomingdale's Legend and the Revolution in American Marketing'' about his tenure at

. In 2008, he wrote ''Marvin Traub: Like No Other Career'', a

coffee table book A coffee table book, also known as a cocktail table book, is an oversized, usually hard-covered book whose purpose is for display on a table intended for use in an area in which one entertains guests and which can serve to inspire conversation o ...

that also profiles his works since leaving

Biography

Early life and education

Marvin Traub was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family on April 14, 1925 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 ...

. Traub's father Sam D. was an executive of a corset company and his mother Bea (née Bruckman), a saleswoman at

Bonwit Teller Bonwit Teller & Co. was an American luxury department store in New York City, founded by Paul Bonwit in 1895 at Sixth Avenue and 18th Street, and later a chain of department stores. In 1897, Edmund D. Teller was admitted to the partnership a ...

. As a teenager Traub was a neighbor and friend of

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

, sharing an interest in photography. Traub graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1947, although his studies were interrupted by service in Europe during World War II. He then attended

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

, from which he graduated in 1949.

Career

In 1978, Traub was named CEO of U.S. based retailer,

, where he remained through 1992. After leaving Bloomingdales in 1992, Traub founded his own consulting firm, Marvin Traub Associates. Between 1994 and 2000, Marvin Traub Associates participated in a joint venture with retail-focused investment banking firm, Financo, Inc.

Other affiliations and awards

Traub was a Trustee of the American Health Foundation (AHF) between August 1975 and February 1978. He was the President of Bloomingdale's from 1978 to 1992, and Vice Chairman of

Federated Department Stores Macy's, Inc. (previously Federated Department Stores, Inc.) is an American holding company of department stores. Upon its establishment in 1929, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus (departm ...

from 1988 to 1992. He served on the Visiting Committee of the

Harvard School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school at Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. It was named after Hong Kong entrepreneur Chan Tseng-hsi in 2014 following a US$350 ...

. Traub was also the Chairman of SD Retail Consulting, which is a unit of The Hilco Organization. Traub was the recipient of The Gold Medal of the National Retail Federation in 1991 as well as the

Légion d’Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

and

Ordre national du Mérite The (; ) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

from France and was awarded the Commendatore de la Republic by Italy.

Personal life

While at Harvard, he married Lee Laufer on September 2, 1948. Traub's wife had studied dance under

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer, teacher and choreographer, whose style, the Graham technique, reshaped the dance world and is still taught in academies worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over s ...

in 1942 and is the chair emerita of the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance. Traub had three children; Andrew (formerly an executive at

Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...

), James (a journalist) and Margaret (who founded and runs the lighting company Adesso).Ellin, Abby, "With Oscar and Felix as Co-Founders, Does a Company Have a Chance?", ''New York Times'', February 8, 2007

Death

Traub died from

bladder cancer Bladder cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in the bladder. These cells can grow to form a tumor, which eventually spreads, damaging the bladder and other organs. Most people with bladder cancer are diagnosed after noticing blood in thei ...

at his home 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 ...

on July 11, 2012 at the age of 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Traub, Marvin 1925 births 2012 deaths American business writers American chief executives of fashion industry companies American male non-fiction writers American retail chief executives Businesspeople from New York City Deaths from bladder cancer in New York (state) Harvard Business School alumni Jewish American non-fiction writers Writers from New York City United States Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from New York City 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American Jews