
Rainbow USA Inc. (commonly referred to as Rainbow Shops or simply Rainbow) is a privately held, moderately priced American retail apparel chain comprising several lifestyle brands primarily targeting teenagers and young women. The company is headquartered in the
East New York
East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough l ...
section of
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
.
History
Rainbow Shops was founded in 1935
in New York City by Irving Arthur Swarzman, an Austrian native who was raised in Brooklyn. Swarzman brought his four brothers (Herman, Oscar, Ira, and Nat) into the business as they reached working age. They built the business from one shop to a high of eighty-two stores before selling the business in the 1980s, according to Mr. Swarzman's granddaughter. Rainbow Shops is now owned by the
Syrian-Jewish Chehebar family.
New York Times: "Deal on Citigroup Tower Puts Buyer in the Real Estate Big Leagues" By CHARLES V. BAGLI
February 8, 2001 Today, along with sister brands 5-7-9 and Marianne, Rainbow operates 1,300 stores in United States, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Rainbow's holding company, A.I.J.J. Enterprises Inc., purchased the 5-7-9 brand in 1999 from the bankrupt Edison Brothers Stores
Edison Brothers Stores, Inc., was a retail conglomerate based in St. Louis, Missouri. It operated numerous retail chains mainly located in shopping malls, mostly in the fields of shoes, clothing and entertainment, with Bakers Shoes as its flagshi ...
. It's operated through a company division named The New 5-7-9 and Beyond, Inc.
Rainbow stores are an average of 5,000 square ft. Each store’s merchandise varies by location, depending upon demographics and the size of the location. Larger stores usually carry juniors, plus, lingerie, shoes and kids departments.
E-commerce
In November 2012, Rainbow launched its online store which offers a cultivated selection of Junior and Plus fashion, shoes, accessories, discounts, offers and promotions. Its online assortment of styles gets updated daily.
References
{{reflist
External links
www.rainbowshops.com
www.579.com
American companies established in 1935
Retail companies established in 1935
1935 establishments in New York City
Retail companies based in New York City