Voting Station

Marvin Traub

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Entrepreneur

The Resume

    (May 14, 1925-July 11, 2012)
    Born in New York City, New York
    Chairman/CEO of Bloomingdale's (1978-92)
    Attended Harvard Business School
    Wrote the books 'Like No Other Store: The Bloomingdale's Legend and the Revolution in American Marketing' (1993) and 'Marvin Traub: Like No Other Career' (2008)
    After leaving Bloomingdale's, formed Marvin Traub Associates, in 1992
    Recipient of the Legion d’Honneur award (1986)

Why he might be annoying:

    His father ran a corset company.
    He once sent his team to the Kennedy Airport to pick up a $15,000 Christian Lacroix Provencal-inspired satin dress, with armed security guards in tow.
    His store openings tended to resemble Hollywood red carpet gala events.
    Most famously, the ribbon-cutting for his King of Prussia, Pennsylvania branch saw a marching band playing 'That's Entertainment' before 12 helicopters descended from the sky carrying the store's featured designers (which included Calvin Klein, Bill Blass, and Donna Karan!)
    The following year, he one-upped himself by having the Big Apple Circus perform for the opening of his Willow Grove location, complete with Diane Von Furstenberg riding in on an elephant.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was with Bloomingdale’s for 41 years, starting as a merchandise assistant.
    He was drafted while attending college and did a tour of Europe during World War II.
    During the Normandy Invasion, landing at Utah Beach in 1944, he was shot in the leg at Metz by a German sniper.
    He was part of the Harvard MBA class of 1949, widely viewed as the most successful graduating class in the University's history.
    He launched the careers of Perry Ellis and Ralph Lauren.
    He revitalized Bloomingdale's with his bold marketing strategies, elevating it to the status of chic tastemaker (vs. a traditional department store).
    During his tenure, Jackie Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Faye Dunaway and Diana Ross all had Bloomingdale's charge cards.
    He considered the highlight of his career to be giving Queen Elizabeth a tour of his 89th Street flagship store on her 1976 visit to the U.S.
    In his later years with his global consulting firm, he proved invaluable as analyst of emerging retail markets, including those of Russia, China and the Middle East.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 87.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 122 Votes: 42.62% Annoying