 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1857 in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Founder | Samuel Hecht, Jr. |
| Defunct | September 9, 2006 |
| Fate | Acquired by Macy's and Bloomingdale's |
| Successor | Macy's Bloomingdale's |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares. |
| Parent | The May Department Stores Company (1959–2005) Federated Department Stores, Inc (2005–2006) |
| Website | Archived official website at the Wayback Machine (archive index) |
Hecht's, also known as Hecht Brothers, Hecht Bros. and The Hecht Company, was a large chain of department stores that operated mainly in the mid-Atlantic and southern region of the United States. The firm originated in Baltimore, Maryland.
By 2005, Hecht's had some 81 stores in 19 markets in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Its locations in New Jersey, Delaware, and the majority of those in Pennsylvania were operated under the name of Strawbridge's. Hecht's administrative office was in Arlington, Virginia.
Hecht's was founded and was operated for over a century (1857–1959) as a family firm. It was purchased in 1959 by The May Department Stores Company which in turn, was acquired by Federated Department Stores on August 30, 2005. On February 1, 2006, Federated dissolved the former May Company divisions, and the existing Hecht's stores were divided between Macy's East and Macy's South, with stores in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Northern Virginia going to the former and stores in North Carolina, Tennessee, and the rest of Virginia (roughly much of the former Thalhimers territory) going to the latter. The replacement Hecht's store in Chevy Chase, Maryland, took the Bloomingdale's name.[citation needed] On September 9, 2006, the Hecht's name was phased out in favor of the nationally known Macy's.