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White Front
White Front was a chain of discount department stores in California and the western United States from 1929 through the mid-1970s. The stores had a distinctive front architecture with an enormous, sweeping archway having the store name spelled out in letters fanned across the top. For several years, White Front was the leading discount store in the U.S.
In 1929, the company was founded and opened its first store at 7651 S. Central Avenue in Florence, South Los Angeles. In 1950 it expanded this store. In a 1950 advertisement, the company tongue-in-cheek explained that its lone location was in a "low rent area".
White Front traced its origin to the opening of a small Los Angeles self-service grocery store on Central Avenue near 77th Street by a 23-year redhead named Harry Blackman just a few weeks before the stock market crash of 1929. Blackman had worked in the food store business for several years by working through various positions up to store manager before he decided he wanted to start his own business. He opened the White Front Market, named after the color of the store front, on Central with $200 cash and $10,000 credit with wholesalers. He tried to carry items that his customers wanted and tried to help them by allowing his customers to pay for their groceries on credit until they received their relief checks. A 1934 article in the Los Angeles Evening Post-Record showed that Blackman's grocery store, White Front Market, was located at 7710 South Central Avenue and a 1940 ad in the Los Angeles Times showed the market was still at the same address six years later.
At first, the small store did not sell non-food items such as small tube radios. His initial foray happened purely by accident. A radio salesman that he knew came into the store one day and asked Blackman if he could help him sell some small portable radios in his store that were priced at $9.95 by having Blackman display them near the cash register. The radios were not selling at all at the list price until a woman offered to purchase one on credit with $0.50 down and then $0.50 per week until the radio was paid off. Blackman was able to sell the rest of the radios to other customers under the same terms. Later, another customer offered to purchase the same radio for $8 in cash. Under the new cash terms, Blackman found out that he could that he could sell even more radios at a quicker rate while still making a small profit. He later branched out and start selling other small household appliances in his grocery store, such as toasters and steam irons. This side business continued until the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 when consumer goods production was halted as US factories switched over to produce war-related goods for the armed forces. Blackman himself was drafted into the army in 1943, and his wife Lillian operated the grocery until his return after the war.
After Blackman returned from the Army, he opened a major appliance store across the street from the grocery at 7657 S. Central Avenue called White Front Household Appliance. His new store sold large appliances such as refrigerators, washers, and televisions in addition to small appliances such as mixers, toasters, and radios. Gradually, his store expanded down the block to occupy most of the neighboring store fronts on Central. When the store expanded to the end of the block, it shortened its name to White Front Appliance and the address was changed to 7651 S. Central Avenue. By 1954, the company had changed its name to White Front Stores and began to carry other items such as furniture, jewelry, carpeting, luggage, cameras, and silverware.
White Front opened its second store in October 1957 at 16040 Sherman Way in Van Nuys. The new store, at 50,000-square-foot, was larger than the original store on Central. Celebrities attending the grand opening included Bozo the Clown and Engineer Bill. At this time, the leaders of this company were Harry Blackman as president, Sam Nassi as vice-president, and Harry's wife Lillian as secretary-treasurer. Ironically, Nassi would return years later to help White Front's liquidate its store inventory in 1973.
In April 1959, the two store chain was acquired by Interstate Department Stores, Inc., for $1,650,000 (~$13.5 million in 2024) in cash and shares. Interstate expanded the chain to other California locations and broadened its retail mix beyond the original housewares. Around this same time, Interstate had also acquired another discount department store chain in the eastern part of the country called Topps Discount Stores, but Interstate always had kept the two chains separate.
After receiving cash from its parent Interstate, White Front was able to expand throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area and into the rest of California. The company was known for its opening ceremonies which included governmental officials and Hollywood celebrities.
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White Front
White Front was a chain of discount department stores in California and the western United States from 1929 through the mid-1970s. The stores had a distinctive front architecture with an enormous, sweeping archway having the store name spelled out in letters fanned across the top. For several years, White Front was the leading discount store in the U.S.
In 1929, the company was founded and opened its first store at 7651 S. Central Avenue in Florence, South Los Angeles. In 1950 it expanded this store. In a 1950 advertisement, the company tongue-in-cheek explained that its lone location was in a "low rent area".
White Front traced its origin to the opening of a small Los Angeles self-service grocery store on Central Avenue near 77th Street by a 23-year redhead named Harry Blackman just a few weeks before the stock market crash of 1929. Blackman had worked in the food store business for several years by working through various positions up to store manager before he decided he wanted to start his own business. He opened the White Front Market, named after the color of the store front, on Central with $200 cash and $10,000 credit with wholesalers. He tried to carry items that his customers wanted and tried to help them by allowing his customers to pay for their groceries on credit until they received their relief checks. A 1934 article in the Los Angeles Evening Post-Record showed that Blackman's grocery store, White Front Market, was located at 7710 South Central Avenue and a 1940 ad in the Los Angeles Times showed the market was still at the same address six years later.
At first, the small store did not sell non-food items such as small tube radios. His initial foray happened purely by accident. A radio salesman that he knew came into the store one day and asked Blackman if he could help him sell some small portable radios in his store that were priced at $9.95 by having Blackman display them near the cash register. The radios were not selling at all at the list price until a woman offered to purchase one on credit with $0.50 down and then $0.50 per week until the radio was paid off. Blackman was able to sell the rest of the radios to other customers under the same terms. Later, another customer offered to purchase the same radio for $8 in cash. Under the new cash terms, Blackman found out that he could that he could sell even more radios at a quicker rate while still making a small profit. He later branched out and start selling other small household appliances in his grocery store, such as toasters and steam irons. This side business continued until the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 when consumer goods production was halted as US factories switched over to produce war-related goods for the armed forces. Blackman himself was drafted into the army in 1943, and his wife Lillian operated the grocery until his return after the war.
After Blackman returned from the Army, he opened a major appliance store across the street from the grocery at 7657 S. Central Avenue called White Front Household Appliance. His new store sold large appliances such as refrigerators, washers, and televisions in addition to small appliances such as mixers, toasters, and radios. Gradually, his store expanded down the block to occupy most of the neighboring store fronts on Central. When the store expanded to the end of the block, it shortened its name to White Front Appliance and the address was changed to 7651 S. Central Avenue. By 1954, the company had changed its name to White Front Stores and began to carry other items such as furniture, jewelry, carpeting, luggage, cameras, and silverware.
White Front opened its second store in October 1957 at 16040 Sherman Way in Van Nuys. The new store, at 50,000-square-foot, was larger than the original store on Central. Celebrities attending the grand opening included Bozo the Clown and Engineer Bill. At this time, the leaders of this company were Harry Blackman as president, Sam Nassi as vice-president, and Harry's wife Lillian as secretary-treasurer. Ironically, Nassi would return years later to help White Front's liquidate its store inventory in 1973.
In April 1959, the two store chain was acquired by Interstate Department Stores, Inc., for $1,650,000 (~$13.5 million in 2024) in cash and shares. Interstate expanded the chain to other California locations and broadened its retail mix beyond the original housewares. Around this same time, Interstate had also acquired another discount department store chain in the eastern part of the country called Topps Discount Stores, but Interstate always had kept the two chains separate.
After receiving cash from its parent Interstate, White Front was able to expand throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area and into the rest of California. The company was known for its opening ceremonies which included governmental officials and Hollywood celebrities.
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