I Business & Professional

-

• •

Windsor's Strong t Suit

An old family business draws
customers from two nations.

Dan Orman, Gerald and Ari Freed

Bill Carroll
Special to the Jewish News

A

s a boy, Gerald Freed
loved his father's clothing
store in Windsor, Ont., so
much that, when he misbehaved,
his father punished him by ban-
ning him from the store for three
days. Gerald made frequent stops
at the family store on Ottawa
Street while attending a nearby
elementary school.
At that time, it was an easy
chore for him to sweep the floors
of Sam's Department Store —
founded by his father in 1929 —
because there was only 1,200
square feet. The store has been at
the same location for 76 years,
but now has 55,000 square feet,
60-80 employees, and has
become the largest independent
retail clothing store in Canada —

j)T

December .1 •2005

selling about 20,000 suits and
sports jackets a year.
No one can keep Gerald Freed,
69, out of the store now. He was
destined to spend his life in the
family business, and he's been
there for 60 years. After becom-
ing a full-fledged salesman at the
age of 15, he rose to be the presi-
dent of what is now Freeds of
Windsor (minus the apostrophe
because it "looks cleaner").
Heavily committed to televi-
sion and newspaper advertising
— especially featuring well-
known professional sports
coaches and athletes — the store
has become immensely popular
in the Detroit Jewish community.
"We pride ourselves on our
integrity and have a reputation
for fair dealing:' stated Freed,
immaculately dressed in a three-

piece suit with a striped shirt as
he took a visitor on a tour of the
racks and racks of the latest
men's and women's fashions.
"That's how we've attracted and
kept customers from all over the
Detroit area and Ontario."
The women's section began as
a small boutique, but now occu-
pies one-third of the store. Many
Windsor area families shop in
the children's department.
Sam and Jane Freed were
Russian immigrants who arrived
in Canada in the early 1920s.
Freed opened the store just 45
days before the stock market
crash of 1929, but kept going
through the Great Depression
and made a success of the busi-
ness on the 1500 block of
Ottawa, which was the center of
Windsor at that time.

"Many ethnic immigrants
lived around here then, and my
father could sell them clothes in
12 different languages," smiled
Freed. "He was disciplined and
had a great business sense."
The elder Freed, also always
immaculately dressed, visited the
store almost until the day he died
at the age of 91.
Gerald Freed attended
Kennedy Collegiate High School
in Windsor, and got his Jewish
education at the I.L. Peretz
School, learning to read, write
and speak Yiddish. He obtained a
B.A. degree in economics from
Assumption College (now part of
.the University of Windsor),
spending mornings in school
and afternoons at the store.
"I briefly considered a law
career but, when the store's gen-

eral manager resigned unexpect-
edly, I took that job. As a gift, my
father gave that man a down pay-
ment to start his own business."
Freed became president in
1971. Business has been boom-
ing over the past three decades,
with many Detroiters buying
several suits, sports jackets and
pants at a time. "One very suc-
cessful Jewish businessman once
got fitted for 18 suits in one
visit:' Freed recalled.
"Purchases by an American
customer usually are still about
four times that of a Canadian
buyer. But we treat everyone the
same, and with respect: Our
salespeople are taught to greet
customers with, 'How are you,
sir?' and not, 'Hey, what's doin',

Strong Suit on page 60

59