As one might expect, the history of The Basement is intertwined with that of the
venerable Filene's chain. In 1908, Edward A. Filene, son of the founder of Filene's,
came up with the idea of selling surplus, overstock and closeout merchandise
in the basement of his father's store. Filene's Automatic Bargain Basement,
as it was originally called, opened in 1909 beneath the Downtown Crossing location.
Filene's
Basement, and its' sister company, Filene's Department
Stores, were wholly-owned by Federated Department Stores of Cincinnati. The two
entities shared many operating systems, including payroll, benefits, and a common
credit card. Top executives, at the time, included: Sam DiPhillippo (Marketing),
Audie Dunham and Kathleen Collman(HR), and others.
Following
the ill-fated acquistion of Federated by Campeau Corp. of Canada, Filene's Basement
was spun-off. It became a privately-held venture in a LBO arrangement led
by then-CEO & President Jim Anathan and Chairman Sam Gerson and other investors.
The entity became known as 'Filene's Basement, Inc.', and remained headquartered
in Wellesley, Massachusetts. |
