NEW YORK — Paul Hirshleifer, who established Hirshleifer’s as one of the nation’s premiere designer stores, died Feb. 27 of thyroid cancer, according to his daughter, Caryn Hirshleifer. He was 75.
Hirshleifer recently had turned over the reins of the business to his three daughters because of his declining health. However, he had already set the tone and direction of the store, which is located in the Americana Manhasset center on Long Island. The store has often been the first in the region to sell certain luxury labels, including many designers emerging from Europe.
Hirshleifer was born May 24, 1928 into a family of merchants. His grandfather, Jacob, emigrated to the U.S. from Austria in the early 1900s and opened a fur salon on Manhattan Avenue in Brooklyn called J. Hirshleifer. As the business grew, Jacob was joined by his son, Herman, Paul’s father, and the business was renamed J. Hirshleifer & Son. Later, Herman’s wife, Rose, joined the company and over time, the business added women’s coats and suits.
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After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Paul Hirshleifer took an entry-level position with Bloomingdale’s where he rose to assistant buyer and then buyer. When his father suffered a heart attack, Hirshleifer was called on to step into the family business. At that time, he made several strategic decisions that helped steer the company’s future course: He decided to concentrate on higher-priced merchandise and broaden the selection of offerings, selling designer clothing from vendors worldwide for the first time. With the help of his wife, Lillian, who is now chairman, he began to represent designers such as Valentino, Donald Brooks, Maurice Rentner, Ben Zuckerman and Norman Norell.
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The business over the years followed population shifts, moving from Brooklyn to Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills, Queens, in 1951, where it specialized in selling dresses for weddings, bar mitzvahs and other special occasions. The business serviced clients from Manhattan and Long Island, as well as from Westchester, Connecticut, New Jersey and Florida. Hirshleifer, the quintessential merchant, not only did the buying but would be constantly on the sales floor, talking with his customers and learning their needs and desires.
In 1960, having settled with his family on Long Island, Hirshleifer would sometimes travel to the Forest Hills store along Northern Boulevard, passing a shopping center on the corner of Northern Boulevard and Searingtown Road with stores such as Porch and Patio and Florsheim. As he was sitting in traffic one day, he thought the location might be perfect for a branch of Hirshleifer’s. He called Frank Castagna, the owner of the Americana Manhasset, and in 1960 Paul opened a Hirshleifer’s there. The Forest Hills store closed in 1990. Today, the Americana Manhasset boasts such designer boutiques as Prada, Fendi, Hermès, Tiffany, Polo Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, Dior, Coach, Barneys and Escada.
Eventually, the Hirshleifers’ three daughters — Shelley Hirshleifer, Caryn Hirshleifer and Lori Hirshleifer Sills, who are vice presidents — joined the business, but Paul continued to be a strong presence at the store, guiding its direction. Even after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer in August 2000 and then being confined to a wheelchair in August 2003, he continued to come to work, having a lift installed so he could descend to his basement office.
“He worked six days a week. The store was like my parents’ second home. While other parents have second homes in Florida, they devoted their whole lives to it,” said his eldest daughter, Shelley.
In a recent WWD survey, Hirshleifer’s was ranked 10th on a list of the largest independent specialty stores (by volume) selling designer merchandise, with a sales volume of $15 million.
Hirshleifer’s, currently 9,000 square feet, recently expanded its Chanel boutique to 1,500 square feet from 750 square feet, and opened an 800-square-foot Jimmy Choo shop. The store also has an in-store boutique for J. Mendel, and sells such designer lines as Roberto Cavalli, Valentino, Badgley Mischka, Celine, Dolce & Gabbana, John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Monique Lhuiller, Jean Paul Gaultier, Missoni, Vera Wang, Malo, Carolina Herrera and Tod’s.
In addition to his wife and three daughters, Hirshleifer is survived by three sons-in-law, a brother, Jack, and six grandchildren.
— Lisa Lockwood and David Moin