Newsday Swezey's Department Stores survived the Great Depression of the 1930's. It survived two fires in the 1940s, the rise of malls in the 1960s and the retail recession of the 1980s. In the process, it became a downtown fixture in five Long Island communities and a icon of personalized service.
But now almost 110 years after it was founded, Swezey's cannot withstand the onslaught of national chains, outlet centers and giant discounters on its home turf. So Thursday, the family that has run Swezey's for four generations told its 600 employees the chain will close its doors in November.
'I think the small, family-owned, middle-market department store -- like we are -- is a business model whose time has passed,' President William Knapp told Newsday.
The decision came Thursday afternoon during a short and tearful meeting of Swezey's board of directors in the basement of the company's headquarters on Main Street in Patchogue, next to the unoccupied building where the orginal store once stood. Some of the dozen people present, including directors and family members, were visibly upset. 'This is the saddest day of my life, and for all of us,' said Priscilla Knapp, a granddaughter of founder Arthur M. Swezey and William's mother. 'I can't describe how bad it is.'
Officials then fanned out to tell the staff, which includes 250 full-timers, at the stores in Patchogue, Riverhead, East Setauket, West Babylon and Glen Cove.
The closing will no doubt come as a blow to some of the downtowns that Swezey's anchored. It occupies several storefronts and a key place in the plans for reviving Riverhead's downtrodden Main Street. It has been a landmark and a major draw for Patchogue's downtown business district, where only three years ago it moved into a brand-new and roomy store on the site of the old Lace Mill. In Glen Cove, Swezey's has been part of the city's revitalization program. And it ranked among the oldest home-grown department stores on the Island, second only to Hildreth's in Southampton at 161 years old.
The decision to close, Knapp said, is not an easy one and was not made hastily.
'I'm numb over it,' said Knapp, who noted that the decline began about ten years ago. 'Over the past four years, we have done everything possible to keep Swezey's open for business,' he said, 'including retaining the best managerial consultants to advise us and investing millions of dollars in family assets.'
Officials declined to allow interviews Thursday with employees, many of whom have been on the payroll for decades. But Knapp said they will receive severance of one week's salary for each year of service. The company also plans to set up job fairs. 'We consider our employees part of the family,' said Kim Swezey, 76, a past president and the grandson of Arthur Swezey.
Swezey's tried to create a similar feel in its stores, the kind that once populated Main Streets across America. Its employees, many of whom live in the communuties where they work, know many of the customers by name. Up until ten years ago, the chain had a policy of delivering anything bought at the store to a customer's doorstep, even if they wanted only one pair of panty hose. And the family has kept the tradition of free gift wrapping, literally in response to popular demand: Knapp tried to phase it out about three years ago, but customers raised such a fuss that the service was reinstated two days later.
The company is not going bankrupt or being forced out of business by creditors, William Knapp said. But the family felt like they were fighting a losing battle with 'many million dollars in losses per year.' He said annual revenues are about $27 million, down from around $33 million in the mid 1990s.
'People have an infinite number of choices for places to shop, including on their computer screens,' he said, singling out Kohl's as an especially tough rival. 'We're just not as compelling a place to shop as we used to be.' So today , the company will start offering its customers sale prices of between ten and 50 percent off all merchandise. 'We have roughly 60 days to liquidate everything,' said Knapp. The company also owns real estate, which it plans to sell or lease.
He said it did not make sense to stay open until Christmas, even though that is traditionally the most profitable part of the year for department stores. Last year's holiday season was worse than expected, said Knapp. 'And the first part of this year was awful. ... We would be losing money each month waiting for Christmas.'
At least one long-time customer, who also happens to be the Mayor of Patchogue Village, said he was saddened by the news. 'Swezey's is Patchogue,' said Edward Ihne. 'Whenever you talk about Patchogue you talk about Swezey's.' One of the things they talked about, he said, was the store's liberal refund policy. He said he knew a customer that returned a year later with a coat that had its tags on, but no receipt. Swezey's gave her money back anyway.
In Riverhead, where Swezey's rents several storefronts along Main Street, Supervisor Robert Kozakiewicz took the news with the 'deepest regret.'
Riverhead has been waiting for Swezey's to consolidate into one location since late 1998, when the town gave the retailer a parcel of Main Street land for $1. Swezey's spent more than $250,000 on demolition and cleanup costs of blighted buildings on that parcel, but never went through with the move. If Swezey's and the town can't find a new project on the site, he said, the town will go to court to get the parcel back. Officials in the other towns where Swezey has stores all expressed regret and vowed to work with the chain to find new tenants.
Glen Cove Mayor Mary Ann Holzkamp said the owners transformed a unsuccessful, nearly vacant enclosed mini-mall from an eyesore into a 'very marketable, beautiful department store' that was a good fit with the city's downtown revitalization plans.
'Much to their credit, they have been very concerned about what effect this will have on their employees and the township in general,' said Brookhaven Town Supervisor John Jay LaValle. 'We're going to miss 'em.'
The closing will not affect the Knapp-Swezey Foundation, a charitable fund, says Foundation President Priscilla Knapp. The same cannot be said for Knapp herself. 'Swezey's has been my life,' said Priscilla, who likened Swezey's demise to that of a family member. 'I'm totally devastated.'
Pat Burson, Katie Thomas and Alan J. Wax contributed to this report.
