Edward S Finkelstein

Master merchandiser who turned Macy’s into one of the nation’s smartest, fastest-growing department store chains, only to see it wind up in bankruptcy court. In 1974, after being promoted to president of Macy’s New York, he brought the concept to the company’s flagship store, on West 34th Street in Manhattan. The Cellar there included gourmet food shops, flower stalls, a replica of a 19th-century English pharmacy and a branch of P. J. Clarke’s, the popular East Side bar and restaurant. After becoming chairman of what was then R. H. Macy & Company (it is now Macy’s Inc.) in 1980, Mr. Finkelstein introduced private brands like INC, Charter Club and Alfani. He opened stores in Texas, Florida and other Sun Belt states. He developed “Little Shops” for high-end designers, presenting Macy’s largely as a group of 12 to 15 specialty store operations. Buoyed by his success, Mr. Finkelstein, in 1986, joined with nearly 400 of his executives to take control of Macy’s in a leveraged buyout for $3.6 billion, in part to prevent a hostile takeover. The debt burden, poor sales and stiff competition from specialty stores like Gap and The Limited forced Macy’s to seek protection under federal bankruptcy law in January 1992. Three months later, Mr. Finkelstein resigned. Edward Sidney Finkelstein was born on March 30, 1925, in New Rochelle, N.Y. He joined the V-12 Navy College Training Program, which trained college students to be naval officers. He left Harvard to serve as a ship’s radio operator, and returned to graduate with a major in economics. He stayed to earn his M.B.A. at Harvard Business School. His son Robert died of cystic fibrosis, and Mr. Finkelstein long championed charitable efforts to fight the disease. In addition to his son Daniel, he is survived by his wife, the former Myra Schuss; another son, Mitchell; six grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.