Made to Measure

Fanciers of men's clothing may wonder who Hart, Schaffner and Marx really were. Well, late in the 19th century in Chicago, Max and Harry Hart, Joseph Schaffner and Marcus Marx pioneered as high-volume manufacturers of men's clothing ("One just price and just one price"). They brought out the first honest-to-goodness virgin-wool suits in 1900, and a tropical-weight suit in 1917. About the same time in Rochester, two other clothiers, Jeremiah Hickey and Jacob Freeman, were sewing up their own vested interests. Last week the two companies that these men founded joined hands across the rack in an $11 million stock-swapping merger deal.

The original Hart, Schaffner and Marx are long gone, but their publicly owned firm under President John D. Gray now does a $107 million manufacturing and retail business, has 101 stores in 43 cities, including Wallachs in Manhattan, Baskin in Chicago, and Stevens in New Orleans. Smaller Hickey-Freeman is still a private family firm, run by President Walter B. D. Hickey (son of Jeremiah) and Vice President Albert Freeman (nephew of Jacob).

As merger mates, the two companies are made to measure. While Hart Schaffner suits sell for $80 to $150, Hickey-Freeman specializes in the luxury brackets, with suits retailing at $150 to $235, sports coats at $110 to $215 and vicuna overcoats priced up to $550. Last year it sold $20 million worth of everything, including plenty in its own three stores--F. R. Tripler in Manhattan and Capper & Capper in Chicago and Detroit.

Now Hickey-Freeman will stitch on to Hart Schaffner as a subsidiary, get a drawerful of shares and some new out lets. Said Hart Schaffner's John Gray: "We have absolutely no plans for changing the product, distribution, policies or management of Hickey-Freeman." Certainly those familiar names on the labels will remain the same.

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