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Private company

Best & Co.

1879–1971 American retail clothing chain

Best & Co. was a department store founded in 1879 by Albert Best in New York City. The company initially sold clothing for infants and children, but later expanded to women's clothing and accessories. It was known for its "tastefully styled and proper women's clothes and its sturdy children's wear.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1879Founded1
  • Industryclothing industry, retail1
  • HeadquartersManhattan1

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(King1893NYC) pg862 BEST & CO. LILIPUTIAN BAZAAR, 60 AND 62 WEST 23D STREET
Photo: This file is from the Mechanical Curator collection , a set of over 1 million images scanned from out-of-copyright books and released to Flickr Commons by the British Library in London, England. View image on Flickr View all images from book View catalogue entry for book ., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

Best & Co. was a department store founded in 1879 by Albert Best in New York City. The company initially sold clothing for infants and children, but later expanded to women's clothing and accessories. It was known for its "tastefully styled and proper women's clothes and its sturdy children's wear." Philip Le Boutillier served as president during the late 1930s. The store had expanded to 20 branches by 1966, when the company was acquired by McCrory's, who also operated Lerner Shops and S. Klein. In late-1970, McCrory's liquidated the company. At the time of its closing, the store had 1,200 employees.2

Products and brands

The flagship Best & Co. department store was originally located in the "Ladies' Mile" near Sixth Avenue and 23rd Street. In 1908, Best & Co. spent $500,000 to purchase the former Engineer's Club at 372 Fifth Avenue at 35th Street for a new store, joining an elite group of merchants to locate in that section of Fifth Avenue in the early 1900s, including B. Altman (365 Fifth Avenue), Gorham (390 Fifth Avenue), and Tiffany's (401 Fifth Avenue). This limestone building later became the Bond Clothing Stores flagship when Best moved farther up the avenue and was later converted to apartments. Its final 12-story flagship store was located at Fifth Avenue and 51st Street, directly north of St. Patrick's Cathedral. The store replaced 645 Fifth Avenue and the Union Club of the City of New York. After it closed in late 1970, the white marble building was torn down and the Olympic Tower was built in its place.

From Wikipedia’s article on Best & Co., shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. 1971Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1879Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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