Korvette's

Ghost Corp Apparel — resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.

E. J. Korvette began in New York City in 1948, when Eugene Ferkauf and Joe Zwillenberg started selling luggage from a small 46th Street loft. Its name joined their initials with “corvette,” the nimble naval vessel—not the famously invented Korean War acronym. From that modest launch came a loud, fast, price-cutting force in American discount retail.

Korvette’s sold national-brand appliances, housewares, jewelry, records, and more at prices conventional department stores found distinctly impolite. Membership selling, suburban expansion, and a willingness to challenge manufacturer-set prices helped make the chain an early template for the discount department store. By the mid-1960s, it had grown into a major multi-state operation. A 1966 merger with Spartans Industries marked the beginning of a more complicated corporate era.

Arlen Realty & Development acquired the business in 1971; its Korvettes division maintained its main office at 450 West 33rd Street in Manhattan. Agache-Willot, a French retail and textile conglomerate, completed a buyout in 1979. Store closures, clearance efforts, and financial distress followed quickly. The last 17 stores, all in the greater New York City area, closed on December 24, 1980. Exit through the bargain bin, please.

Our E. J. Korvette (Korvette's / Korvettes) collection celebrates the original discount-store disruptor: fluorescent aisles, improbable deals, record-department treasure hunts, and the audacious belief that retail rules were mainly suggestions.