Jabłkowski Brothers is a Polish trading company, known for its group of high-end department stores in pre-war Poland. The Warsaw store was the very first department store in Poland. The store in Vilnius remained as the city's largest shopping center for over half a century from its opening up to 1974.[1]
History
Founded in 1884 in Warsaw by Aniela Jabłkowska, from 1892 it was a Jabłkowski family business. Initially run by Aniela, the company specialized in the trade of various goods, mostly clothes. In 1897, it was taken over by Aniela's brother Józef Jabłkowski. It was Józef who expanded the business significantly, moving it to a larger building in 1900 and in 1913 the Towarzystwo Akcyjne Bracia Jabłkowscy company entered the stock exchange. The company dealt with garments, underwear, textiles, silk, bedding, china, perfumes, as well as shoes, furs and articles for daily use.
Initially owning a group of smaller shops all around Congress Poland, in 1914 the company built the first of its large department stores in downtown Warsaw, at Bracka Street. In 1919, after World War I, the company opened another store in Mickiewicz Street, the main avenue of Wilno (now Vilnius, Lithuania). Both stores were considered to be among the most luxurious and reputable in Poland, much like their foreign counterparts, Galeries Lafayette, Harrods or Selfridges and were tourist attractions of their cities.
Bracka street store
In 1914 the company built the first of its large department stores in downtown Warsaw, at Bracka Street. The Warsaw-based store was the largest shop in Poland and, in addition, it housed an art gallery and a small cinema.
After the outbreak of the Polish Defensive War the store was initially closed by the new German administration. It was reopened in February 1940, but its turnover was seriously restricted by the limits on the textile trade. After the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, the store at Bracka street became one of the arsenals for the Armia Krajowa (Home Army). Damaged and burnt, the building survived World War II and in May 1945 the business was reopened. Despite severe shortages of practically everything, the staff gradually rose to 220 and the turnover reached half of the pre-war level. It also served as an UNRRA aid distribution point. However, during the so-called 'battle for trade', on May 15, 1950, the communist authorities confiscated the shop and closed it down the following year.[2]
Since then the building has housed a variety of state-owned shops, including the Central House of a Child dealing with toys and children's wear (1951–1970) and then, since 1992, the Arka store.[3] Despite being non-existent, the brand remained well known in
External links
- Dom Towarowy Bracia Jabłkowscy
- Naprzód, przodkowie, Polityka, 29 May 2007
References
- Ilgiausiai Vilniuje veikiančio prekybos centro istorija vz.lt, 29 May 2024, retrieved 7 October 2024^
- Luksusowy Dom Towarowy Braci Jabłkowskich - słyszała o nim cała Europa 2016-09-09, retrieved 2022-03-15^
- Nowy budynek Jabłkowskich: biurowiec zamiast sklepów