Gene Kahn, chairman of the Board of May Department Stores to present next Genet Lecture at Syracuse University

Gene Kahn, chairman of the Board of May Department Stores to present next Genet Lecture at Syracuse UniversityFebruary 16, 2002Judy Holmesjlholmes@syr.edu

Gene Kahn, chairman of the Board of May Department Stores, will present the next installment of the Genet Lecture Series at 3:30 p.m. March 7 in Syracuse University’s Slocum Hall, Room 108. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Gene Kahn joined the May Department Stores Company in 1990 as president and chief executive officer of the G. Fox Department Store division, headquartered in Hartford. He began his retailing career in 1971 at Gimbel’s after earning a bachelor’s degree from City College of New York.

The first May Department Store opened in 1877 in Leadville, Colorado, a silver mining boomtown. The owner, David May, soon bought stores in Cleveland and St. Louis. Today, the corporation operates 440 department stores under eight divisions and 11 trade names nationwide. The trade names include Lord & Taylor, Hecht’s, Strawbridge’s, Foley’s, Robinsons-May, Filene’s, Kaufmann’s, and Meier & Frank, among others.

The company also operates David’s Bridal, the nation’s largest retailer of bridal gowns; and After Hours, the largest tuxedo rental company in the country.

“The retail environment is a challenging one,” Kahn says. “But we have the right people, the right ideas and the right vision for continued success.”

The Sue Ann Genet Lecture Series is offered by SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts in conjunction with the Genet Gallery for costume, textiles and decorative arts. The series brings prominent speakers to the University from retailing, fashion and design.