While the children’s wear department at Neiman-Marcus was a success, the marriage of Carrie and Al was not. Al had an exceptionally rough childhood, being raised in orphanages. He swore he would have fun at every opportunity as an adult – and he took that promise to himself seriously.
His dalliances were an embarrassment for the entire family as his targets were often young female sales associates and there was no effort to hide the affairs. As the marriage deteriorated, and Herbert lost his patience with how his sister and the shop assistants were being treated. Herbert took extreme measures and borrowed heavily to buy Al Neiman out of his shares in the store and institute a no-compete clause. Carrie and Al’s divorce was finalized in 1928.
Image c. 1945 – Herbert Marcus and three of his four sons (missing is Edward). Getty Images.
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