Hickey Freeman Company papers

The once booming men's clothing industry of Rochester, NY had begun to decline in the middle of the 20th century, and today the only remaining manufacturer is the Hickey-Freeman Co. At the turn of the century, however, many new clothing firms were established in Rochester, when the industry was rapidly growing and reaching new levels of production. Hickey-Freeman Co. was the most notably distinguished and enduring of these firms.

During the 1880s and 1890s, Jeremiah G. Hickey (1866-1960) was a bookkeeper for Wile, Brickner & Wile, then the largest manufacturer of men's clothing in Rochester. His close friend Jacob L. Freeman (d.1925) was a private contractor of the firm. Together with fellow Wile, Brickner & Wile employees Thomas Mahon and George A. Brayer, they formed Hickey, Freeman, & Mahon Co. in 1899, after rejecting job offers in prestigious clothing firms in Boston and Chicago. Jeremiah ("Jerry") Hickey contributed the most capital, giving him a controlling interest in the firm. Mahon, who made no original investment, left the firm in less than a year, and in 1900 the name was changed to Hickey-Freeman Co. The business was originally located in small quarters on St. Paul St., near the hub of Rochester's clothing district.

In the beginning, progress was slow but steady for Hickey-Freeman. By 1902, the company was able to take over the business and the larger premises of Michael Kolb & Co. Hickey-Freeman grew even more, and in 1908 it merged with Beckel, Baum & Leopold Co., retaining the Hickey-Freeman name. The president of Beckel, Baum & Leopold Co. was Emmett Baum, who became vice-president of Hickey-Freeman Co. after the merger. Baum was largely responsible for Hickey-Freeman's decision in 1908 to manufacture only high quality clothing. At that time, ready-to-wear suits were seldom made with hand-craftsmanship of any quality, but Hickey-Freeman recognized the importance of quality in the manufacture of men's clothing.

By 1912, Hickey-Freeman Co. had amassed enough capital and business to build a larger, more modern factory on N. Clinton Ave. at the corner of Avenue D on the city's northern outskirts. This location was chosen in order to retain the company's skilled workers, after a survey showed that a majority of the company's employees lived within walking distance of this area. Although the new factory was one of the most complete facilities of its kind in the country, it became necessary for Hickey-Freeman to add space to the building twice more during the 1920s, to accommodate the company's increased volume and over 1700 employees.

Hickey-Freeman Co. never altered the price of its product for its retail customers, nor did it compromise quality. A Hickey-Freeman suit was, and still is, one of the most expensive suits made. The company never advertised its product nationally, but instead relied on loyal customers and retailers. Hickey-Freeman adopted a policy of selling its suits to only one specialty retail store in an area, and that store had exclusive rights to use the Hickey-Freeman name. In the 1920s, to increase revenue while maintaining that loyal retail base, the company introduced the "Walter-Morton" label, named after the sons of Hickey and Baum. The "Walter-Morton" line of suits was identical to the "Hickey-Freeman" line, but the names were never explicitly associated, allowing for more than one store to carry the company's product in any given selling area. This proved to be a very successful business strategy for Hickey-Freeman. Despite the Great Depression of the 1930s, the company still made a profit throughout the decade and in the decades to follow.

For the first sixty years of Hickey-Freeman Co.'s existence, only one man held the position of company president. In 1959, a year before his death, Jeremiah G. Hickey became chairman of the board of Hickey-Freeman, passing on the title of president to Morton J. Baum, Emmett Baum's son. Following the death of Morton J. Baum in 1963, Jeremiah Hickey's son Walter B.D. Hickey became president. A year later, Hickey-Freeman merged with the Chicago firm of Hart, Shaffner & Marx. While no longer locally or family owned, Hickey-Freeman Co. remained in Rochester as an autonomous unit of the Hartmarx Corporation, keeping the Rochester management and production intact, as well as the quality Hickey-Freeman label.

In 1976, Walter B.D. Hickey Jr. ("Duffy") became president of Hickey-Freeman Co., when his father became chairman of the board. Seven years later, Walter B.D. Hickey Sr. retired from the company, succeeded by his son as chairman, and Gasper A. Tirone as president. Today, Duffy Hickey remains chairman of Hickey-Freeman, with no plans to move the firm out of the Rochester area. As the only manufacturer left in the city that was once the leader in quality production of men's clothing, Hickey-Freeman still produces the finest clothing of any manufacturer in the country.