Malsin, Lena Himmelstein Bryant (Lane Bryant)

1895 - Lena Himmelstein, a sixteen-year-old immigrant, arrived in New York, having traveled alone from her native Lithuania.

1899 - Married a Jewish immigrant jeweler from Russia named David Bryant.

1904 - Bryant’s business was so successful that she opened a shop with living quarters in the rear. A bank officer misspelled her name on a business account application, and Lena’s first name became Lane.

1909 - Married Albert Malsin, who became her business partner. She continued as chief designer and Albert Malsin concentrated on the firm’s business operations.

1911 - Her shop was grossing $50,000 per year.         

- Convince the New York Herald to accept an ad. When the paper did, Lane Bryant’s entire stock was sold out the next day.

1915 - Opened its first branch retail store, in Chicago.

1917 - Mail-order sales revenues for Lane Bryant, Inc. exceeded a million dollars.

1923 - Her company sales had reached five million dollars and sales of full-figured clothing outstripped sales of maternity wear.

1947 - After a major explosion and fire in Texas City, Texas, the company re-outfitted 58 mail order customers whose homes were destroyed.

1950 - Her company’s mail order sales made it the sixth-largest mail order retailer in the United States.

- More than 3,500 Lane Bryant employees participated in profit sharing, pension, disability, group life insurance plans and fully reimbursed physician’s visits and hospitalizations.

1951 - She died on September 26th and her sons succeeded her in the business.