Flemington Furs Closing

[Bfur]

BIG NEWS. Flemington Furs, in Flemington NJ, which has been a landmark for decades is closing. I just received my letter offering an additional 10% on the 70 % discounts before liquidation. Bummer. They always had very high quality furs....a little high in pricing, but always quality. They will be missed.

[Fox]

Holy crap! That's so sad to see. I've never been there, but was really hoping to visit.

[Fox]

It sounds like they have a couple other locations, at least for the time being.

 

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/flemington-slash-raritan/articles/flemington-furs-is-going-out-of-business

[minkme]

Sad to see another store closing

[elbas3175]

Oh no! That is a big store. When will the doors close for the last time?

[furs limited]

I visited a few times in the 70's and 80's. They had a huge inventory - hundreds of fox furs, short to long. One was always welcome to browse and there was Father's Revenge, a room dedicated to men's furs. What joy to find so many ready to try on. I would love to get there for the grand sale. It will be interesting to hear if their other stores remain open.

[Bfur]

As far as I know, all locations are closing. The Flemington NJ location is their main office/showroom. There wasn't a date noted but the additional discount is only valid thru this Sunday the 6th.

[elbas3175]

I called them. There is no final end date as yet - they expect to be there for at least a couple of months.

[LordTheNightKnight]

I you saw the prize sections of the Miss USA, Ten USA, and Miss Universe pageants (from at least the 80s to mid 90s), this company gave the winner either a wonderful coat or a shopping spree.

 

Still looking for a Miss USA '95 video that has the prize section intact.

[fox4me]

I just opened my letter and to say I'm shocked is an understatement. My favorite place on the planet will soon be no more. I've been toying with the idea of a new fur for a while. Better get down there in the next day or so. There will never be another fur salon as nice as Flemington Furs. I will sorely miss visiting and thinking of them.

[Joe]

I received my letter as well, but something's wrong.

 

Flemington Furs was slated to become one of the anchor tenants of the new Union Hotel (circa 1877, where the Lindbergh baby kidnapping trial jurors stayed in 1935) redevelopment plan that encompassed their site. The old hotel was the dilapidated building on the other side of what you might remember as their parking lot.

 

https://jpeters.com/tag/flemington-approves-union-hotel-redevelopment-agreement/

 

Here's an updated rendering. The existing fur company building would be at the end of the central pedestrian boulevard between the two large buildings in this view, with an addition and the word "College" visible on its rotunda. I expected them to move to a smaller retail footprint.

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/b58cf773132f6e9550b3b723b27ba323b6c720e9/c=100-0-1489-785/local/-/media/2017/05/22/NJGroup/Bridgewater/636310446077090070-Revised-Union-Hotel.jpg?width=3200&height=1680&fit=crop%22/%3E%3Cmeta

 

Flemington's recently elected mayor, for all her good points, was not as amiable to this developer as many had wanted.

 

The fur company is a century-old business -- their origins were in manufacturing and tailoring first, before they went into retail -- with a storage vault that would probably cost more to demolish than preserve. Considering the amount of customers they've had over the years, think about who received this letter. To me, it feels more like a strategic move by the Benjamins (the actual name of the family who owns FF) than a final decision. This could be a political move.

 

But I won't discount the bigger picture than the building on Spring Street in that little town in New Jersey...where few people would expect to spend four to five figures on outerwear. To be completely honest, in recent years, they wouldn't have opened temporary storefronts in outlying communities where they identified likely retail (versus discount/consignment) customers if they weren't lacking something in the "mother ship". Remember that one winter when they rented and fitted out a glorious two-story storefront -- bigger than Dennis Basso's -- on Madison Avenue in NYC? Despite our sartorial proclivities, my friends, excess is not always a sign of success. Sure, the largest fur showrooms in America may seem like fantasyland to us. But unfortunately nowadays, without designer brands like Fendi, my friends, in the luxury marketplace, one can only float for so long. The late great furrier Mr. Fred Schwartz and his son Andrew Marc learned this lesson decades ago. Look them up.

 

But I hope someone can save, or right-size, this sinking ship.

 

No offense to all who have made Flemington Furs your livelihoods. I appreciate you more than you know.

Inbox me with your thoughts, which I'm open to, as always.

 

J.

Edited January 13, 2019 by Guest