Great American Business Leaders of the 20th Century

Filene developed the world’s largest specialty store. In 1912, when Filene opened his new mega-store in Boston, 715,000 people came through the doors of the new store within one week. With the inauguration of the new store, Filene’s sales jumped from $4.8 million to $8.5 million. Progressive in his labor policies, Filene established a minimum wage for women, instituted Saturday closings during the summer, recognized winter vacations in addition to normal summer holidays, and created The Filene Employees Credit Union, a national prototype.