During his tenure as head of the firm, Gimbel grew annual sales of Gimbel Brothers Department Stores from $15 million to $500 million. Gimbel personally negotiated the purchase of competitor Saks and Company. In addition to the Gimbel Brothers Department Stores in New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, Gimbel ran Saks Fifth Avenue stores in New York, Chicago, Detroit and Beverly Hills. During World War II, Gimbel earned huge profits on scarce consumer goods, which he had purchased earlier at low prices.