Thirty-five years ago, Philadelphia manufactured more clothing than any other U.S. city. Botany 500 suits, After Six formal wear, and Good Lad children's clothing are among the names that have disappeared from the Philadelphia manufacturing landscape.
Yet Pincus Bros. remained, in large part because its owner, David Pincus, whose father founded the company here with four brothers in 1910, was fiercely committed to maintaining jobs that people could count on for life.
The company makes clothing for Brooks Bros. and other high-end retailers. It also has an exclusive license to manufacture Bill Blass men's clothing.
"The fact that they've been able to maintain the factory as long as they have is heroic," said Stephen Saft, president of Jacob Siegel Co., a Philadelphia manufacturer of men's topcoats that is in its third generation of family ownership. "That is an unbelievable achievement."
And Dorsky, a partner at Wolf, Block, Schorr & Solis-Cohen L.L.P., said: "David [Pincus] held on as long as he could, taking losses on the factory."
A statement from Pincus, 74, who is recovering from surgery, said: "As one of the last major men's manufacturers in the Delaware Valley, we have sought absolutely every opportunity to keep things going here."
An official with Unite, the textile workers' union, said the plant closing was not the company's fault.
"It's as hurtful to them as it is to us," said Lynne Fox, the union's international vice president and its Philadelphia general manager.
Helplessness is the word that best describes the feelings of everyone involved in this, Fox said after she broke the news to the workers, whose last day will be May 4.
Fox said the union had been able to negotiate severance and vacation pay, but declined to give details.
The company said it hoped to shift some of its production to another union factory in the city.
