Books
More Than a Store
Three Decades of
Tumultuous Changes
1960-1990
More Than a Store tells the story behind one of Houston’s most distinctive retail legacies, tracing the
people, places, relationships, and decisions that made Sakowitz more than a traditional department
store. Written by Robert Sakowitz, the book offers a history of launching European Fashion Designers
ready-to-wear in America, expansion of the European wine trade, initiating early businesses with Asia
(including opening China trade in late 1960’s and esrly 1970’s) with private label design and the Global
Supply Chain). Explaining the strategies of working with multiple cultures of people and countries, It
delineates the Editing, Education, and Entertainment necessary for successful retail distribution, while
providing a personal view into family business, retail history, community, and the culture of service that
shaped generations of customers.
$40
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Ultimate Gifts
From the Golden Age
of Christmas Catalogues
Ultimate Gifts from the Golden Age of Christmas Catalogues is a coffee table book celebrating the
legendary Sakowitz Christmas catalogues and their unforgettable series of theme-oriented “ultimate
gifts.” The book details how some of the outlandish offerings were created and obtained, some of their
purchasers, and the international publicity that those stories generated, and nation-wide competition.
Sized to echo the original catalogues, the book is organized by catalogue year from 1968 to the late
1980’s. Each chapter introduces the moment, then presents the catalogue cover followed by the original
facing pages featuring the ultimate gifts exactly as they appeared.