About Wilsons Leather Store

THE COMPANY YOU KNOW TODAY AS WILSONS LEATHER ORIGINALLY STARTED AS BERMAN BROTHERS FUR, WOOL AND HIDES. FOUNDED IN 1899 IN MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, BROTHERS DAVID, EPHRAIM AND ALEXANDER BERMAN BEGAN BUYING DEER PELTS AND FUR AT THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER\'S EDGE FROM MINNESOTA\'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND LOCAL FRONTIERSMAN. IN 1946 AFTER WWII ENDED, WEARING FUR WAS NO LONGER POPULAR. IN RESPONSE, THE COMPANY REINVENTED ITSELF AS BERMAN BUCKSKIN, CO. AND BECAME KNOWN FOR ITS DEERSKIN JACKETS AND NATIVE AMERICAN MOTIFS. AFTER YEARS OF OPERATING AS A WHOLESALE BUSINESS ONLY, BERMAN SHIFTED ITS’ FOCUS TO RETAIL OPERATIONS. IN 1988, THE 163 STORE CHAIN WAS SOLD TO CVS NEW YORK INC., (PREVIOUSLY MELVILLE CORP.). MELVILLE THEN MERGES BERMAN BUCKSKIN, CO. WITH ITS WILSONS HOUSE OF SUEDE. WILSONS HOUSE OF SUEDE WAS FOUNDED IN THE LATE 1940\'S IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND WAS KNOWN FOR ITS AFFORDABLE SUEDE AND LEATHER APPAREL. TOGETHER, THE COMPANY BECAME WILSONS THE LEATHER EXPERTS INC. THE BEST ELEMENTS OF EACH COMPANY ARE DRAWN UPON, MAKING IT THE LARGEST LEATHER SPECIALTY RETAILER IN THE NATION. NEVER LOSING SIGHT OF OUR FRONTIER HERITAGE, WILSONS THE LEATHER EXPERTS INC. ACQUIRES SEVERAL OTHER RETAILERS DURING THE 90\'S INCLUDING SNYDER LEATHER AND GEORGETOWN LEATHER DESIGN. IN JULY 2008, WILSONS LEATHER WAS ACQUIRED BY OUTERWEAR POWERHOUSE G-III APPAREL GROUP, LTD. (NASDAQ: GIII). TODAY, ALMOST 120 YEARS LATER, WILSONS LEATHER OPERATES OVER 180 STORES THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES, WILSO