Marvin W. Goldstein, a longtime department store executive who held top jobs at Dayton Hudson, Macy’s and Carter Hawley Hale, died of natural causes at the age of 82.
Goldstein, who lived in Minneapolis and Palm Springs, Calif., passed peacefully at home on April 14 after several weeks of hospice care.
He built a distinguished career marked by what associates characterized as operational rigor, strategic insight, a facility with numbers and a deep understanding of American retailing. Goldstein was also known for his high standards, always insisting that the merchandise on the selling floors be current.
Often called, “a merchant’s merchant,” he learned early on what he loved most about the work — that it provided immediate gratification, and on a daily basis, he could see the fruits of his labor.
“I try to be realistic about what can be attained,” Goldstein once told WWD. “You have to be compassionate about human error, but you should never lower standards.” He labeled his brand of leadership as being “a perfectionist with an asterisk.”
“What a great merchant,” Thom Miller, a former colleague of Goldstein’s, posted on Facebook. “I still remember, even as president, he came into a women’s shoe line review once and critiqued every pair lined up on the table of the ninth floor board room. I was pretty new to merchandising at the time and was so impressed with his mastery of trend, assortment breadth, price point distribution. It was like a little master class in merchandising. I could tell he enjoyed running the company of course, but he loved merchandising.”
Although Goldstein was known for having extremely high standards, “It was never an antagonistic atmosphere,” a colleague of his told WWD in a 1990 profile of Goldstein. “Although intense, he’s still comfortable to be around. When Marvin encounters a mistake, he always keeps things in perspective.”
Goldstein was one of three children of Sydney and Celia Goldstein. His father was in the scrap materials business. While attending the University of Iowa where he majored in business, Goldstein worked part time for The Hub Clothing Co., a men’s specialty store in Mason City, lowa, working his way up from janitorial duties to the sales floor. After graduating college, Goldstein knew immediately that retailing was his calling. He started his career in 1966 as a management trainee at Dayton’s and he steadily rose up the ranks from there.
Later, he took that experience to the former Carter Hawley Hale retail conglomerate in the 1970s, where he worked as a general merchandise manager. In the early ’80s, he worked for Macy’s, holding down general merchandise manager positions, and also serving as director of stores.
Goldstein rejoined the former Dayton Hudson Corp. in 1988 when the company’s department store portfolio included Dayton’s, Hudson’s and Marshall Field’s, alongside the rapidly expanding Target.
He rose to president of the Dayton Hudson department stores, and in January 1990, became the corporation’s chairman and chief executive officer during an era of modernization, intensifying national competition and industry consolidation. During his tenure, Goldstein focused on strengthening operational discipline, upgrading systems and sharpening brand positioning while preserving the service culture and civic identity of Marshall Field’s and its sister banners.
He left DH in 1994 and became chairman and CEO of Pet Food Warehouse, a specialty pet product retailer, from 1995 through April 1997. He successfully positioned Pet Food Warehouse to be sold to Petco.
In 2004, Dayton Hudson decided to sell off its department stores to the May Department Stores Co., to focus on growing Target, and the company changed its name to Target Corp. In 2005, Macy’s took over May Department Stores.
Goldstein’s reputation was temporarily marred in 2003 when he was found guilty of gaining $33,000 through insider trading from tips from financier George Kline, either knowingly or recklessly. By cooperating on an investigation, Goldstein was given a light sentence of a month in prison, five months of home detention with electronic monitoring and fined $1 million.
Goldstein, however, is remembered as a mentor and adviser to many in retailing, including Gary Kusin, founder of GameStop and Laura Mercier.
Outside of work, Goldstein was an avid golfer and a longtime member of Oak Ridge Country Club in Minneapolis. He enjoyed winters in Palm Springs, kept a tradition of lunches at Murray’s in downtown Minneapolis, and was a devoted sports enthusiast, particularly baseball. He had a collection of baseballs autographed by many legendary players including Hank Aaron and Yogi Berra.
Goldstein had been married for more than four decades to his wife, Harriet. In addition to his wife, Goldstein is survived by his daughter Sarah, his son Aaron; his sister Joanne Goldstein; daughter-in-law, Arielle, and two granddaughters, Noa and Zadie.
.
