Former Harlem Furniture co-owner Marilyn Berman Leader dies
Led Chicagoland store for half a century
Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, July 26, 2007
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Marilyn Berman Leader, former chairman and a co-owner of Top 100 company Harlem Furniture here from 1950 until 2004, has died after a battle with cancer. She was 80.
The seeds for Harlem, now Lombard, Ill.-based The RoomPlace at Harlem Furniture, were planted in 1912 when Sam Berman, Berman Leader’s father-in-law, opened his first furniture store.
He sold the business before the U.S. entry into World War II in 1941, but it paved the way for Harlem Furniture, founded in 1950 on Harlem Avenue in Chicago by Berman Leader, her ex-husband, Leo Berman, and others. The retailer is now a Top 100 company and had an estimated $191.2 million in sales at 17 stores last year.
Marilyn Berman Leader retired to Florida in 2005, the year after private equity firms teamed with her son Bruce Berman to acquire the retailer. But she remained active in Harlem’s charity work, specifically with the Muscular Dystrophy Assn., for which RoomPlace raised $195,000 in 2005 and $188,686 last year.
Survivors include her husband, Bernie Leader; two sons, including RoomPlace CEO Bruce Berman; and granddaughter Valerie Berman, RoomPlace marketing manager.
“I am very happy to say that I feel that much of the success of the company was due to the loyalty of a lot of people who were part of the business,” Marilyn Berman Leader said in a 2004 interview. “I have had a very good relationship with employees, whether they are here a little bit of time or many, many years. I feel every job is important.”
In a letter to friends, Sharon Wigdzinski, RoomPlace executive assistant, said all those who worked with Marilyn “know we couldn't have succeeded without Marilyn’s guidance, leadership and friendship over 55 years.”
Funeral services will be held at noon Friday at the Weinstein Funeral Home North Shore Chapel, 111 Skokie Blvd. in Wilmette, Ill.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Muscular Dystrophy Assn., 3300 E. Sunrise Drive, Tucson, Ariz., 85718-3299, or online at www.mda.org.
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