Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> March 5, 2001
MONROE G. MILSTEIN became President and Chief Executive Officer of
Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp. in 1972 when the company opened
its first operation in Burlington, New Jersey. When the company went
public in 1983, Mr. Milstein was also named Chairman of the Board.
Today, in 2001, the corporation has grown to more than 280 retail
locations in 42 states. Burlington Coat Factory does over $2 billion in
annual sales, and is continuing to grow at a rapid, but managed, pace.
Mr. Milstein oversees the operations of all locations. As only a
teenager, he graduated from New York University, with a Bachelor of
Science degree in Business Administration. Fresh out of college, he
began his long career in merchandising when he started working along
with his father in their thriving wholesale outerwear business. In the
1950s, he began his own small side'line retail operation. Soon enough,
the retail operation grew to become his full-time interest and the
wholesale business became secondary. Before opening Burlington Coat
Factory in 1972, Mr. Milstein was also President of the Board of
Trustees of the Nassau Library System, serving 64 libraries. He is a
prime figure in a coalition he established in 1988 to encourage the
United States government to enforce the 1907 antitrust laws for the free
enterprise system and to reduce consumer prices. Along with other
prominent American value retailers, Mr. Milstein was integral in passing
the antitrust issue through the House of Representatives three times and
once through the Senate. Profile
where the company stands today in terms of numbers of stores and
locations?
Mr. Milstein: We have 291 stores in 42
