Polk Brothers was a large home appliance and electronics retailer in Chicago, Illinois that had 17 stores in the region at its peak in the 1980s.
It was an industry leader in innovative merchandising and was chosen to be the first retailer in the nation to sell color televisions and microwave ovens.
By the 1960s, there were two dozen or more family members including uncles, cousins, and in-laws, working in various departments of the company, which became one of the biggest appliance retailers in the United States at a time when the industry was very fragmented.
Polk served as the president of the North American Retail Dealers Association (NARDA), and his innovative and flamboyant promotions of the industry's products gained him nationwide recognition.
The Polks also had a vast investment portfolio that included stock in such bygone Chicago retailers as Wieboldt's and Goldblatt's.