The Outlet Company

The Outlet Company was formed in 1891 when brothers Joseph and Leon Samuels opened a department store at 176 Weybosset Street in downtown Providence.

For decades, the store remained strong with its sole flagship location and dominated the field of retail in not only Providence, but Rhode Island as a whole.

With the changing field of retail in the mid-20th Century, the company diversified with opening suburban locations as well as buying some existing stores such as Philadelphia-based Phillipsborn and Bedya,[citation needed] the midwestern Hughes & Hatcher chain, and The Edw.

However, the allure of building a broadcasting empire under the leadership of company president Bruce Sundlun led Outlet to leave the retail business in November 1980.

After the sale of the retail divisions, the company went into a failed merger attempt with Columbia Pictures before it was sold in 1984 to members of the Rockefeller family.