Sy Syms was born Seymour Merinsky on May 12th, 1926 in Brooklyn, New York. Syms was the youngest of ten children born to Russian immigrant parents. When Syms’ father opened a clothing store the family name was changed to Merns. Syms served in the U.S. Army before attending New York University through the G.I. Bill. He was one semester short of graduating when he began working as a sports broadcaster at a radio station in Cumberland, Maryland. It was a job he’d dreamt of finding. In 1948, Syms married Ruth Glickman, a professional singer who went by the name Ruth Holland. When Ruth became pregnant with their first of six children, Sy returned to New York permanently and joined the family store then owned by his much older brother.

In 1959, Syms left to open his own store under the name “Syms,” which combined Sy and the first and last letters of Merns. He then legally changed his name to Syms. From the start, the company was successful selling men’s clothing under the established wholesale price, which Syms called “off-price.”

In 1983, the Syms Corporation went public on the New York Stock Exchange. The IPO from this provided the funds to establish the Sy Syms School of Business at Yeshiva University in 1986. Syms also started the Sy Syms Foundation that continues today under the governance of his daughter Marcy. Syms Corp also owned A. Sulka & Company, a 100-year-old custom haberdashery known for silks and cashmeres, and the Stanley Blacker Design Studio, a maker of men’s clothing.

Over the years, all six of Sy Syms’ children worked at Syms. Marcy joined in 1978 to manage advertising, marketing and established the slogan “an educated consumer is our best customer.” Marcy became CEO of Syms in 1998 when Sy Syms retired. Sy Syms was an active philanthropist and was elected U.S. National Chairman of the Israel Bonds Organization in 1987 and helped raise funds for the exodus of Russian Jews to resettle in Israel. He was also on the Board of Trustees of Yeshiva University for over 20 years and a member of the Better Business Board of New York City.

In 2011, after an ill-advised purchase of Filene’s Basement, Syms applied for reorganization and Chapter 11 protection. At the time they had 46 Syms and Filene's Basement stores. Today, Syms is a real estate holding company still publicly traded on NASDAQ. No member of the Syms family remained connected with the new entity.

Sy Syms’ first marriage ended in 1983. Syms later married Lynn Tamarkin. Syms died in New York City on November 17, 2009 at the age of 83.

Information provided by Marcy Syms and “Where Have All the Educated Consumers Gone?” by Jeremy Elias of the Tablet Magazine https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/educated-consumers-syms.