Throughout most of the 20th century, the Markson Bros. Furniture Company was a business institution in Central New York. 

The highly successful family business venture began when Abraham and Isaac Markson opened the National Art Company, located at 227 North Salina St. in 1905, with only $200 in capital that Isaac’s wife, Ella, had saved through her own personal thriftiness. The brothers sold art items, household specialties, and religious merchandise mainly through door-to-door sales. The brothers expanded their business to include furniture, built a new structure at 231 North Salina St., and incorporated their company as Markson Bros. Furniture Company. 

Markson Bros. was reputed to be the first company in Central New York to sell merchandise on a credit plan in the early 20th century. In the 1920s, along with an array of furniture, Markson Bros. sold Hoosier cabinets, Frost refrigerators, Detroit Jewel stoves, lamps, phonographs (the brothers marketed their own phonograph called the Marksonola), and records. The company’s success allowed it to expand to new locations throughout Central New York: Oswego in 1918; Utica in 1920; Auburn in 1922; Watertown in 1927; Cortland in 1928; Ithaca in 1930; and Fulton in 1937. 

In 1936, the family spent $25,000 (the equivalent of $445,000 today) to renovate their establishment. Interior improvements included a central entrance, terrazzo floor, and new, larger display windows with improved lighting. Additional improvements included installing an electric elevator. Exterior improvements included new store signs and three-foot tall letters to clearly identify the business. Markson Bros. expanded its building footprint, taking up an entire block on North Salina Street, and opened a warehouse on Walton Street in downtown Syracuse. The company used two advertising slogans: “You can always do better at Marksons” and “The Markson Bros. furnish a home from the cellar to the dome.” Markson Bros. even had its own bowling team, with famed local bowler, Andy Piraino, leading the team to multiple championships. 

Abraham Markson died at a young age in 1922. Isaac continued managing Markson Bros., hiring other family members, including his son-in-law, Leopold Goldberg, as vice president, and his son, Asher S. Markson, as treasurer. Along with operating the family business, Isaac Markson also was a member of the National Retail Furniture Association, the Syracuse Rotary Club, Philo Lodge No. 968 of the Free & Associated Masons, the Tigris Temple, and the Lafayette Country Club. Isaac Markson also supported several local Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Home for the Aged, Bradley Brook Camp, the Fresh Air Camp, the Jewish Charities, and was president of Temple Adath Yeshurun for 25 years. In 1940, Isaac and his wife, Ella, celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary at Hotel Syracuse. At age 65, Isaac Markson was still president of Markson Bros. and would continue in that position another eight years.

Isaac Markson succumbed to a two-year illness in May 1948 at the age of 72. Rabbi Irwin Hyman of Temple Adath Yeshurun praised Isaac Markson as an exemplary citizen. “It is with profound sorrow that I join with the family of Isaac Markson in their hours of bereavement. In the passing of Mr. Markson, the community has lost one of its most promising citizens and Temple Adath Yeshurun its guiding light and spirit for the last 25 years.” Upon Isaac’s death, his son, Asher, became the company’s president after serving as its treasurer since the 1920s.

Asher Markson graduated from Syracuse Central High School and the New York University School of Commerce. Asher emulated his father’s business acumen, as well as his altruistic and philanthropic inclination for local organizations and charities. He served with the U.S. Army Ordnance Department from 1942 through 1944, achieving the rank of First Lieutenant. After his military service, Asher became a member of Post 131, Jewish War Veterans. In 1951, the Jewish War Veterans selected him as Outstanding Citizen for that year. 

LEFT OFF HERE

The business had become the largest furniture and household furnishings retailer in Central New York with three generations of customers continuing to buy their furnishings there. In April 1955, Asher Markson celebrated the company’s 50th anniversary. That same month, he also was elected to a two-year term as president of the Chamber of Commerce. Asher told a Herald-Journal reporter that he started in the family business at age five performing very small tasks. He graduated to framing artwork and delivering merchandise for 25 cents per week. “At some time or other I’ve held every job in the business,” Markson recalled. “I’ve repaired, collected, bought, delivered, sold, and even written advertising copy!” 

Helping Asher celebrate Markson Bros.’s Golden Anniversary was none other than Miss America for 1955, Lee Ann Meriwether. The 19-year-old pageant winner specifically came to Syracuse to officiate the observance by cutting a large cake inside the store at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 26, 1955. Prior to her cake-cutting duties that evening, Meriwether had appeared on local TV and met with Ella (Mrs. Isaac) Markson at the Persian Terrace at Hotel Syracuse. The next day, she toured Syracuse University and the Veterans Administration Hospital, then was the guest of honor at a dinner. The next day, Miss America flew to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where she continued her hectic, activity-filled schedule. 

In November 1959, Asher Markson sold Markson Bros. Furniture Company to Sonmark Industries, a company formed in Philadelphia for the purpose of purchasing Markson Bros. Furniture Company. Sonmark Industries had actually leased the Markson Bros. stores for 10 years prior to the sale. Asher Markson continued to manage the furniture company, just as he had since 1948. By this time, Markson Bros.’ annual sales equaled about $2 million (about $16 million in today’s dollars). According to Markson, Sonmark planned to open new stores in shopping centers and other locations where the population was growing. The sale occurred through a stock transfer and did not involve selling any real estate, which remained in the Markson family. In March 1961, Asher Markson announced he was severing all ties with Markson Bros., Inc.

In January 1968, Asher Markson agreed to sell his furniture store at 227-231 North Salina St., as well as a warehouse located at 124-132 West Willow St. to the Syracuse Urban Renewal Agency for the Clinton Square Urban Renewal Project. The agency planned to purchase a total of 17 properties in a two-block area on the north edge of Clinton Square and clear the site for the Herald-Journal/Post-Standard newspaper plant. The buildings were assessed at $162,400; Markson sold them to the agency for $275,000. At the time, Raymour Furniture Company occupied the Markson Bros. buildings, but had plans to move to 421 South Warren St. The new Syracuse Newspapers building opened on June 20, 1971, and published the daily Herald-Journal and the Post-Standard, along with the Sunday Herald-American; in 2001 the company discontinued publishing the two Herald newspapers. In 2012, Syracuse Media Group (SMG) formed to continue publishing the printed Post-Standard, but also publish digital content on its website, Syracuse.com. In June 2013, SMG moved from Clinton Square to the former Merchants Bank building on South Warren Street to publish its online content. In 2016, VIP Structures purchased the Clinton Square building with plans to move its workforce into about 30,000 square feet on the first floor, rent about 50,000 square feet on the second floor to tenants, and lease back the production and press room to SMG to continue publishing the Post-Standard newspaper. 

Although Asher Markson had been president of Markson Bros. from 1948 to 1961, and was an accomplished business leader and executive, he also was notable for his civic responsibilities. His long list of leadership roles included serving on the boards of Merchants National Bank, Syracuse Savings Bank, the Better Business Bureau, the American Red Cross, Syracuse Community Foundation, the Youth Development Center of Syracuse University, the Mayor’s Human Rights Commission, Syracuse Community Chest, Syracuse Jewish Welfare Federation, and Syracuse General Hospital. He also was president of Temple Adath Yeshurun from 1948 to 1964. He was well-liked and well-respected in Syracuse and spent countless hours as a concerned citizen trying to better the local community. In 1955, the Syracuse Herald-Journal stated, “Suffice it to say that when a proposition involving the welfare of this city and its citizens is up for consideration, Asher Markson is always there. And when the work is passed out he is always given twice his share. And he always does it twice as well as most of us. Syracuse has reason to be proud of this modest man.” Asher Markson died at age 79 on March 15, 1980. He is buried in the Adath Yeshurun Cemetery.                  

Thomas Hunter is curator of museum collections at the Onondaga Historical Association (OHA) (www.cnyhistory.org), located at 321 Montgomery St. in Syracuse.

SYRACUSE — Following its acquisition this past spring by UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) POMCO Group is now operating under the UMR brand.

POMCO Group is a third-party administrator (TPA) of self-funded health-care and risk-management plans. Minnetonka, Minnesota–based UnitedHealth Group is the parent company of UnitedHealthcare.

“UMR sits under UnitedHealthcare as the TPA product line,” says Michael McGuire, CEO of UnitedHealthcare NY, who is based in Manhattan. 

“UMR pretty much does the same thing and has access to a lot more resources than we did [at POMCO],” says Donald Napier, senior VP of UMR.

Both Napier and McGuire spoke with CNYBJ at the local UMR office at 2425 James St. in the Eastwood section of Syracuse. The property still bears the name POMCO, but will change to the UnitedHealthcare brand “probably by the end of this year,” according to Napier.

UMR — formerly known as United Medical Resources, Inc, — is based in Wausau, Wisconsin, according to a company profile on Bloomberg.com. UMR has about 4,000 employees, says McGuire. The figure includes about 330 in the Syracuse office, according to Napier. 

The acquisition

The final acquisition discussions between UnitedHealth Group and POMCO Group started near the end of the third quarter of 2016, but the relationship “started probably seven or eight years ago,” says Napier. 

“It was a very good, strategic fit … because of what we could offer and open up space to,” he adds. 

UMR has grown through acquisition of TPA businesses and this transaction gives it the upstate New York market, according to McGuire. The former POMCO Group’s clients also have access to “all the things that UnitedHealthcare brings to bear,” he says.

He was referring to smartphone applications, cost “transparency,” and more wellness and disease-management programs.

McGuire declined to disclose any financial terms of the acquisition agreement in the CNYBJ interview.

Pomfrey

Robert Pomfrey, president and CEO of POMCO Group, is no longer involved in day-to-day operations at UMR, but does handle client consulting when needed, says Napier. “He’s on-call for us,” he adds.

When asked if the UnitedHealthcare acquisition was a succession plan for Pomfrey, Napier replies that it “was a way so that we could ensure that POMCO could continue … its legacy going forward.”

“UnitedHealthcare is a proven market innovator that brings vast technological and capital resources to ensure investments in our clients, employees, providers and community,” Pomfrey, said in a March 6 UnitedHealthcare news release announcing the deal. “This collaboration will expand UnitedHealthcare’s products and service while also bringing more cost-effective solutions to POMCO clients, members and the Central and Upstate New York regions.”

Jobs impact

When asked if UnitedHealthcare had either cut or added jobs since the acquisition closed more than seven months ago, Napier replied, “both” and noted that it’s “a net gain.” The company cut “a handful” of jobs, “probably 12, 14, and we’re adding 30,” he says. 

POMCO Group made headlines when it announced about 90 job cuts in the final months of 2015 from a business unit the firm had created under a contract with Health Republic Insurance of New York, which insurance regulators shut down in late 2015.

That situation wasn’t a factor in the acquisition talks, according to Napier.

“We had conversations when we had Health Republic and things earlier on about doing stuff together … It wasn’t like that was a triggering event,” he explains.

UMR’s client base in Central New York includes the Syracuse City School District and the City of Syracuse, both described by Napier as “long-term” clients.

The customer base also includes other municipalities, schools, and hospitals, some of which are located “downstate.”