From working his first job at Nebraska Furniture Mart to becoming head of one of the country’s largest specialty fashion chains, Martin Sneider knows a thing or two about retail. Now, the 81-year-old Omaha native is combining his knowledge from decades in the business with storytelling. Sneider will speak at The Bookworm on June 13 about his new book, “Amy Unbound,” which will be released Tuesday and is the second book in his series about the fictional Feldman family.
Martin Sneider, 81, is combining his knowledge from decades in the retail business with storytelling in his series about a family in the world of fashion. Sneider began his decades-long career in the retail industry in Omaha, working at his grandfather’s store on North 24th Street, in the drapery department at Nebraska Furniture Mart and selling shoes at the former J.L.
Brandeis and Sons store at 16th and Douglas Streets. Sneider said he also began developing an interest in writing while a student at Omaha’s Central High School, where a teacher challenged him to improve his writing skills. Retail was a family affair for Sneider, as both his father and grandfather worked in the industry, he said.
“I was really born as a retailer,” he said. “I couldn’t escape it and I made a career out of it.” Sneider would eventually become president and co-CEO of St.
Louis-based Edison Brother Stores, which owned Bakers Shoes and other shoe, clothing and entertainment chains. The company filed for bankruptcy .
