The legacy of Joshua Doore
The furniture company may have had the most memorable jingle in local history
Did Downriver residents truly have “an uncle in the furniture business?” Most of any age would emphatically agree without question.
Joshua Doore made its name & presence felt as quickly as any local business ever had… and would prove to exit just as quickly. For a brief time in the 1970s, the new firm – formed through a Detroit business takeover – saw its greatest success through its primary warehouse location in Taylor by simply “eliminating the middleman” in furniture purchasing, ensuring a much smoother transaction process which would benefit all parties from a financial standpoint.
It seemed to point toward a new era in purchasing ability, producing a new business model all on its own. But was it all as easy as the numerous radio & television ads made people believe?
It truly did not come without a major price tag, and likely produced more “what if” scenarios among business leaders and the general public than had ever been seen before or since.
What a tangled web was woven through association with Detroit’s Robinson Furniture
So how could such a meteoric rise to the heights of peoples’ knowledge end up crashing so quickly, even by business standards? Definitely not without extreme inner-circle influence, which Joshua Doore had an overabundance of.
The story begins with a brief synopsis of the company that was taken over. Robinson Furniture was based in Detroit and had been in existence since 1910, but its founding family had not invested in company affairs for quite some time as the early 1960s approached. By that time, the company was operated by long-time Detroit resident Harold Victor, who had formerly been the president of Victor Paint Inc., a chain which had reached 73 stores in three states during its peak. Having sold his interest in the paint company would enable Victor to possess the substantive capital needed to purchase then-bankrupt Robinson Furniture by 1964. The company would remain private until its IPO was announced on September 30, 1968. A follow-up article in the October 1 edition of the Detroit News spelled out the specifics, which included selling 40,000 shares (out of 350,000) to Robinson company president Harvey Leach, then 29 years of age. At this time, Robinson’s main warehouse was located in Warren, with approximately 3 to 5 showrooms scattered through metro Detroit – including a Lincoln Park location at 1491 Southfield Road.
The astounding financial rebound Robinson Furniture experienced in the years following its 1964 bankruptcy attracted the attention of company president Leach (shown at right), who was envisioning a makeover of the business model from carefully-placed brick & mortar showroom locations to the newer 1970s trend of advertising blitzes and high-volume warehousing. The competing visions of Leach & Victor clashed repeatedly, which led to Leach vacating his company presidency in November, 1971. He would return – in very short order – on December 14th, assuming roles as Chairman & CEO of Robinson. Victor subsequently announced he would be leaving the company altogether to pursue other business interests.
This was when wholesale changes began to take place at break-neck speed. By the spring of 1972, the name was changed to Joshua Doore Furniture, and company focus turned to the massive warehouse model (though a few old-style showrooms would be maintained). It was this timeframe that the famous “uncle in the furniture business” jingle began airing; it had been created by the W.B. Doner Agency of Detroit – perhaps the most noted firm of its type at the time – known for its parallel association with Highland Appliance’s own memorable media spots. Utilizing the new jingle in an “earworm” effect, most everyone would take immediate notice.
Leach himself was considered extremely charismatic; a businessman ahead of his time. He possessed an idea of what the customer really wanted in a furniture purchase. The old method would involve the public traveling through various showrooms; a time-consuming process exacerbated by further delays for special orders (e.g. certain fabric choices), in addition to the inevitable delays in delivery shipments. Leach believed in instant gratification while also peddling wholesale discount pricing. From this, a more casual style of ordering would be realized.
The entire process would now be the customer’s responsibility, including the delivery. By eliminating the need for large trucks, this would cut company overhead significantly, allowing these wholesale prices to lower even further. Becoming a millionaire in record time, Leach would engineer the construction of their new central warehouse on Eureka Road in Taylor, west of Interstate 75. That Downriver location was cited as the centerpiece of operations, with smaller warehouses in Flint & Grand Rapids offering support. Its main local competitor at the time was the Wickes Furniture warehouse on Pennsylvania Road in Riverview.
However, this rapid company rise was not satisfying enough: Leach wanted further expansion and more profit. Ideas were pouring from his brain faster than finances could make those ideas reality. Taking out a loan seemed the most logical way to accomplish this, but there were red flags prevailing over any request, especially when such an inner circle had as much internal controversy and unknown power to wield success or failure. He would end up turning to “shadow lenders,” many of whom were deeply involved with the Teamsters union.
In a particular 1974 case, Leach would reach out to Leonard “Left-hand Lenny” Schultz, his contact for labor-related issues within Joshua Doore. Keep in mind that Schultz was considered so vital because most furniture workers at the time were unionized, and any negotiations had to go through his department. Leach sought out Schultz to procure his loan from outside sources.
Leach’s subsequent murder opened up the insiders’ story
At about this time, Leach was purportedly having an affair with the girlfriend of an imprisoned mobster, which did not set well with the community. Having been recently divorced, he did find his eventual match in his fiancee Beverly Adelson, whom he was to marry on March 17, 1974.
But still remaining on Leach’s agenda was the latest in a series of meetings with Schultz, in addition to Joshua Doore’s top management, and Anthony “Tony Jack” Giacalone (shown at left); a noted Detroit mobster who reached the level of “street boss,” to take place on March 16.
This meeting would never take place. The original 10:00 AM start time was first pushed forward an hour by Giacalone, with no specific reason given. Schultz, acting separately, told his wife to visit family & friends that day, which gave both men an opportunity to orchestrate any plans they had for Leach.
Adelson became worried when she found out Leach not only missed the initial meeting that day, but two others as well, and she then informed the police. An all-points bulletin was issued on his behalf.
Southfield police would eventually find Leach, deceased, in the trunk of his Lincoln Mark IV, outside the Congress Building at Southfield & 13 Mile Roads. Three slashes on the right side of his neck were observed, along with bruises on the left side of his head. The cause of death was a neck wound from blunt-force trauma (multiple puncture wounds were noted). Adelson had noted prior to this that threatening calls were becoming routine in the Leach home over his supposed affairs, but would not respond further.
Within days, Southfield Police would turn the case over to the Federal Government, which began calling witnesses, including Schultz, “Tony Jack” Giancalone, as well as his brother, Vito “Billy Jack” Giancalone, another mobster recently released from prison. All three stuck to their individual stories, which indicated they showed up to the meeting on time, but Leach was a no-show. The federal representatives could not proceed further with questioning, as no clearer answers were being given.
The rumor mill was wildly swinging from all directions. Money had been a hot-topic among the participants for years, with “Tony Jack” desiring to use the Joshua Doore umbrella as a front for his other personal enterprises, an idea Leach steadfastly refused. However, the end result showed Leach underestimated his partners and what they were capable of doing. “Tony Jack” was at the center of the rumor informing store management that, “Harvey won’t be able to make it.”
Leach’s funeral – held at the Ira Kaufmann Chapel on Nine Mile Road – was attended by over 1,000 mourners (including Mrs. Adelson, shown at right). Despite obvious connections to the underworld movement, with notable figures constantly in the discussion, no official culprit was ever unearthed. To this day, it remains one of the Detroit area’s most notorious unsolved cold cases. The Giacalone brothers were pegged as contributors in swindling Leach of most of his wealth. This was later proven as fact when it was revealed Leach’s net worth at the time of death was only $4,600; far from millionaire status.
Murder trial for Leach didn’t materialize… but the suspects did, a year later
The brothers – along with Schultz – were brought into the courtroom before a federal grand jury; however, they would consistently invoke their Fifth Amendment rights whenever questioned. Since it had been determined the killing was done in a professional style so often connected to the mob, authorities lacked access to forensics, cooperative witnesses, or a “smoking gun” which could have unearthed important details. No official murder trial ever took place under Leach’s name.
As an important sidebar, these three courtroom witnesses would become the central figures in the Jimmy Hoffa case one year later. The FBI even placed the two still-unsolved crimes together, declaring the Leach murder could have been a “dry run” (carbon-copy footprint) for the events leading to Hoffa’s 1975 disappearance.
Aftermath: Victor reacquires; only to meet by a second bankruptcy & sale
In addition to the now-swirling stories concerning Leach’s wealth loss at the hands of the Giacalone brothers, Joshua Doore would hemorrhage additional monies due to negative publicity surrounding the grand jury investigation, with banking institutions freezing potential lines of credit in order to keep their own reputations intact. Facing bankruptcy once again at the close of 1974, former owner Harold Victor repurchased the company for a $1.1 million sum.
“It’s a real challenge for me… I have absolutely no interest in liquidating this company.”
— Harold Victor (June, 1975)
“We had every intention of reopening… (but) prudence has led us not to reopen.”
— Harold Victor (October, 1975)
He would immediately change the name back to Robinson Furniture, perhaps in hopes of using the now-nostalgic goodwill the former name – under his successor’s direction – could still generate. This would not eliminate ongoing customer suspicion, so Victor made the official decision to shutter all operations in October, 1975. The former warehouse in Taylor would shut down, but would not remain vacant for long: the Eureka Road location is known to have held a John O. Laughlin furniture outlet in the late 1970s, but became renowned as the new home of Gibraltar Trade Center from 1982-2014.
Where are they now? Both names continue survival while reaching out to nostalgia
The Joshua Doore name, however, continues to exist & thrive in South Africa. Back in 1973, Harvey Leach had licensed the trademark, corporate blueprint, and W.B. Doner marketing strategy to international investors. There were none of the concerns in South Africa that Michigan was experiencing, so the overseas business arm would continue to thrive. Acquired by the JD Group in 1986, the international operation would eventually number over 170 individual showroom locations.
Although there are recent reports the Joshua Doore name is being gradually phased out there as well, all generations since the 1980s have grown up with the name and Detroit-penned jingle we had once called our own.
Meanwhile, the Robinson Furniture name has continued in various iterations since the 1980s, usually acquired in copyright form by independent furniture retailers who also saw the name as a nod to goodwill of the past (screengrab above dates from the late 1980s and highlights a Southgate location, now the home of Binson’s). The most notable revival occurred under the direction of Scott Bradley in 2012 (modern ad at left); opening a subprime financing storefront near the downtown area which also sold e-bikes, mopeds, riding lawnmowers, arcade machines, and electronics.
There was no family lineage harkening back to the Harold Victor & Harvey Leach days… but the media ad spreads of today still tell us that we indeed still have an uncle in the furniture business.
