Bloomie’s Bio Has Tall Tales in Store

It was the Fourth of July--in 1979--but Marvin Traub was not watching fireworks.

He was at a banquet in China, consuming a fiery liqueur called Mao-ti as part of his trade negotiations with the Chinese government.

Traub, board chairman of Bloomingdale’s, successfully completed his talks several days before U.S. government officials concluded their own China trade agreement--earning Traub the right to launch the largest U.S. exhibition of Chinese merchandise at his flagship store in Manhattan. His banquet diplomacy also left him with a new nickname.

“ Chairman Marvin had a particularly nice ring to it in China,” Traub writes in his new book, “Like No Other Store.”

The Chinese adventure was by no means Traub’s first foray into foreign relations. There was also the family barbecue at Menachem Begin’s house to seal an agreement with Israel, the congratulatory phone call from Anwar Sadat, and the surprise visit from Imelda Marcos.

In honor of a visit from Queen Elizabeth, Traub literally stopped traffic. Turns out that Her Highness always exits a car from the right, but Bloomingdale’s Lexington Avenue entrance is on the left. No problem. Traub had traffic reversed for the day.