Ed Swikard introduced a promotional idea involving Congoleum floor covering. Swikard engineered a mailing to more than nine million residences, offering a pre-cut Congoleum package at a low cost. Customer response was such that company sales reached a record $16million for the year, with a net profit of $4million. In 1928, Spiegel, May, Stern and Company went public, and although the Spiegel family retained a controlling interest, Spiegel stock prices reached $118 per share in 1928. Great Depression The Great Depression hurt Spiegel's business. In 1930, Spiegel's stock dropped to seven cents per share. The following year, the Spiegel family began gradually liquidating their retail furniture business. By 1932, the last Spiegel furniture store in Chicago closed its doors. After experiencing considerable economic losses in the early years of the Depression, Spiegel entered a period of growth and profits beginning in 1933. During this time, M.J. Spiegel, son of Modie, took over the leadership of the company. Spurred again by the company's aggressive marketing of their "easy credit without interest" policy, sales rose from $7.1million in 1932 to more than $56million by 1937. Furthermore, a $300,000 net loss was transformed into $2.5million in profits. When sales began to plateau in 1938, Spiegel shifted attention to consumers in a higher income bracket. The company began adding popular brand names with national reputations to its catalog. World War II and 1950s The onset of World War II was financially disastrous for Spiegel. As much domestic manufacturing had shifted to wartime production, many of their popular catalog products were no longer available in significant quantities. A labor shortage also affected the company's operations, and when the U.S. government discouraged buying on credit, Spiegel management had to discard its popular "No Charge for Credit" policy. In 1942 and 1943 combined, the company lost $3.8million. In 1944, in hopes of reversing the trend, Spiegel began to open retail outlets once again, hoping to mimic the success of Sears, Roebuck & Co., and Montgomery Ward. The same year, Spiegel also acquired 46 Sally dress shops in Illinois and several other regional chains were purchased over the next few years. By 1948, Spiegel was operating 168 retail stores featuring a wide range of merchandise, including clothing, furniture, electronics, housewares, and auto supplies. After initial success in brick-and-mortar retail, the costs of retail operations began to outweigh the benefits. By the mid-1950s, Spiegel was again focusing on mail-order