The Harmon Travel Aisle Is Back From The Beyond (And It’s Glorious)

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The closing of Harmon Face Value stores left a void in shopping centers and the hearts of consumers far and wide — none more than in those looking for a TSA-approved size of their favorite hygiene products.

But with the grand re-opening of “Harmon 2.0” in a retail mall in New Rochelle, the march back to vitality begins for a once emblematic retailer.

As elected officials and civic leaders marvel that the rebirth of an iconic American brand is being witnessed right here, under the guidance of a hometown business leader, they also, universally expressed relief that the famed Harmon “trial-size” wall lives once again.

“Everyone talks about the trial-size aisle,” owner Jonah Raskas says in a quiet moment. “It gets people in the door, but they usually do a lot more shopping than they planned once they’re here. It’s not even a loss leader, because the trial sizes didn’t lose money.”

The nostalgia for a chain store that seemed destined to disappear from the collective memory is palpable. Shoppers wind through the aisles like they are taking in the exhibits at a museum of a lost age — but, unlike at a museum, their shopping carts and arms are full.

“I tell people this is your Harmon,” New Rochelle resident Raskas said, admitting there is more than one reason this first Harmon reopening is extra-special. “So many of my neighbors have told me how much they miss this store. My family missed this store. This is a proud day.”

The 38-year-old investor has big plans for the chain, but he said his approach will be methodical. When he bought the company’s intellectual property from the failing Bed, Bath & Beyond parent company, he did his due diligence. Raskas said he knows which of the 50, since closed, stores were underperforming and which were over-performing — information that will inform which of the 15 or 20 stores will reopen in the coming months.

When Raskas bought Harmon’s intellectual property out of bankruptcy, he already knew he had a concept that was proven, but for all intents and purposes, the business had ceased to exist. All the Harmon leases ended with the Bed Bath & Beyond bankruptcy and the inventory was sold off in liquidation.

The new company was in a good position to begin renegotiating leases, like the one in New Rochelle. Raskas said that about 90 percent of the spaces formerly occupied by Harmon remain vacant. In many of those cases, other tenants in those shopping centers report decreased sales since the Harmon stores are no longer bringing in traffic.

“Harmon has a draw of its own,” Raskas told Patch earlier this year. “There are any number of places you can go for housewares, but what Harmon offers is truly one-of-a-kind. I don’t think there is any place that does trial-size travel products in quite the way Harmon does. It’s a place to buy health and beauty products at everyday low prices, yes, but you never know when you might find something unexpected that you didn’t even know you were looking for.”

Raskas said the company is looking at the possibility of reopening other Westchester stores in their former locations. He added that the company had a strong expansion plan in place when its parent company simply ran out of cash.

But, rapid expansion plans aren’t in the cards for right now. Raskas said the initial job will be to regain the magic that was lost when Harmon closed its doors.

“Harmon customers had a loyalty to a business that was special,” Raskas said. “We want to make certain we are doing everything we can to recapture what made Harmon unique, and if we are doing that right, the growth will come.”

If this first of many planned grand reopenings is a measure, then this “new old store” is already bringing back the undefinable spark that made Harmon stores so special to so many shoppers.