Department store

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different
product categories known as "departments". In modern major cities, the department store made a
dramatic appearance in the middle of the 19th century, and permanently reshaped shopping habits,
and the definition of service and luxury. Similar developments were under way in London
(with Whiteleys), in Paris (Le Bon March in 1852) and in New York (with Stewart's).[1]
Department stores today have sections that sell the following: clothing, furniture, home appliances,
toys, cosmetics, houseware, gardening, toiletries, sporting goods, do it yourself, paint, and hardware
and additionally select other lines of products such as food, books, jewelry, electronics, stationery,
photographic equipment, baby products, and products for pets. Customers check out near the front
of the store or, alternatively, at sales counters within each department. Some are part of a retail
chain of many stores, while others may be independent retailers. In the 1970s, they came under
heavy pressure from discounters. Since 2010, they have come under even heavier pressure from
online stores such as Amazon.
Big-box stores, hypermarkets, and discount stores are modern equivalent of historical department
stores.
Contents
[hide]

1History
o

1.1Origins

1.2Britain

1.3France

1.4United States

1.4.1New York City

1.4.2Philadelphia

1.4.3Chicago
2Countries

2.1Argentina

2.2Australia

2.3Brazil

2.4Canada

2.5Chile

2.6China

2.7Hong Kong

2.8Colombia

2.9Cyprus

2.10Denmark

2.11El Salvador

2.12Finland

2.13France

2.14Germany

2.15India

2.16Indonesia

2.17Iran

2.18Ireland

2.19Israel

2.20Italy

2.21Japan

2.22Kuwait

2.23Lebanon

2.24Malaysia

2.25Mexico

2.26Nepal

2.27The Netherlands

2.28New Zealand

2.29Norway

2.30Paraguay

2.31Pakistan

2.32Panama

2.33Peru

2.34Philippines

2.35Portugal

2.36Puerto Rico

2.37Russia

2.38Singapore

2.39South Korea

2.40Spain

2.41Sweden

2.42Switzerland

2.43Taiwan

2.44Thailand

2.45Turkey

2.46United Kingdom

2.47United States

2.47.1Chains and variety stores

2.47.2Segmentation

2.47.3Salt Lake City

2.47.4Detroit

2.47.5Minneapolis

2.47.6Pittsburgh
3See also
3.1Major chains

4References

5Further reading

6External links

History[edit]

Interior of Le Bon March in Paris

Origins[edit]
The origins of the department store lay in the growth of the conspicuous consumer society at the
turn of the 19th century. As the Industrial Revolution accelerated economy expansion, the affluent
middle-class grew in size and wealth. This urbanized social group, sharing a culture of consumption
and changing fashion, was the catalyst for the retail revolution. As rising prosperity and social
mobility increased the number of people, especially women (who found they could shop
unaccompanied at department stores without damaging their reputation), [2] with disposable income in
the late Georgian period, window shopping was transformed into a leisure activity and
entrepreneurs, like the potter Josiah Wedgwood, pioneered the use of marketing techniques to
influence the prevailing tastes and preferences of society.[3]

One of the first department stores may have been Bennett's in Derby, first established as an
ironmongers in 1734.[4] It still stands to this day, trading in the same building. However, the first
reliably dated department store to be established, was Harding, Howell & Co, which opened in 1796
on Pall Mall, London.[5] An observer writing in Ackermann's Repository, a British periodical on
contemporary taste and fashion, described the enterprise in 1809 as follows:
The house is one hundred and fifty feet in length from front to back, and of proportionate width. It is
fitted up with great taste, and is divided by glazed partitions into four departments, for the various
branches of the extensive business, which is there carried on. Immediately at the entrance is the first
department, which is exclusively appropriated to the sale of furs and fans. The second contains
articles of haberdashery of every description, silks, muslins, lace, gloves, &etc. In the third shop, on
the right, you meet with a rich assortment of jewelry, ornamental articles in ormolu, french clocks,
&etc.; and on the left, with all the different kinds of perfumery necessary for the toilette. The fourth is
set apart for millinery and dresses; so that there is no article of female attire or decoration, but what
may be here procured in the first style of elegance and fashion. This concern has been conducted
for the last twelve years by the present proprietors who have spared neither trouble nor expense to
ensure the establishment of a superiority over every other in Europe, and to render it perfectly
unique in it's kind.[6]
This venture is described as having all of the basic characteristics of the department store; it was a
public retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different departments. This
pioneering shop was closed down in 1820 when the business partnership was dissolved.
Department stores began large scale establishment in the 1840s and 50s, in France, the UK, and
the US.

Britain[edit]

Lewis's Department Store, Liverpool

All the major British cities had flourishing department stores by the mid-or late nineteenth century.
Increasingly, women became the major shoppers and middle-class households. [7] Kendals (formerly
Kendal Milne & Faulkner) in Manchester lays claim to being one of the first department stores and is
still known to many of its customers as Kendal's, despite its 2005 name change to House of Fraser.
The Manchester institution dates back to 1836 but had been trading as Watts Bazaar since 1796.
[8]
At its zenith the store had buildings on both sides of Deansgate linked by a subterranean passage
"Kendals Arcade" and an art nouveau tiled food hall. The store was especially known for its

emphasis on quality and style over low prices giving it the nickname "the Harrods of the North",
although this was due in part to Harrods acquiring the store in 1919. Other large Manchester stores
included Paulden's (currently Debenhams) and Lewis's (now a Primark).
The Harrods business in London can be traced back to 1834, while the current store on Brompton
Road on a site they acquired in 1849, was constructed between 1894 and 1905. Gamages was
founded in London's High Holborn by Arthur Walter Gamage in 1878.
Bainbridge's (now owned by John Lewis) dates back to 1838, when Emerson Muschamp Bainbridge
went into partnership with William Alder Dunn and opened a drapersand fashion shop in Newcastle's
Market Street. In 1849 there were 23 separate departments, with weekly takings recorded by
department, making it the first proper department store in the world.[9] This ledger survives and is
now kept in the archives of the John Lewis Partnership.
By 1900, London, Glasgow and Liverpool were the three largest shopping centres in the country.
[10]
The company Lewis's started in Liverpool in 1856 and experimented with new ways of advertising
(such as flooding the basement of the Manchester store to create a mini Venice.) Lewis's built up the
largest chain of stores in the country, opening branches in Manchester (1877), Birmingham,
Glasgow, Leeds, Hanley, London, Blackpool, Bristol and Leicester.[11]

Selfridges nameboard

Selfridges was established in 1909 by American-born Harry Gordon Selfridge on Oxford Street. The
company's innovative marketing promoted the radical notion of shopping for pleasure rather than
necessity and its techniques were adopted by modern department stores the world over. The store
was extensively promoted through paid advertising. The shop floors were structured so that goods
could be made more accessible to customers. There were elegant restaurants with modest prices, a
library, reading and writing rooms, special reception rooms for French, German, American and
"Colonial" customers, a First Aid Room, and a Silence Room, with soft lights, deep chairs, and
double-glazing, all intended to keep customers in the store as long as possible. Staff members were
taught to be on hand to assist customers, but not too aggressively, and to sell the merchandise.
[12]
Selfridge attracted shoppers with educational and scientific exhibits; in 1909, Louis
Blriot's monoplane was exhibited at Selfridges (Blriot was the first to fly over the English Channel),
and the first public demonstration of television by John Logie Baird took place in the department
store in 1925.

In Scotland, Jenners was founded by Charles Jenner and Charles Kennington and has maintained
its position on Edinburgh's Princes Street since 1838. It lays claim to being the oldest independent
department store in Scotland.
In Northern Ireland, Austin's in Derry, was established as a department store in 1830,[13] and
according to some claims was the world's first department store. [14][15][16] The domineering building
measured 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2) and was five stories high with an Edwardian-style exterior.

France[edit]

"Au Bon March"

The Paris department store had its roots in the magasin de nouveauts, or novelty store; the first,
the Tapis Rouge, was created in 1784. They flourished in the early 19th century, with La Belle
Jardiniere (1824), Aux Trois Quartiers (1829), and Le Petit Saint Thomas (1830). Balzac described
their functioning in his novel Csar Birotteau. In the 1840s, with the arrival of the railroads in Paris
and the increased number of shoppers they brought, they grew in size, and began to have large
plate glass display windows, fixed prices and price tags, and advertising in newspapers. [17]
A novelty shop called Au Bon March had been founded in Paris in 1838 to sell lace, ribbons,
sheets, mattresses, buttons, umbrellas and other assorted goods. It originally had four departments,
twelve employees, and a floor space of three hundred meters. The entrepreneur Aristide
Boucicaut became a partner in 1852, and changed the marketing plan, instituting fixed prices and
guarantees that allowed exchanges and refunds, advertising, and a much wider variety of
merchandise. The annual income of the store increased from 500,000 francs in 1852 to five million in
1860. In 1869 he built much larger building at 24 rue de Svres on the Left Bank, and enlarged the
store again in 1872, with help from the engineering firm of Gustave Eiffel, creator of the Eiffel Tower.
The income rose from twenty million francs in 1870 to 72 million at the time of the Boucicaut's death
in 1877. The floor space had increased from three hundred square meters in 1838 to fifty thousand,
and the number of employees had increased from twelve in 1838 to 1788 in 1879. Boucicaut was
famous for his marketing innovations; a reading room for husbands while their wives shopped;
extensive newspaper advertising; entertainment for children; and six million catalogs sent out to
customers. By 1880 half the employees were women; unmarried women employees lived in
dormitories on the upper floors.[18]

Au Bon March soon had competitors. Printemps was founded in 1865; La Samaritaine was founded
in 1869 by Ernest Cognacq and Marie-Louise Jay, a new Tapis Rouge in 1867, La Ville de SaintDenis, with the first elevator in France (1869); La Paix; Les Nouvelles Galeries; Les Magasins
Dufayel (1890); the Bazaar de Hotel de Ville (BHV); and Galeries Lafayette, founded by Alphonse
Kahn in 1895.[19][20]
The French gloried in the national prestige brought by the great Parisian stores. [21] The great
writer mile Zola (18401902) set his novel Au Bonheur des Dames(188283) in the typical
department store. Zola represented it as a symbol of the new technology that was both improving
society and devouring it. The novel describes merchandising, management techniques, marketing,
and consumerism.[22]
The Grands Magasins Dufayel was a huge department store with inexpensive prices built in 1890 in
the northern part of Paris, where it reached a very large new customer base in the working class. In
a neighborhood with few public spaces, it provided a consumer version of the public square. It
educated workers to approach shopping as an exciting social activity not just a routine exercise in
obtaining necessities, just as the bourgeoisie did at the famous department stores in the central city.
Like the bourgeois stores, it helped transform consumption from a business transaction into a direct
relationship between consumer and sought-after goods. Its advertisements promised the opportunity
to participate in the newest, most fashionable consumerism at reasonable cost. The latest
technology was featured, such as cinemas and exhibits of inventions like X-ray machines (that could
be used to fit shoes) and the gramophone.[23]
Increasingly after 1870 the stores' work force became feminized, opening up prestigious job
opportunities for young women. Despite the low pay and long hours they enjoyed the exciting
complex interactions with the newest and most fashionable merchandise and upscale customers. [24]
By the 21st century, the grand Paris department stores had difficulty surviving in the new economic
world. In 2015, just four remained; Au Bon March, now owned by the luxury goods
firm LVMH; BHV; Galeries Lafayette and Printemps.

United States[edit]
New York City[edit]
Arnold, Constable was the first American department store. It was founded in 1825 by Aaron Arnold
(1794?-1876), an emigrant from Great Britain, as a small dry goods store on Pine Street in New York
City. In 1857 the store moved into a five-story white marble dry goods palace known as the Marble
House. During the Civil War Arnold, Constable was one of the first stores to issue charge bills of
credit to its customers each month instead of on a bi-annual basis. Recognized as an emporium for
high-quality fashions, the store soon outgrew the Marble House and erected a cast-iron building on
Broadway and Nineteenth Street in 1869; this Palace of Trade expanded over the years until it was
necessary to move into a larger space in 1914. In 1925, Arnold, Constable merged with Stewart &
Company and expanded into the suburbs, first with a 1937 store in New Rochelle, New York and
later in Hempstead and Manhasset on Long Island, and in New Jersey. Financial problems led to
bankruptcy in 1975.[25]

In New York City in 1846, Alexander Turney Stewart established the "Marble Palace" on Broadway,
between Chambers and Reade streets. He offered European retail merchandise at fixed prices on a
variety of dry goods, and advertised a policy of providing "free entrance" to all potential customers.
Though it was clad in white marble to look like a Renaissance palazzo, the building's cast
iron construction permitted large plate glass windows that permitted major seasonal displays,
especially in the Christmas shopping season. In 1862, Stewart built a new store on a full city block
with eight floors and nineteen departments of dress goods and furnishing materials, carpets, glass
and china, toys and sports equipment, ranged around a central glass-covered court. His innovations
included buying from manufacturers for cash and in large quantities, keeping his markup small and
prices low, truthful presentation of merchandise, the one-price policy (so there was no haggling),
simple merchandise returns and cash refund policy, selling for cash and not credit, buyers who
searched worldwide for quality merchandise, departmentalization, vertical and horizontal integration,
volume sales, and free services for customers such as waiting rooms and free delivery of purchases.
His innovations were quickly copied by other department stores.[26]
In 1858, Rowland Hussey Macy founded Macy's as a dry goods store. Benjamin Altman and Lord &
Taylor soon competed with Stewart as New York's earliest department stores, later followed by
"McCreary's" and, in Brooklyn, "Abraham & Straus." (The Straus family would be in the management
of both Macy's and A&S.)
By the 1880s New York's retail center had moved uptown, forming a stretch of retail shopping from
"Marble Palace" that was called the "Ladies' Mile". By Matt Haag stores competed in the Christmas
season with elaborate Christmas window displays; in 1895 Macy's featured 13 tableaux, including
scenes from Jack and the Beanstalk, Gulliver's Travels and other children's favorites. [27]
Philadelphia[edit]
In 1877, John Wanamaker opened the United State's first modern department store in a
former Pennsylvania Railroad freight terminal in Philadelphia. Wanamakers was the first department
store to offer fixed prices marked on every article and also introduced electrical illumination (1878),
the telephone (1879), and the use of pneumatic tubes to transport cash and documents (1880) to the
department store business.[28]Subsequent department stores founded in Philadelphia
included Strawbridge and Clothier, Gimbels, Lit Brothers, and Snellenbergs.
Chicago[edit]
Marshall Field & Company originated in 1852. It was the premier department store on the main
shopping street in the Midwest, State Street in Chicago.[29] Upscale shoppers came by train from
throughout the region, patronizing nearby hotels. It grew to become a major chain before converting
to the Macy's nameplate on 9 September 2006. Marshall Field's Served as a model for other
departments stores in that it had exceptional customer service. Field's also brought with it the now
famous Frango mints brand that became so closely identified with Marshall Field's and Chicago from
the now defunct Frederick & Nelson Department store. Marshall Field's also had the firsts, among
many innovations by Marshall Field's. Field's had the first European buying office, which was located
in Manchester, England, and the first bridal registry. The company was the first to introduce the
concept of the personal shopper, and that service was provided without charge in every Field's store,

until the chain's last days under the Marshall Field's name. It was the first store to offer revolving
credit and the first department store to use escalators. Marshall Field's book department in the State
Street store was legendary; it pioneered the concept of the "book signing." Moreover, every year at
Christmas, Marshall Field's downtown store windows were filled with animated displays as part of
the downtown shopping district display; the "theme" window displays became famous for their
ingenuity and beauty, and visiting the Marshall Field's windows at Christmas became a tradition for
Chicagoans and visitors alike, as popular a local practice as visiting the Walnut Room with its equally
famous Christmas tree or meeting "under the clock" on State Street.[30]
The Carson Pirie Scott brand is strongly associated with the historic Carson, Pirie, Scott and
Company Building designed by Louis Sullivan. It was built in 1899 for the retail firm Schlesinger &
Mayer, and expanded and sold to Carson Pirie Scott in 1904. The building, located on State Street in
Chicago's Loop, housed the chain's flagship store for more than a century before closing for good in
2007.[31] Target now occupies the building.

Countries[edit]
See also: List of department stores by country

Argentina[edit]
In Buenos Aires, upscale department stores came during the early years of the 20th century. Gath &
Chvez opened in 1905 and Harrods Buenos Aires was established in 1912. Today, the Chilean
department storeFalabella is one of the most prominent in the country, with branches in Buenos
Aires, Crdoba, San Juan, Mendoza, and Rosario. Falabella is one of the most popular stores in
Argentina today.

Australia[edit]

Myer's flagship store in Melbourne's Bourke Street Mall in Downtown.

David Jones was started by David Jones, a Welsh merchant who met Hobart businessman Charles
Appleton in London. Appleton established a store in Sydney in 1825 and Jones subsequently
established a partnership with Appleton, moved to Australia in 1835, and the Sydney store became
known as Appleton & Jones. When the partnership was dissolved in 1838, Jones moved his
business to premises on the corner of George Street and Barrack Lane, Sydney.[32] David Jones
claims to be the oldest department store in the world still trading under its original name. [33]
Although there were a number of department stores in Australia for much of the 20th Century,
including chains such as Grace Bros. and Waltons, many disappeared during the 1980s and 1990s.
Today Myer and David Jones, located nationally, are practically the national department
stores duopoly in Australia. When Russian-born migrant, Sidney Myer, came to Australia in 1899 he
formed the Myer retail group with his brother, Elcon Myer. In 1900, they opened the first Myer
department store, in Bendigo, Victoria. Since then, the Myer retail group has grown to be Australia's
largest retailer. Both, Myer and David Jones, are up-market chains, offering a wide variety of
products from mid-range names to luxury brands. Other retail chain stores such as Target (unrelated
to the American chain of the same name), Venture (now defunct), Kmart and Big W, also located
nationally, are considered to be Australia's discount department stores. Harris Scarfe, though only
operating in four states and one territory, is a department store using both the large full-line and
small discount department store formats. Most department stores in Australia have their own credit
card companies, each having their own benefits while the discount department stores do not have
their own credit card rights.

Brazil[edit]

Extra in Rio de Janeiro.

The largest Brazilian department stores are: Carrefour, Po de Acar, Extra and Lojas Americanas.
As of April 2010, Wal-Mart operates 64 Super-Bompreo stores, 33 Hyper-Bompreo stores. It also
runs 45 Wal-Mart Supercenters, 24 Sam's Club stores, and 101 Todo Dia stores. With the acquisition
of Bompreo and Sonae, Walmart was in 2010 the third largest supermarket chain in Brazil, behind
Carrefour and Po de Acar.

The Bay in Vancouver

Canada[edit]
From its origins in the fur trade, the Hudson's Bay Company is the oldest corporation in North
America and was the largest department store operator in Canada until the mid-1980s, with
locations across the country.[34] It also previously owned Zellers, another major Canadian department
store which ceased to exist in March 2013 after selling its lease holdings to Target Canada. Other
department stores in Canada are: Canadian Tire, Sears Canada, Ogilvy, Les Ailes de la Mode, Giant
Tiger, Co-op, Costco and Holt Renfrew. Grocery giant Superstores carry many non-grocery items
akin to a department store. Woolco had 160 stores in Canada when operations ceased
(Walmart bought out Woolco in 1994). Today low-price Walmart is by far the most dominant
department store retailer in Canada with outlets throughout the country.[35] Historically, department
stores were a significant component in Canadian economic life, and chain stores such as Eaton's,
[36]
Charles Ogilvy Limited, Freiman's, Spencer's, Simpsons, Morgan's, andWoodward's were staples
in their respective communities. Department stores in Canada are similar in design and style to
department stores in the United States.[37]
In northern or isolated communities The North West Company (named after the historical North West
Company fur trade company) operates smaller department stores.
Before the 1950s, the department store held an eminent place in both Canada and Australia, during
both the Great Depression and World War II. Since then, they have suffered from strong competition
from specialist stores. Most recently the competition has intensified with the advent of larger-scale
superstores (Jones et al. 1994; Merrilees and Miller 1997). Competition was not the only reason for
the department stores' weakening strength; the changing structure of cities also affected them. The
compact and centralized 19th century city with its mass transit lines converging on the downtown
was a perfect environment for department store growth. But as residents moved out of the downtown
areas to the suburbs, the large, downtown department stores became inconvenient and lost

business to the newer suburban shopping malls. In 2003, U.S. department store sales were
surpassed by big-box store sales for the first time[38] (though some stores may be classified as "big
box" by physical layout and "department store" by merchandise).

Chile[edit]
Albeit relatively small, the domestic Chilean retail market has proved fiercely competitive with
several department stores sprouting in Santiago and then expanding north and south of the country.
Leading department stores today include Falabella, Ripley, Almacenes Pars, La Polar,
and Johnson's. Falabella, founded in 1889, has opened branches in Argentina, Colombia, and Peru,
with Pars -its main Chilean competitor- coming on its heels.

China[edit]
Since the opening policy in 1979, the Chinese department stores also develops swiftly along with the
fast-growing economy.[39] There are different department store groups dominating different regions.
For example, INTIME department store has the biggest market presence in Zhejiang province, while
Jinying department stores dominate Jiangsu Province. Besides, there are many other department
store groups, such as Pacific, Parkson, WangfujingNew Worldetc., many of them are expanding
quickly by listing in the financial market.[40]

Hong Kong[edit]
The first department stores Lane Crawford was opened in 1850[41] by Scots Thomas Ash Lane and
Ninian Crawford on Des Voeux Road, Hong Kong Island. At the beginning, the store mainly catered
visiting ships' crews as well as British Navy staff and their families. In 1900, the first ethnic-Chinese
owned Sincere Department Store was opened by Ma Ying Piu, who returned from Australia and
inspired by David Jones. In 1907, another former Hong Kong expatriate in Australia, the Kwok's
family, returned to Hong Kong and founded Wing On.
Since the 1960s, a number of Japanese owned department stores started to enter the Hong Kong
market, Daimaru was opened in the corner of Great George Street and Paterson Street in 1960,
followed byMatsuzakaya, Isetan, Seibu, Sogo and Yaohan. Yaohan was taken over by JUSCO in
1990s and later become on.

Colombia[edit]
In Colombia, upscale department store came during the middle of the 20th century when SEARS
entered the country. Today, the Chilean department store Falabella is one of the most prominent in
the country, with branches in Barranquilla, Cali, Bogota, Medellin, Pereira and Bucaramanga.
Falabella is one of the most popular stores in Colombia today.

Cyprus[edit]
The most famous department store chain in Cyprus is Debenhams (former Woolworths).

Denmark[edit]
In Denmark you find three department store chains: Magasin (1868), Illum (1891), Salling (1906).
Magasin is by far the largest with 6 stores all over the country, with the flagship store being Magasin
du Nord on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. Illums only store on Amagertorv in Copenhagen has
the appearance of a department store with 20% run by Magasin, but has individual shop owners
making it a shopping centre. But in people's mind it remains a department store. Salling has two
stores in Jutland with one of these being the reason for the closure of a magasin store due to the
competition.

El Salvador[edit]

SIMAN

Carrion

Sears

Sanborns

Finland[edit]
The most famous department store chains in Finland are Stockmann, a listed company, and Sokos,
owned by a nationwide retailing cooperative. The Stockmann department store in central Helsinki is
the biggest department store in the Nordic countries and a famous landmark of Helsinki.

France[edit]
France's major upscale department stores are Galeries Lafayette and Le Printemps, which both
have flagship stores on Boulevard Haussmann in Paris and branches around the country. The first
department store in France, Le Bon March in Paris, was founded in 1852 and is now owned by
the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH. La Samaritaine, another upscale department store also
owned by LVMH, closed in 2005. Mid-range department stores chains also exist in France such as
the BHV (Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville), part of the same group as Galeries Lafayette.

Germany[edit]
The design and function of department stores in Germany followed the lead of London, Paris and
New York.[21] Germany used to have a number of department stores; nowadays only a few of them
remain. Next to some smaller, independent department stores these are Karstadt (in 2010 taken
over by Nicolas Berggruen, also operating the KaDeWe in Berlin, the Alsterhaus in Hamburg and
the Oberpollinger in Munich), GALERIA Kaufhof (part of the Metro AG). Others
like Hertie, Wertheim and Horten AG were taken over by others and either fully integrated or later
closed.
Some department stores only sell clothing. The biggest clothing department store chain is C&A.

Larger department stores in Germany usually contain a self-service restaurant, clothing

departments, a toy department, a department for computer and electronics, a small book department
(for bestsellers), a department for newspapers and magazines and a food department (like a
supermarket).

Big Bazaar along with McDonalds restaurant at Ahmedabad, India.

One of the most famous department stores in Germany is the Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe,
German for "department store of the west") which is located in Berlin.

India[edit]
In India, companies like Big Bazaar, Shopper's Stop, Pantaloon, Ezone, Reliance Fresh and DMart are[when?] entering into retail.[39]
Small time department stores or convenience stores as they are better known in most western
countries are also upcoming.[when?] Although these stores are much bigger in size than a usual-size
convenience store in, e.g., the US, they are much smaller than a regular-sized department store.
Examples include Sabka Bazaar, Big Apple,Spencer's and Dailymart. India's LULU hypermarket is
considered[by whom?] as one of the biggest shopping stores in Asia.

Indonesia[edit]
Indonesia's largest department store chain is Ramayana with over ninety branches across the
country. The same group also operates under Robinsons, all targeting the lower income sectors.
Other local department store positioned for lower-middle segment is Matahari, now owned by Lippo
Group. The group previously managed to trade underMega M, Galeria, JC
Penney, Parisian and Walmart brands, all of which have been progressively closed.
The middle up segment is mainly occupied by Metro Department Store originated from Singapore
and Sogo from Japan. 2007 saw the re-opening of Jakarta's Seibu, poised to be the largest and
second most upscale department store in Indonesia after Harvey Nichols, which the latter closed in
2010 and yet plans to return. Other international department stores include Debenhams and Marks
& Spencer. Galeries Lafayette also joins the Indonesian market in 2013 inside Pacific Place Mall.
This department store is targeting middle up market with price range from affordable to luxury,

poised to be the largest upscale department store. Galeries Lafayette, Debenhams, Harvey Nichols,
Marks & Spencer, Seibu and Sogo are all operated by PT. Mitra Adiperkasa.
Central Group from Thailand enters Indonesia replacing Harvey Nichols at Jakarta's Grand
Indonesia, bringing its flagship Central brand. Its entry gained success in Indonesian market, by
bringing Thailand-based fashion and living brands. Parkson, Lotte, and AEON also enters Indonesia
in 2010s respectively.
Parkson enters by acquiring local brand Centro Department Store in 2011. Centro still operates for
middle market while the 'Parkson' brand itself, positioned for middle-up segment, enters in 2014 by
opening its first store in Medan, followed by its second store in Jakarta. [42] Lotte, meanwhile, enters
the market by inking partnership with Ciputra Group, creating what its called 'Lotte Shopping Avenue'
inside the Ciputra World Jakarta complex, as well as acquiring Makro and rebranding it into Lotte
Mart.
AEON also inks partnership with Sinarmas Land, and they will open its flagship store inside
its AEON Mall in Sinar Mas Land's flagship BSD City on 30 May 2015.[43] Plans to open AEON Mall
and its AEON Department Store in Jakarta Garden City, Sentul City and Kota Deltamas has been
announced.
Other local department store brands includes STAR Department Store, Surya, Suzuya Department
Store, JM Department Store, Java/Lotus(PT. Mitra Adiperkasa's low-end dept store brand), The
Grand Palace, Yogya, Lima Cahaya, Chandra Department Store, Galeri Keris, Pasaraya and
Indonesia's oldest department store Sarinah, which opened in 1963.

Iran[edit]
Iran's largest department store chain is Shahrvand with 31 stores, all located in Tehran. The other
department store that has been established lately is Hyperstar that invested by MafCarrefour group,
in Tehran,Shiraz and Isfahan.

Ireland[edit]
Ireland developed a strong middle class, especially in the major cities, by the mid-nineteenth
century. They were active patrons of department stores.[44] Delany's New Mart was opened in 1853
in Dublin, Ireland. Unlike others, Delany's had not evolved gradually from a smaller shop on site.
Thus it could claim to be the first purpose-built Department Store in the world. The word department
store had not been invented at that time and thus it was called the "Monster House". The store was
completely destroyed in the 1916 Easter Rising, but reopened in 1922.[45]
Arnotts is one of the largest stores in Ireland. However, several large retailers now own chains of
department stores, such as:

Brown Thomas

Debenhams

Dunnes Stores

Marks & Spencer

The most upmarket chain is undoubtedly Brown Thomas (known colloquially as BT), founded as a
haberdasher's in 1849 on Dublin's Grafton Street. The company (which belongs to the same group
as the UK'sSelfridges or Canada's Holt Renfrew) bought its long-time competitor across the street,
Switzers, in 1995. BT then moved to the larger site. It also acquired and re-branded the former
Switzer stores in Cork (formerly Cash's), Limerick (formerly Todd's) and Galway (formerly Moon's). [46]
The British department store, Debenhams, purchased the Roches Stores chain in 2006, closed two
stores and rebranded the others. The opening of Dundrum Town Centre in Dublin's suburbs saw the
arrival of two more British stores, House of Fraser and Harvey Nichols. The Woolworth chain store
has been a major presence since the early twentieth century.[47]

Israel[edit]
The oldest and largest department store chain in Israel is Hamashbir Lazarchan.

Italy[edit]
Italy's most famous department stores are Coin, established in Mirano, Venice in 1926 and La
Rinascente, founded in Milan in 1865 by Luigi and Ferdinando Bocconi.

Japan[edit]
Main article: Department stores in Japan
Some of the largest department stores in Japan include Daimaru (J. Front Retailing), Hankyu (H2O
Retailing), Hanshin (H2O Retailing), Isetan (Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings), Marui, Matsuzakaya (J.
Front Retailing),Matsuya, Mitsukoshi (Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings), Printemps Ginza, Seibu (7&i
Holdings), Sogo (7&i Holdings), Takashimaya, Tobu, and Tokyu (109). Many are owned and
operated in conjunction with private railway companies. Recently, business integration has been
successive.[48]

Kuwait[edit]
One of the oldest and biggest Department stores in Kuwait is Union Trading Company also known
as UTC, Operating 17 retail outlets across the country, and offers a wide selection of imported
international brands in Fashion & Apparel, Perfumery, Cosmetics, Accessories, Homeware,
Houseware, Electronics, Appliances and Food. Recently one of the most well known high-end
clothing department stores wise in Kuwait is Villa Moda. Co-op society stores are department stores
put up by the government.

Lebanon[edit]
The history of department stores in Lebanon dates back to 1900 when Orozdi-Back, a department
store that was founded by a French businessman of Hungarian origin, [49] opened a branch in Beirut.
[50]
By the mid-twentieth century, Beirut had become the luxury department store of the Near East.
[51]
Beirut remains a shopping magnet in the region with shoppers from
neighboring Levantine countries, heading to Beirut to shop.[52]
Department stores in Lebanon include today ABC Group, Bazar de l'Htel de Ville, The Sultan
Center, Ashti and Spinneys.

Malaysia[edit]
In Malaysia, companies such as Jusco, Parkson, Metrojaya, The Store, Isetan, Marks &
Spencer, Robinson & Co., Debenhams, and Tangs are considered department stores, while retail
brands such as Tesco, Giant, and Carrefour are discount department stores combined with
supermarkets.[39]

Flagship branch of Dutch department store De Bijenkorf in Amsterdam.

Mexico[edit]
Mexico has a large number of department stores based in Mexico, of which the most traditional
are El Palacio de Hierro (High end and luxury goods) and Liverpool (Upper-middle income), with its
middle income sister store Fabricas de Francia. Sanborns owns over 100 middle income level stores
throughout the country. Grupo Carso operatesSears Mexico and two high-end Saks 5th
Avenue stores. Other large chains are Coppel and Elektra, which offer items for the bargain price
seeker. Wal-Mart operates Suburbiafor lower income shoppers, along with stores under the brand
names of Wal-Mart, Bodega Aurrera, and Superama.
The first two conglomerates have a very strong mark in the country, and particularly in Mexico City.
Foreign chains such as J. C. Penney had previously entered the Mexican market, but they failed to
gain popularity. Sears likewise had little success, after it opened its first department store in Mexico
City in 1947.[53]

Nepal[edit]
Bluebird is the first Department store in Nepal and BhatBhateni is currently the largest chain of
Department stores with several of its stores all over the country.

The Netherlands[edit]
The most well-known department stores in The Netherlands are De Bijenkorf, HEMA and V&D. The
strongest lines have always been clothing.[54]

New Zealand[edit]
The iconic department stores of New Zealand's three major centres are Smith & Caughey's (founded
1880), in New Zealand's most populous city, Auckland; Kirkcaldie & Stains (founded 1863) in the
capital,Wellington; and Ballantynes (founded 1854) in New Zealand's second biggest city,
Christchurch. These offer high-end and luxury items. Additionally, Arthur Barnett (1903) operates
in Dunedin. H & J Smith is a small chain operating throughout Southland with a large flagship store
in Invercargill. Farmers is a mid-range national chain of stores (originally a mail-order firm known
as Laidlaw Leeds founded in 1909). Historical department stores include DIC. Discount chains
include The Warehouse, Kmart Australia, and the now-defunct DEKA.

Norway[edit]
In Norway, most department stores are located in Oslo. The most known are Christiania
Glasmagasin, Steen & Strm, hlns, House of Oslo and Illums

Paraguay[edit]
Monalisa (1972)[55] is a department store in Paraguay. Has a vast variety of luxury and high end
brands, all in one department store. With a wine cellar with over 100,000 wine bottles, majority from
France, then Spain and Italy.

Pakistan[edit]
Lahore boasts H. Karim Buksh, Jalal sons and Potpourri stores with branches throughout the cities
commercial areas. Many urban centers of Pakistan now have large and spacious Metro Cash and
Carry or Hyperstar stores.[39]

Panama[edit]
Panama's first department stores such as Bazaar Francs, La Dalia and La Villa de Paris started as
textile retailers at the turn of the nineteenth century. Later on in the twentieth century these
eventually gave way to stores such as Felix B. Maduro, Sarah Panam, Figali, Dant, Sears, Gran
Morrison and smaller ones such as Bon Bini, Cocos, El Lider, Piccolo and Clubman among others.
Of these only Felix B. Maduro (usually referred to as Felix by locals) and Dant remain strong. All

the others have either folded or declined although Cocos has managed to secure a good position in
the market.

The SM Department Store became one of the top retail centers in the Philippines.

Today major department stores aside from these two include Steven's and Collin's. There are also
many discount department stores such as Conway which includes a furniture and decoration
department named Conway Design, La Onda, Dorian's, Saks, Madison Store and El Titan among
others.

Peru[edit]
Peru start with department stores in the 19th century, with the arrival of Oechsle in 1888, then came
other stores like Sears in 1947, Saga Falabella in 1955, among others. Currently the largest
department stores are: Saga Falabella, Oechsle, Paris SA and Ripley.

Philippines[edit]
The first department store in the Philippines is the Hoskyn's Department Store of Hoskyn & Co.
established in 1877 in Iloilo by the Englishman Henry Hoskyn, nephew of Nicholas Loney, the first
British vice-consul in Iloilo.[56] Some of the earliest department stores in the Philippines were located
in Manila as early as 1898 with the opening of the American Bazaar, which was later named Beck's.
During the course of the American occupation of the Philippines, many department stores were built
throughout the city, many of which were located in Escolta. Heacock's, a luxury department store,
was considered as the best department store in the Orient. Other department stores included
Aguinaldo's, La Puerta del Sol, Estrella del Norte, and the Crystal Arcade, all of which were
destroyed during the Battle of Manila in 1945. After the war, department stores were once again alive
with the establishment of Shoemart (now SM), and Rustan's. Since the foundation of these
companies in the 1950s, there are now more than one hundred department stores to date. At
present, due to the huge success of shopping malls, department stores in the Philippines usually are
anchor tenants within malls. SM Supermalls and Robinsons Malls are two of the country's most
prominent mall chains, all of which has Department Store sections.

Portugal[edit]
The traditional and century old department stores Armazns Grandella (established in 1891) and
Grandes Armazns do Chiado (established in 1894) closed after their main buildings being
destroyed in the Chiado's great fire on 25 August 1988.
Currently Portugal has only two department stores, both operated by El Corte Ingls, one in Lisbon
Metropolitan Area, other in Porto Metropolitan Area. This small number of department stores can be
explained by the widespread presence throughout the country of shopping malls and supermarket
chains like Continente, owned by Sonae, Intermarch and Pingo Doce owned by Jernimo
Martins which are more akin to the local taste.

Puerto Rico[edit]
In Puerto Rico, various department stores have operated, such as Sears, JC
Penney, Macy's, Kmart, Wal-Mart, Marshalls, Burlington Coat Factory, T.J. Maxx, Costco, Sam's
Club and others. La New York was a Puerto Rican department store. Topeka, Capri and Pitusa are
competitors on the Puerto Rican market that also have hypermarkets operating under their names.
Retailers Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue also have plans to come to the Mall of San Juan, a new
high-end retail project with over 100 tenants. The mall is set to open in March 2015.

Russia[edit]
See also: GUM (department store)

Within the renovated Passage, 1902.

The site where the Saint Petersburg Passage sprawls had been devoted to trade since the city's
foundation in the early 18th century. It had been occupied by various shops and warehouses
(Maly Gostiny Dvor, Schukin Dvor, Apraksin Dvor) until 1846, when Count Essen-Stenbock-Fermor
acquired the grounds to build an elite shopping mall for the Russian nobility and wealthy
bourgeoisie. Stenbock-Fermor conceived of the Passage as more than a mere shopping mall, but
also as a cultural and social centre for the people of St Petersburg. The edifice contained coffeehouses, confectioneries, panorama installations, an anatomical museum, a wax museum, and even

a small zoo, described by Dostoyevsky in his extravaganza "Crocodile, or Passage through the
Passage". The concert hall became renowned as a setting for literary readings attended by the likes
of Dostoevsky and Turgenev. Parenthetically, the Passage premises have long been associated with
the entertainment industry and still remains home to theKomissarzhevskaya Theatre.
Socialism confronted consumerism in the chain State Department Stores (GUM), set up by Lenin in
1921 as a model retail enterprise. It operated stores throughout Russia and targeted consumers
across class, gender, and ethnic lines. GUM was designed to advance the Bolsheviks' goals of
eliminating private enterprise and rebuilding consumerism along socialist lines, as well as
democratizing consumption for workers and peasants nationwide. GUM became a major
propaganda purveyor, with advertising and promotional campaigns that taught Russians the goals of
the regime and attempted to inculcate new attitudes and behavior. In trying to create a socialist
consumer culture from scratch, GUM recast the functions and meanings of buying and selling,
turning them into politically charged acts that could either contribute to or delay the march toward
utopian communism. By the late 1920s, however, GUM's gandiose goals had proven unrealistic and
largely alienated consumers, who instead learned a culture of complaint and entitlement. GUM's
main function became one of distributing whatever the factories sent them, regardless of consumer
demand or quality.[57]
In the 21st century the most famous department store in Russia is GUM in Moscow, followed
by TsUM and the Petrovsky Passage. Other popular stores are Mega (shopping malls), Stockmann,
and Marks & Spencer. Media Markt, M-video, Technosila, and White Wind (Beliy Veter) sell large
number of electronic devices. In St. Petersburg The Passage has been popular since the 1840s.
1956 Soviet film Behind Store Window ( ) on YouTube depicts operation of
a Moscow department store in 1950's.

Singapore[edit]
Most department stores are clustered around Orchard Road in Singapore. The most well-known
department stores in Singapore are BHG (formally known as Seiyu), Isetan, John Little, Marks &
Spencer, Metro,Mustafa, OG, Robinson & Co., Takashimaya and Tangs. Some of their branch
outlets can also be found in the sub-urban shopping malls.

South Korea[edit]
The five most prevalent chains are Lotte, Hyundai, Shinsegae, Galleria, AK plaza. Lotte Department
Store is the largest, operating more than 40 stores (include outlet, young plaza, foreign
branches). Hyundai Department Store has about 14 stores (13dept, 1outlet), and there are 10 stores
in Shinsegae. Shinsegae has 3 outlet store with Simon. Galleria has 5, AK has 5
stores. Galleriaeast and west is well known by luxury goods. These five department stores are
known to people as representative corporations in the field of distirution in South Korea. From
fashion items to electric appliances, people can buy various kinds of products. Every weekend,
people are fond of going around these department stores, because their location is usually easy to
visit. As of 2010 the Shinsegae department store in Centum City, Busan, is the largest department
store in the world.[58][59]

Spain[edit]
The first department store in Spain was Almacenes el Siglo opened in October 1881 in Barcelona.
Following the 2002 closure by the Australian group Partridges of their SEPU (Sociedad Espaola de
Precios Unicos) department store chain, which was one of Spain's oldest, the market is now
dominated by El Corte Ingls, founded in 1934 as a drapery store. El Corte Ingls stores tend to be
vast buildings, selling a very broad range of products and the group also controls a number of other
retail formats including supermarket chain 'Supercor' and hypermarket chain 'Hipercor'. Other
competitors such as 'Simago' and 'Galeras Preciados' closed in the 1990s, however El Corte Ingls,
faces major competition from French discount operators such as Carrefour and Auchan.[60]

Sweden[edit]
The largest department store chain in Sweden is hlns, which operates stores throughout the
country. Its flagship Stockholm store, hlns City, is the largest department store in Sweden. Other
large stores areNordiska Kompaniet in Stockholm and Gothenburg, and PUB in Stockholm (closed
in 2015).[61]

Switzerland[edit]
The Swiss retail market is dominated by two consumers' cooperatives, Migros and Coop, which also
run department stores. Migros operates 12 upscale Globus department stores and 34 mid-range
Migros MMM centers across the country. Since the acquisitions of EPA in 2002, Coop operates its
mid-range department stores under the brand Coop City. Manor operates department stores
throughout the country. Jelmoli and Loeb operate upscale department stores
in Zurich and Bern respectively.

Taiwan[edit]
Notable department store chains in Taiwan include Shin Kong Mitsukoshi (13 branches), Far Eastern
Department Stores (10 branches), Pacific Sogo (9 branches), Uni-President Hankyu (2 branches),
Pacific Department Store (2 branches), Dayeh Takashimaya (1 branch) and Ming Yao Department
Store (1 branch). Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, Pacific Sogo, Uni-President Hankyu and Dayeh
Takashimaya were established as joint ventures between Taiwanese companies and Japanese
department store chains.

Thailand[edit]
Central Chidlom, which is two of the Central Department Stores is the oldest in Thailand, being
established in 1947.
The Siam Center which opened in 1973, is known to be one of the oldest department store in
Bangkok Thailand .

The most popular department stores in Thailand are Central Department Store which are managed
by Central Group. These are the list of department stores in Thailand

Central Department Store has 14 branches (2012)[62]

Zen Department Store 1 branch 2 under construction (2011)

The Mall Group has 9 branches (2010)

Paragon Department Store has 1 branch (located in Siam Paragon) (2010)

Emporium Department Store has 1 branch (located in Emporium Shopping Mall) (2010)

Robinson Department Store has 22 branches (a division of the Central Group) (2010)

The Center has 1 branch (a division of Tesco Lotus) (2010)

Diana Department Store has 3 branches (2010)

Turkey[edit]
While many shopping malls opened in Turkey since 2000, department stores are located inside the
malls. YKM, Boyner and zdilek are main department stores in Turkey. While Boyner and YKM
takes places in malls zdilek generally builds its own building near popular spots.

United Kingdom[edit]
Most of the early department stores in London started out as small drapery stores which bought up
neighbouring stores and increased their range of products.

The exterior of Harrods in London.

Fortnum & Mason (colloquially often shortened to just Fortnum's) is a department store
situated in central London was established in 1707 by William Fortnum and Hugh Mason. It was
originally founded as a grocery store.

The UK's first purpose-built department store was Compton House, Liverpool, completed in
1867 for the retailer J.R. Jeffrey, to replace a previous building which had burned down in 1865.
[63]
It was probably the largest in the world at the time. [64] It is occupied today by Marks & Spencer.

Allders of Croydon founded in 1862 by Joshua Allder was the flagship of a large chain of
department stores in the UK. The chain went into administration in 2005. The Croydon store was
taken over by Harold Tillman of Jaeger trading as Allders but went into administration in June
2012.

Whiteleys in Westbourne Grove was first to grow to department store size. By 1867 it
consisted of 17 departments and by 1890 it was operating in a purposely built department store
and had over 6,000 staff employed in the business.

Barkers of Kensington can be defined as a department store by 1880, when it encompassed

15 neighbouring stores, and in 1889 the company moved into a new, large building. It was taken
over by House of Fraser in 1957 and closed for business in 2006.

Peter Jones in Sloane Square had grown to department store size by 1890.

Harrods was reborn as a proper department store in 1889, after a devastating fire in 1883.

John Lewis

Selfridges was opened in 1909 by the American entrepreneur Harry Gordon Selfridge, and
thus became London's seventh department store.

House of Fraser owns and operates several department stores across the UK.

Harvey Nichols of Sloane Street, Knightsbridge is Harrods' closest competitor.

Debenhams is one of the UK's most popular department stores.

Bentalls in Kingston upon Thames was rebuilt in the late 1980s with the impressive AstonWebb facade retained as the frontage for the new Bentall Shopping Centre.

Fenwick (department store) was founded in 1882 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Its flagship
Newcastle store is one of the largest department stores in the country. The company is still
family owned and is one of the largest independent department store chains in the country.

Williams & Griffin in Colchester, Essex. (Now owned by Fenwick, but the Williams and Griffin
brand, premises and logotype remain independent)

John Lewis Newcastle (formerly Bainbridge) in Newcastle upon Tyne, is the world's oldest
Department Store. It is still known to many of its customers as Bainbridge, despite the name change
to 'John Lewis'. The Newcastle institution dates back to 1838 when Emerson Muschamp Bainbridge,
aged 21, went into partnership with William Alder Dunn and opened a draper's and fashion in Market
Street, Newcastle. In terms of retailing history, one of the most significant facts about the Newcastle
Bainbridge shop, is that as early as 1849 weekly takings were recorded by department, making it the

earliest of all department stores.[1] This ledger survives and is kept in the John Lewis archives. John
Lewis bought the Bainbridge store in 1952.
John Lewis Newcastle retained its original name of Bainbridge until 2002, when the store was
rebranded as John Lewis Newcastle.
Also, Kendals in Manchester can lay claim to being one of the oldest department stores in the UK.
Beginning as a small shop owned by S. and J. Watts in 1796, its sold a variety of goods. Kendal
Milne and Faulkner purchased the business in 1835. Expanding the space, rather than use it as a
typical warehouse simply to showcase textiles, it became a vast bazaar. Serving Manchester's
upmarket clientele for over 200 years, it was taken over by House of Fraser and recently rebranded
as House of Fraser Manchester although most Mancunians still refer to it as Kendals. The Kendal
Milne signage still remains over the main entrance to the art deco building in the city's Deansgate.
In Edinburgh, Jenners saw a similar development. It starting as a drapery store in 1838, which by
1890 had grown into Scotland's largest retail store by gobbling up all the small stores in the
neighbourhood. In 1895, after a devastating fire, a new ultra-modern building opened, with lavish
electrical lighting, hydraulic lifts and air conditioning. Four hours after the grand opening, 25,000
people had already visited the store.
In the UK the term "department store" still refers to the traditional, classic department store, which
has a wide range of independent departments with their own staff and their own tills. Large discount
stores with the tills located by the entrance are not regarded as department stores in the UK,
although the owners may call them that. Such stores as Marks & Spencer, Britain's largest clothes
retailer would therefore not be included in the British definition of a department store.
See also List of department stores of the United Kingdom

United States[edit]
Historian William H. Young emphasizes the impressive architecture of the department stores, which
dominated the downtown retail shopping district:
Architecturally, these multifloored "palaces of consumption" often featured ornate cast-iron
facades with vast, open interiors. At times they boasted fanciful domes and skylights that
flooded the interiors with natural light in the days before electrification. Plate-glass windows
on the street level allowed elaborate displays of the treasures within, thus making "window
shopping" a new urban leisure activity. Since the store itself was palatial, this focus on
display created an atmosphere. It produced the proper environment for purveying goods that
were seen as marks of achievement instead of necessities. Everything was ready-made;
rather than bolts of cloth, here were racks of dresses. These were items for instant use, for
immediate gratification.[65]
All major cities have their distinctive local department stores, which anchored the downtown
shopping district until the arrival of the malls in the 1960s.[66] Washington, for example, after 1887
had Woodward & Lothrop and Garfinckel's starting in 1905. Garfield's went bankrupt in 1990, as

did Woodward & Lothrop in 1994.[67] Baltimore had four major department stores: Hutzler's was
the prestige leader, followed by Hecht's, Hochschild's and Stewart's. They all operated branches
in the suburbs, but all closed in the late twentieth century.[68] By 2015, most locally owned
department stores around the country had been consolidated into larger chains, or had closed
down entirely.[69][70]
Chains and variety stores[edit]
Chain department stores grew rapidly after 1920, and provided competition for the downtown
upscale department stores, as well as local department stores in small cities. J. C. Penney had
four stores in 1908, 312 in 1920, and 1452 in 1930. Sears, Roebuck & Company, a giant mailorder house, opened its first eight retail stores in 1925, and operated 338 by 1930, and 595 by
1940.[71] The chains reached a middle-class audience, that was more interested in value than in
upscale fashions. Sears was a pioneer in creating department stores that catered to men as well
as women, especially with lines of hardware and building materials. It deemphasized the latest
fashions in favor of practicality and durability, and allowed customers to select goods without the
aid of a clerk. Its stores were oriented to motorists set apart from existing business districts
amid residential areas occupied by their target audience; had ample, free, off-street parking; and
communicated a clear corporate identity. In the 1930s, the company designed fully airconditioned, "windowless" stores whose layout was driven wholly by merchandising concerns. [72]
An even more popular level, were the Variety stores, especially the dime stores, led by
Woolworth, Kresge, and Kress. They operated over 4200 stores in 1930. By the 21st century,
the dime store disappeared and the niche of low-cost, high turnover merchandise was taken
over by the dollar stores.[73]
The 2000s have seen a worldwide decline with the rise of e-commerce. The number of
companies operating department stores dropped from 95 (operating 9,969 stores) in 2006 to 68
(operating 9,456 stores) in 2013.[74]
Segmentation[edit]

The Macy's flagship department store in New York City with its famous brownstone at 34th and Broadway.

Department stores tend to target different socio-economic and geographic segments:

Upscale: Barneys New York,[75] Bergdorf Goodman, Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdale's,
[75]
Dillard's[76] Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus,[75] Nordstrom,[75]

Middle-market: Macy's,[75] Carson Pirie Scott, Century 21 (department store)[citation needed] Von
Maur

Regional: Belk, Boscov's, The Bon-Ton

Down-market/Suburban: JC Penney,[75] Kohl's,[75] Sears

Discount department stores: Target, Kmart, Wal-Mart, Meijer

T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, Ross, and Burlington Coat Factory are stores that sell designer goods
at lower prices, often on a surplus basis.

Stores that carry a general line of groceries and other product lines similar to those of
department stores are considered warehouse clubs or supercenters. Warehouse clubs require a
nominal annual membership fee, while supercenters do not. Costco, BJ's Wholesale Club,
and Sam's Club are examples of warehouse clubs.
Further information: List of department stores of the United States
Salt Lake City[edit]
On 1 March 1869, Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution opened in Salt Lake City as a new
community store that became the first incorporated department store in America in 1870. A new
3-story brick and iron store was built in 1876, noted for its unique architecture and striped
awnings. This store was replaced by an enclosed shopping center in 1973, and the new Zion
department store preserved the gilt-edged ornate facade of the old structure. [77]
In 1999, the May Department Stores bought a 14-store ZCMI chain and rebranded it as "Meier &
Frank", a May property with eight stores in Oregon and Washington. Subsequently, May
Department Storescompleted a merger with Federated Department Stores and the Meier &
Frank brand ZCMI stores became Macy's stores, effective late 2006.
The original facade of the ZCMI store was again preserved during the late 2000s construction of
city creek center. The original plans removed the facade however public outcry persuaded the
retaining of the beautiful historic architecture. The facade can still be seen from the TRAX station
that runs between the new complex.
Detroit[edit]

Hudson department store in Detroit in 1951; it opened in 1911, closed in 1986 and was torn down in 1998

In 1881, Joseph Lowthian Hudson opened a small men's clothing store in Detroit. After 10 years
he had 8 stores in the midwest and was the most profitable clothing retailer in the country. In
1893, he began construction of J. L. Hudson Department Store at Gratiot and Farmer streets in
Detroit. The store grew over the years and a 25-story tower was added in 1928. The final section
was a 12-story addition in 1946, giving the entire complex 49 acres (20 ha) of floor space.[78]
After World War II Hudson's realized that the limited parking space at its downtown skyscraper
would increasingly be a problem for its customers. The solution in 1954 was to open
the Northland Center in nearby Southfield, just beyond the city limits. It was the largest suburban
shopping center in the world, and quickly became the main shopping destination for northern
and western Detroit, and for much of the suburbs. By 1961 the downtown skyscraper accounted
for only half of Hudson's sales; it closed in 1986. [79]The Northland Center Hudson's,
rebranded Macy's in 2006 following acquisition by Federated Department Stores, was closed
along with the remaining stores in the center in March 2015 due to the mall's high storefront
vacancy, decaying infrastructure, and financial mismanagement. [80]
In 1969 Hudson's merged with the Dayton's to create Dayton-Hudson
Corporation headquartered in Minneapolis.[81]
Minneapolis[edit]
George Dayton had founded his Dayton's Dry Goods store in Minneapolis in 1902 and the AMC
cooperative in 1912. His descendants built Southdale Center in 1956, opened
the Target discount store chain in 1962 and the B. Dalton Bookseller chain in 1966. Dayton's

grew to 19 stores under the Dayton's name plus five other regional names acquired by DaytonHudson. The Dayton-Hudson Corporation closed the flagship J. L. Hudson Department Store in
downtown Detroit in 1983, but expanded its other retail operations. It acquired Mervyn's in 1978,
Marshall Field's in 1990, and renamed itself the Target Corporation in 2000. In 2002, Dayton's
and Hudson's were consolidated into the Marshall Field's name. In 2005, May Department
Stores acquired all of the Marshall Field's stores and shortly thereafter, Macy's acquired May.[82]
Pittsburgh[edit]
In 1849, Horne's began operations and soon became a leading Pittsburgh department store. In
1879, it opened a seven-story landmark which was the first department store in the city's
downtown. In 1972, Associated Dry Goods acquired Horne's, and ADG expanded operations of
Horne's to several stores in suburban malls throughout the Pittsburgh region as well as in Erie,
Pennsylvania and Northeast Ohio. In December 1986, Horne's was acquired by a local investor
group following ADG's acquisition by May Department Stores. By 1994, Federated Department
Stores acquired the remaining ten Horne's stores and merged them with its Lazarus division,
completely ceasing all operations of any store under the Horne's name.
Kaufmann's was founded in Pittsburgh in 1871 by Jacob and Isaac Kaufmann. In 1877, the
brothers moved downtown to a location that became known as The Big Store.[83] "The Big Store"
featured a large landmark outdoor clock that became a popular meeting place and city icon.

See also[edit]

List of department stores by country

List of defunct department stores of the United States

Distribution, Retail, Marketing