Department store

A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories. Department stores usually sell products including apparel, furniture, home appliances, electronics, and additionally select other lines of products such as paint, hardware, toiletries, cosmetics, photographic equipment, jewellery, toys, and sporting goods. Certain department stores are further classified as discount stores. Discount department stores commonly have central customer checkout areas, generally in the front area of the store. Department stores are usually part of a retail chain of many stores situated around a country or several countries.

History

United Kingdom

Bennett's of Irongate in Derby is the oldest department store recorded in the UK, and possibly the world, founded in 1734^[1]. It still stands to this day, trading in the same building. Kendals (formerly Kendal Milne & Faulker) in Manchester is the also one of the first department stores founded in the UK 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. 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).

By 1956, Lewis's had the largest stores in the provinces of the UK. It started in Liverpool in 1856. Lewis's experimented in new ways of advertising (such as flooding the basement of the Manchester store to create a mini Venice.)

Since 1856 it had stores in Manchester (1877), Liverpool (1856), Birmingham , Glasgow, Liverpool (The Bon Marche), Leeds, Hanley, London (Selfridges), Bristol and Leicester . The group's first and final store, in Liverpool, went into administration in 2007 and was purchased as a going concern by Vergo Retail Limited, enabling the store to continue trading under the Lewis's brand.^[2] In February 2010 Vergo Retail announced that this store would close by June^[3] but, following Vergo going into administration, the date of closure was announced as 29 May.^[4] also the department store is often described as a collected shops under one roof.it located in the heavy traffic or shopping areas

France

Le Bon Marché department store in Paris, 1867

Aristide Boucicaut founded Le Bon Marché in Paris in 1838, and by 1852 it offered a wide variety of goods in "departments" inside one building. Goods were sold at fixed prices, with guarantees that allowed exchanges and refunds. By the end of the 19th century, Georges Dufayel, a French credit merchant, had served up to three million customers and was affiliated with La Samaritaine, a large French department store established in 1870 by a former Bon Marché executive.

Ireland

As Le Bon Marché evolved into a department store in the early 1850s, Delany's New Mart opened in 1853 in Dublin, Ireland on Sackville Street (now O'Connell Street). Unlike others, Delany's had not evolved gradually from a smaller shop on site. Thus it would 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". Acquired by Limerick man, Michael J Clery in 1883, both the store and Imperial Hotel located in its upper floors were completely destroyed in the 1916 Easter Rising. However the store reopened in 1922, this time across numerous floors, as the famous Clerys department store that stands today, housed in a modern neoclassical building based on Selfridges of London.

Australia

David Jones (Australia) was started by David Jones, a Welsh merchant who met Hobart businessman Charles Appleton in London. Appleton had 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. Jones survived the depression of the 1840s, and by 1856 had retired from active management of the business. A few years later when the firm failed he returned to manage its affairs and in a few years had fully discharged all obligations to his creditors.^[5]

By 1887, the George Street store had been rebuilt and a mail order facility introduced. A factory was opened in Marlborough Street, Sydney to reduce reliance on imported goods.

David Jones also makes a claim to be the oldest department store in the world still trading under its original name.^[6]

New York City

In New York City in 1846, Alexander Turney Stewart established the "Marble Palace" on the east-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.

In 1862 Stewart built a department store on a full city block at Broadway and 9th Street, opposite Grace Church, 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. Within a couple of decades, New York's retail center had moved uptown, forming a stretch of retail shopping from "Marble Palace" that was called the "Ladies' Mile".

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 first 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.)

Similar developments were under way in London (with Whiteleys), in Paris (with La Samaritaine) and in Chicago, where department stores sprang up along State Street, notably Marshall Field and Company, which was the second-largest department store in the world prior to converting to Macy's. In 1877, Wanamaker's opened in Philadelphia. Philadelphia's John Wanamaker performed a 19th century redevelopment to the former Pennsylvania Railroad terminal in that city and eventually opened a modern day department store in the building.

Chicago

Marshall Field & Company Marshall Field's was a department store in Chicago, Illinois that grew to become a major chain before being acquired by Macy's Inc. on August 30, 2005. Marshall Field's Served as a model for other departments stores in that it had exceptional customer service. Fields 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 Fields 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, right up to 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.

Salt Lake City

On March 1, 1869 Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution was 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 store.

In 1999 the May Department Stores bought a 14-store ZCMI chain and changed its name to "Meier & Frank", a May property with eight stores in Oregon and Washington. Subsequently May Department Stores completed a merger with Federated Department Stores and the Meier & Frank brand ZCMI stores have become Macy's stores, effective late 2006.

Detroit

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 25-story tower was added in 1928, and a 12-story addition in 1946, giving the entire complex 49 acres (200,000 m²) of floor space.

In 1954 Hudson's became a suburban shopping center pioneer when it built Northland Center 13 miles (21 km) northwest of Detroit. In 1969 it merged with the Dayton's to create Dayton-Hudson Corporation headquartered in Minneapolis.

The podium of the Renaissance Center includes, among other retail venues, a department store.

Minneapolis

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, started 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 Dayton-Hudson.

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 Mervyns 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 then a few months later Macy's acquired May.

Pittsburgh

In 1849, Horne's began operations as The Joseph Horne Company after Joseph Horne bought the Eaton Co. It soon became a leading Pittsburgh department store. In 1879, a new central location was built at Penn Avenue and Stanwix Street in Downtown Pittsburgh, a seven-story landmark which was the first department store in the city's downtown. The building still stands to this day and a Horne's sign remains on the building to remember the store, similar to exterior details which continue to be displayed at the former Pittsburgh Kaufmann's on Smithfield. St.

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. The local buyout was part of May's divesting of the Horne's chain, since May was already the owner of cross-town rival Kaufmann's.

Two years later, the Arkansas-based department store chain Dillard's and Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. agreed to acquire Horne's, with plans of combining it with another recent acquisition for Dillard's — the Ohio-based Higbee's store chain. The deal was canceled abruptly, resulting in several years of litigation. Dillard's eventually agreed to acquire five Ohio Horne's stores as part of a legal settlement in 1992.

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. This caused some anger among Pittsburgh shoppers, as Horne's was the oldest store in the city, Horne's had been a 145-year-old Pittsburgh tradition. After its closure the company was often praised for surviving 145 years with only a maximum of 15 stores. Several of the former Horne's locations operating as Lazarus were closed in 1998. Those that remained eventually became known as "Lazarus-Macy's" and in 2006 were joined with Kaufmann's in the nationwide Macy's consolidation.

Kaufmann's was founded in Pittsburgh in 1871 by Jacob and Isaac Kaufmann.^[7] In 1877, the brothers moved downtown to a location that became known as The Big Store.^[8] In the first half of the 20th century the store was owned by Edgar J. Kaufmann. The original Flagship store in downtown Pittsburgh was built in 1887 on the corner of Fifth Ave. and Smithfield St. and became known as The Big Store. It has undergone various expansions and remodelings since then. Architect Charles Bickel designed the H. and I Kaufman and I. Kaufman stores in 1898. In 1913, the architects Janssen & Abbott designed a larger white terra cotta-sheathed addition in a Neoclassical revival style structure with Renaissance Revival style details. and a large ornamental public clock at the corner. In the late 1920s, Edgar G. Kaufmann commissioned a redesign of the main floor of the department store. Local architect Benno Janssen and his partner William Cocken rose to the challenge and created an art-deco masterpiece. It is remembered for its striking black Carrara glass columns, bronze metalwork, terrazzo floors, a million dollars' worth of new elevators. The building was the largest department store in Pittsburgh with twelve retail floors totaling 750,000 square feet (70,000 m²), and spanning an entire downtown city block. who commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design his executive offices on the top floor of The Big Store, as well as his country house 'Fallingwater' (1934) at the company's Bear Run retreat in Pennsylvania. The office interior was saved and reinstalled at an American Museum.^[9] He also commissioned renowned architect Richard Neutra to design the iconic desert Kaufmann House (1946) in Palm Springs, California.Kaufmann's started several holiday traditions that were carried on after it was taken over such as animated Christmas windows and Santa Land. Although Macy's has taken over the building, several signs remain in the parking garage and on the building itself that still read Kaufmann's. Kaufmann's flagship "The Big Store" has a large landmark outdoor Clock on the corner of Fifth Avenue at Smithfield Street beside the building. The clock became a popular downtown meeting place, with the oft used phrase "Meet me under Kaufmann's clock." The clock is a Pittsburgh icon, and often featured in visual materials representing and marketing the city. Both the Kaufmann's flagship building and the clock are registered National Historic Landmarks. Upon announcing the 2006 end of the Kaufmann's name and becoming Macy's, the store gave out tote bags printed with the Clock's image and its phrase "Meet me under the Kaufmann's clock" to honor the store's One Hundred and thirty five year history. Also in 2006, USA Today ran an article about the regional chains being merged into Macy's, and the piece featured memories from Pittsburghers about the store and the clock: "As girls in their best dresses and Mary Jane shoes, they rode streetcars downtown to the 11-story Kaufmann's department store here. Jean Wenner, 81 [in 2006], and her friends grew up on Kaufmann's, meeting under the store's ornate clock, lunching at the Tic Toc restaurant and bringing their own children to the Secret Santa." [1]:

1890 onward

By 1890 a new world of retailing had been created as department stores had a clear market position as universal providers. General stores eventually became department stores as small towns became cities. The department store created several of North America's first large businesses. The department store is also largely responsible for the standard store design seen today, because of its size it required new building materials, glass technology and new heating, amongst other architectural innovations.

Some department stores leased space to individual merchants, similar to the changes in late 17th-century London, but by 1900 the smaller merchants were purchased or eventually replaced by the larger companies. Today only the most specialized departments are leased out, such as photography, photo finishing, automotive services or financial services. However, today this is rare, as most departments—even a store's restaurant—are usually run by the store itself.

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.^[10]

Countries

See also: List of department stores by country

Argentina

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

Australia

Although there were a number of department stores in Australia for much of the 20th Century, today Myer and David Jones, located nationally, are practically the national department stores duopoly in Australia. Other retail chain stores such as Target, 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

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

Canada

The Bay in Vancouver

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 around mid 1980's, with locations across the country. It also owns Zellers, another major Canadian department store who's market share has steadily eroded. Other department stores in Canada are: Sears Canada, Ogilvy's, Les Ailes de la Mode, Canadian Tire, 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 Walmart is by far the most dominant department store retailer in Canada with outlets throughout the country. Historically, department stores were a significant component in Canadian economic life, and chain stores such as Eaton's, Spencer's, Simpsons and Woodward's were staples in their respective communities. Department stores in Canada are similar in design and style to department stores in the United States.

In northern or isolated communities The North West Company (named after the historical North West Company fur trade company) operates smaller department stores.

Chile

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 París, La Polar, Johnson's, and Corona. Fallabella, founded in 1889, has opened branches in Argentina, Colombia, and Peru, with París -its main Chilean competitor- coming on its heels.

China

Department stores first appeared in China at the beginning of the 20th Century, the concept said to be introduced by expatriate Chinese living in Australia. Before 1949, there were four main department stores in Shanghai: Wing On, Sincere, Sun sun and Da Sun; the first two still exist today.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War patriotic sentiment in China had led to the formation of a number of department stores specializing in locally-made merchandise. These types of stores became the mainstay in China after the formation of the Communist state in 1949.

Both types of department stores have long had branches in Hong Kong; however Japanese department stores began to appear in the 1960s, and within a generation's time became the dominant force in the market. The Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s had resulted in the closures of some of these stores, but on the whole Hong Kong still has one of the world's most competitive retail markets.

Since the opening policy in 1979, the Chinese department stores also develops swiftly along with the fast growing economy. There are different department store groups dominate different areas of China, 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, Wangfujing，New World，etc., many of them are expanding quickly by listing in the financial market.

Cyprus

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

Denmark

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 peoples 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

• Carrion
• Dorian's, Mexican Department stores present only in Mexico and El Salvador.
• Siman

Finland

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 entire Nordic countries and a famous landmark of Helsinki.

France

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 oldest department store in France (and in the world) is Le Bon Marché in Paris, 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

In Germany there are a number of department stores. Until recently there were four big department store companies, Karstadt (part of Arcandor AG, also operating the KaDeWe and two Wertheim department stores in Berlin and the Alsterhaus in Hamburg), Hertie which was taken over by Karstadt and fully integrated and Kaufhof (part of the Metro AG) which took over Germany's fourth largest department store chain, the Horten AG in 1994 and fully integrated all former Horten stores into Kaufhof by 2004. There are also some smaller independent department stores. 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).

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

Big Bazaar along with McDonalds Restaurant at Ahmedabad, India.

India has number of departmental stores. Being the seventh largest country in the world there are lot of companies like Big Bazaar, Shopper's Stop, Pantaloon, Ezone , Reliance Fresh and Dmart entering into retail.

Small time department stores - or convenience stores as they are better known in most western countries, are also upcoming. Although these stores are much bigger in size than a usual-size convenience store in, lets say the US, they are much smaller than a regular-sized department store. Examples include : Sabka Bazaar : Big Apple : Marks and Spencers

Indonesia

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 is Matahari, now owned by Lippo Group. The group previously managed to trade under Mega 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. In 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 will be opened in 2008 at the same shopping centre, the Grand Indonesia Shopping Town. Other international department stores include Debenhams and Marks & Spencer. Debenhams, Harvey Nichols, Marks & Spencer, Seibu and Sogo are all operated by PT. Mitra Adiperkasa.

Iran

Iran's largest and newest department store chain is Shahrvand with 25 stores, all located in Tehran. The other chains are ROLEX and TANDIS which have stores throughout the country.

Ireland

Originally Ireland had two department stores, Clerys and Arnotts, the latter considered to be 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's Selfridges 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).

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.

Italy

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

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 (Millennium Retailing), Sogo (Millennium Retailing), Takashimaya, Tobu, and Tokyu (109). Many are owned and operated in conjunction with private railway companies. Recently, business integration has been successive.

Kuwait

One of the oldest and biggest Department stores in Kuwait is Union Trading Company also known as UTC, Operating 15 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.

Lebanon

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^[11], opened a branch in Beirut^[12]. By the mid-twentieth century, Beirut had become the luxury department store of the Near East^[13]. Beirut remains a shopping magnet in the region with shoppers from neighboring Levantine countries, heading to Beirut to shop^[14].

Department stores in Lebanon include today ABC Group, Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville, The Sultan Center, Aïshti and Spinneys.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, companies such as AEON 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 combines supermarket.

Mexico

Mexico has a large number of department stores, including the Mexican chains:

• Upper Class El Palacio de Hierro.
• Up-Mid Class Liverpool and Mid Class sister store Fabricas de Francia.
• Lower middle class Suburbia.
• Working class Coppel and Elektra.
• Department store, pharmacy and restaurants Sanborns
• Grupo Carso operated Sears Mexico branch.
• Upper Class American operated Saks 5th Avenue
• Former Mexican JC Penney Stores and Grupo Carso operated Dorian´s.

The Netherlands

Flagship branch of Dutch department store De Bijenkorf in Amsterdam.

The most well-known department stores in The Netherlands are De Bijenkorf, HEMA, Maison de Bonneterie and Vroom & Dreesmann.

New Zealand

The three iconic department stores are Smith & Caughey's (founded 1880), in New Zealand's most populous city, Auckland; Kirkcaldie & Stains (founded 1863) in the capital city, Wellington; and Ballantynes (founded 1854) in New Zealand's second biggest city, Christchurch. These offer high-end and luxury items. There is a mid-range national chain of stores known as Farmers (originally a mail-order firm known as Farmers Trading Company founded in 1909).

Norway

In Norway, most department stores are located in Oslo. The most known are Christiania Glasmagasin, Steen & Strøm, Åhléns, House of Oslo and Illums

Panama

Panama's first department stores such as Bazaar Francés, 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 Panamá, Figali, Danté, 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 Danté remain strong. All the others have either folded or declined although Cocos has managed to secure a good position in the market. 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.

Philippines

One of the first department stores in the Philippines were located in Metro Manila and established by SM Prime Holdings and Rustan's. Since its debut in the 1950s, they now hold more than 100 department stores to date. At present, due to the huge success of shopping malls, department stores in the Philippines usually serve as part of an anchor tenant inside. SM Supermalls and Robinsons Malls are two of the country's most prominent mall chains, all of which has Department Store sections.

Portugal

Currently Portugal has only two department stores, both operated by El Corte Inglés, one in Lisbon Metropolitan Area, other in Porto Metropolitan Area. This small number of department stores can be explained by the wide spread presence throughout the country of shopping malls and supermarket chains like Modelo, owned by Sonae, Intermarche and Pingo Doce owned by Jeronimo Martins which are more akin to the local taste.

Puerto Rico

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 and more. La New York was a Puerto Rican department store. Topeka Capri and Pitusa are competitors on the Puerto Rican markets which also have hipermarkets operating under their names. and warehouse Costco,and Sam's Club. Target, Nordstroms and Saks fifth avenue are coming to open(2013) in San Juan with the new mall Plaza internacional.

Russia

Arguably 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 (За витриной универмага)[2] depicts operation of a Moscow department store in 1950's.

Singapore

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

File:Lotte department myoungdong.JPG

Lotte Department Store, Seoul, Korea

The three most prevalent chains are Lotte, Hyundai, Shinsegae. Lotte Department Store is the largest, operating more than 30 stores (include outlet, young plaza, foreign branches). Hyundai Department Store has about 12 stores, and there are 8 stores in Shinsegae. These three 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 weekends, lots of 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.

Spain

Following the 2002 closure by the Australian group Partridges of their SEPU (Sociedad Española de Precios Unicos) department store chain, which in fact was Spain's oldest, the market is now dominated by El Corte Inglés, founded in 1934 as a drapery store. El Corte Inglés 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 'Galerías Preciados' closed in the 1990s, however El Corte Inglés, faces major competition from French discount operators such as Carrefour and Auchan .

Sweden

The largest department store chain in Sweden is Åhléns, which operates stores throughout the country. Its flagship Stockholm store, Åhléns City, is the largest department store in Sweden. Other large stores are Nordiska Kompaniet in Stockholm and Gothenburg, and PUB in Stockholm.

Switzerland

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.

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 20 branches (2010)^[15]
• 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)

United Kingdom

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.

• 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 Coydon store was taken over by Harold Tillman of Jaeger and continues trading as Allders.
• 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.
• Barker's in 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. This was eventually taken over by House of Fraser 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 Aston-Webb 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

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

In the United States, companies such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman, Belk, The Bon-Ton, Boscov's, Kohl's, Carson Pirie Scott, Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, Von Maur, Lord & Taylor, Macy's, Dillard's, JC Penney, and Sears are considered department stores, while retail brands such as Target, Manhattan Superstore, Kmart, and Wal-Mart are discount department stores. T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and Burlington Coat Factory are stores that sell designer goods at lower prices. 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.

See also

• List of department stores
• Concept stores
• Distribution
• Retailer
• Marketing
• List of defunct department stores of the United States

References

1. ^ http://www.bennettsirongate.co.uk/bennetts/bennetts-derby-history.php
2. ^ Brigg's, Asa: Friends of the people (The Centenary History of LEWIS'S); 1956
3. ^ "Iconic City Store Set to Close!". Vergo Retail Ltd. 22 February 2010. http://www.lewissliverpool.co.uk/content/news_detail/49. 
4. ^ "Vergo announces closing down sales at all 19 stores". East Anglian Daily Times. 26 May 2010. http://www.eadt.co.uk/business/vergo_announces_closing_down_sales_at_all_19_stores_1_341242. 
5. ^ "Jones, David (1793-1873) Biographical Entry". Australian Dictionary of Biography. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020022b.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-22. 
6. ^ "Story of David Jones". David Jones. http://www.davidjones.com.au/about/story_of_djs.jspref. Retrieved 2008-10-09. ^{[dead link]}
7. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Kaufmann_gone; see Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text
8. ^ Macy's to continue Christmas-shopping extravaganza, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 2006-11-07
9. ^ Images of Edgar J. Kaufmann House, (Fallingwater) by Frank Lloyd Wright
10. ^ Shopping at Downtown Crossing Radio Boston, 14 Aug 2009.
11. ^ Hanssen, Jens. Fin de Siècle Beirut: The Making of an Ottoman Provincial Capital, page 252
12. ^ Khalaf and ShukryKhoury. Recovering Beirut: Urban Design and Post-war Reconstruction, page 248
13. ^ Kassir, Debevoise, and Fisk. Beirut, page 372
14. ^ Hammond, Andrew. Culture in the Arab World: Arts, Politics, and the Media, page 134
15. ^ http://www.central.co.th/branch/index_en.php

• Abelson, Elaine S. When Ladies Go A-Thieving: Middle Class Shoplifters in the Victorian Department Store. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
• Adams, Samuel Hopkins (January 1897). "The Department Store". Scribner's Magazine XXI (1): 4–28. http://books.google.com/?id=Z2IAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA4. Retrieved 2009-08-23. 
• Barth, Gunther. "The Department Store," in City People: The Rise of Modern City Culture in Nineteenth-Century America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980.
• Benson, Susan Porter. Counter Culture: Saleswomen, Managers and Customers in American Department Stores, 1890-1940. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1988. ISBN 0-252-06013-X.
• Ershkowicz, Herbert. John Wanamaker, Philadelphia Merchant. New York: DaCapo Press, 1999.
• Gibbons, Herbert Adams. John Wanamaker. New York: Harper & Row, 1926.
• Hendrickson, Robert. The Grand Emporiums: The Illustrated History of America's Great Department Stores. New York: Stein and Day, 1979.
• Leach, William. Land of Desire: Merchants, Power, and the Rise of a New American Culture. New York: Pantheon, 1993. ISBN 0-679-75411-3.
• Parker, K. (2003). "Sign Consumption in the 19th-Century Department Store: An Examination of Visual Merchandising in the Grand Emporiums (1846-1900)." Journal of Sociology 39 (4): 353-371.
• Schlereth, Thomas J. Victorian America: Transformations in Everyday Life, 1876-1915. New York: HarperCollins, 1991.
• Sobel, Robert. "John Wanamaker: The Triumph of Content Over Form," in The Entrepreneurs: Explorations Within the American Business Tradition New York: Weybright & Talley, 1974. ISBN 0-679-40064-8.
• Spang, Rebecca L. The Invention of the Restaurant: Paris and Modern Gastronomic Culture. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2000. 325 p.
• Whitaker, Jan Service and Style: How the American Department Store Fashioned the Middle Class. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2006. ISBN 0-312-32635-1.

• Whitaker, Jan. The World of Department Stores New York: The Vedome Press, 2011.

External links

• History of The Department Store
• The rise of the department store in Britain
• A.T. Stewart's
• Tamilia, Robert D. (May 2002) (PDF). The Wonderful World of the Department Store in Historical Perspective: A Comprehensive International Bibliography Partially Annotated. http://faculty.quinnipiac.edu/charm/dept.store.pdf. Retrieved 2008-09-13.  (292 KiB)
• International Association of Department Stores
• New York Journal. Under One Roof The death and life of the New York department store. by Adam Gopnik