History of the Department Store Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

History of the Department Store - Essay ExampleAs our cities changed, the department remembering changed to wager the needs of the sweet demographics. While some suburbs flourished, knowledgeable cities fell into decline. By examining the history of the department workshop we can get a better look at the evolution of our American cities, and create a more effective plan for their future.The department terminus had its beginnings in New York when A T Stewart exposed his legendary Marble Palace in 1846. This would be followed by Lord & Taylor, Macys, Marshall Field, and Wanamaker who spared no lavishness in opulent buildings, window displays, and the quality of merchandise. By the turn of the twentieth century the department store had become the hub of American inner city commerce. Owned by giants such as R. H. Macy, Marshall Fields, and A. T. Stewart, the stores reflected the be and reputation of their owners. The department store concept catapulted the owners to fame and not oriety as a1900 account of A T Stewart refers to him as the acknowledged head of the mercantile world in this city and the sights on New York included AT Stewarts marble store downtown and Stewarts marble palace uptown (From cellar to garret, 1900). These men that pioneered the department store helped define the geography of our cities and shape the demographics of consumerism.Department stores were created when the great power to move goods to a central location coincided with the ability to move customers to that location. Department stores were unique in their ability to offer a huge array of goods beneath one roof arranged in departments. Such large retailers only became feasible when the horsecar or tramway could deliver crowds to the central city. Department stores exploited economies in purchasing and distributing to a large market, which make them cheaper than the alternative, topical anaesthetic neighborhood stores (Nye, 1990, p.113). In addition, the stores utilized th e concept of fixed pricing, which eliminated the need to haggle or bargain on a price. This would open the door for relatively inexperienced salesclerks that were often women. Of course, the success of the department store would be dependent upon attracting enough customers to make it a profitable venture. The introduction of the trolley car and railroad made this possible. The early department stores were located along these lines of transportation and created the core of commerce and the inner city. In Chicago, P. Palmer ran a dry goods and carpet store in the downtown area and had foreseen the coming of the department store, and the importance of the inner city, with the success of the Marble Palace and Macys in New York. Palmer had correctly foreseen that State Street would become the burgeoning citys new central business district because of its location near an important transportation junction, and he invested wisely in real estate there (Benes, 2006, p.72). In 1893, Marshall Field opened a store on Palmers property amid the fanfare of the 1893 Worlds Columbian Exposition. The store was an instant success as, People would visit the store and hence go home and tell their neighbors about it. The neighbors would come to marvel at the huge store-and to buy its out of date and high-quality goods (Benes, 2006, p.72). These department stores located in downtown areas would attract other