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 store changed to meet the ineluctably of the new demographics. While some suburbs flourished, inner cities fell into decline. By examining the history of the department store we can get a better look at the evolution of our American cities, and create a more effective plan for their future.The department store had its beginnings in New York when A T Stewart opened his fabled Marble Palace in 1846. This would be followed by Lord & Taylor, Macys, Marshall Field, and Wanamaker who spared no luxury in opulent buildings, window displays, and the quality of merchandise. By the numeral of the twentieth century the department store had become the hub of American inner urban center commerce. Owned by giants such as R. H. Macy, Marshall Fields, and A. T. Stewart, the stores reflected the name and paper of their owners. The department store concept catapulted the owners to fame and notoriety as a1900 accoun t 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 furbish up the geography of our cities and shape the demographics of consumerism.Department stores were created when the ability 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 twirl a huge array of goods under one roof arranged in departments. Such large retailers only became feasible when the horsecar or streetcar could gestate crowds to the central city. Department stores exploited economies in purchasing and distributing to a large market, which made them cheaper than the alternative, local neighborhood stores (Nye, 1990, p.113). In addition, the stores utilized the concept of fixed pricing, which eli minated the command to haggle or bargain on a price. This would open the door for relatively inexperienced salesclerks that were often women. Of course, the winner of the department store would be underage 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 outcome 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 measurable transportation junction, and he invested wisely in real estate there (Benes, 2006, p.72). In 1893, Marshall Field opened a store on Palm ers holding amid the fanfare of the 1893 Worlds Columbian Exposition. The store was an instant success as, People would visit the store and then go home and tell their neighbors about it. The neighbors would come to wonder at the huge store-and to buy its rare and high-quality goods (Benes, 2006, p.72). These department stores located in downtown areas would attract other