Department Store History

 

I watched a fantastic documentary last night on SBS- Seduction in the City: The Birth of Shopping.  It showed that our lust for consumerism actually began in the 19th century not the 1950s as is often believed.  Here is the synopsis of the show:

:The story of the department store is the cleverest invention of the industrial revolution; surprisingly the genius idea of turning wants into needs not only created consumer culture, it also, paradoxically, sowed the seeds of female emancipation.

This two-part series reveals the foresight of store entrepreneurs such as Rowland H. Macy, Harry Selfridge, John Wanamaker, Aristide Boucicaut and Sidney Myer, who invented such revolutionary concepts such as easy credit, returns policies, window displays, changing rooms and Santa parades. These dynamic showmen created a theatre of shopping, and in doing so changed the world.”

Here is the link if you watch it.

Bennett's of Irongate in Derby is the oldest department store recorded in the UK, and possibly the world, founded in 1734 , and still stands to this day, trading in the same building.  Aristide Boucicaut founded Le Bon Marché in Paris in 1838 as a goods store, but it became more of a department store in 1852, with further refinements after Aristide got some great ideas at the World’s Fair in 1855.

Selfridges was opened in 1909 by Harry Gordon Selfridge, who eventually  handed it over to the board when he lost lots of money gambling.

Selfridges, London and their early perfume display.  Department stores were the inventors of this type of display.  They also made Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter major shopping events.  Santas were put on the top floor so that customers had to go through each floor to get there, browsing on the way.  Macy’s of New York started the Macy’s Thanks Giving Day Parade as a way of boosting sales, and it is still going today.  Below is a photo of Santa in the parade from the 1950s.

  

Mother’s Day was also basically a department store invention!  And as for sales……

Here is a lovely photo of the rush for the Myers sale in Melbourne, looks about 1930

Sidney Myers was a jew from Russia who came to Australia as a young man in 1899 and stated with a barrow selling goods in the gold town of Bendigo.  He established a shop the next year, and by 1914 had Myers up and running in Melbourne.

The Myer’s bargain basement, which apparently was a popular idea with many department stores, is alas no more.  When I visited there last week the basement had been renovated to contain teen and street fashion, and is ultra hip, modern, cold and hard and loud.  The Myers boxing day sale is still a major event though.

My favourite Australia department store is still David Jones – started in Sydney by a Welsh merchant of that name.  He had met Hobart businessman Charles Appleton in London, and established a partnership with him, moving to Australia in 1835.  The Sydney store became known as Appleton & Jones. The partnership was dissolved in 1838, and David Jones moved his store to new premises as well as starting up in Melbourne.  Jones survived the depression of the 1840s, and retired in  1856.  

 

The Melbourne Store exterior during the 1980s and the interior after renovations taken July 2011.

By 1887, the George Street store had been rebuilt and a mail order facility introduced, with the store’s own factory opened to reduce reliance on imported goods. David Jones makes a claim to be the oldest department store in the world still trading under its original name.

Most department stores had catalogues for a wider customer base.  Above are some pages from a 1914 New York Department Store catalogue.

Department stores actually stated declining in the 1950s, with more competition from specialist stores .  They did well again in the 60s, once people,especially women,  started having disposable income and wanted to spend it. By around 1990 Brands opened their own stores and discount retailers flourished.  Shopping was no longer a social activity, which is what department stores offered. People knew exactly what they wanted and where they could get it – no browsing necessary. 

These days department stores sell mainly clothes and cosmetics, with some china and linen.  A big change from the stores that  originally sold everything including furniture, whitegoods and hardware. Now there are discount stores for electrical goods, and discount stores such as Woolworths, Target and Walmart are getting people in with their cheap, made in China, goods.  Department stores no longer have their own factories, everything is outsourced.

Bring back the original department store please!