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A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. 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 Marché) and in New York City (Stewart's).[1]
Today, departments often include the following: clothing, cosmetics, do it yourself, furniture, gardening, hardware, home appliances, houseware, paint, sporting goods, toiletries, and toys. Additionally, other lines of products such as food, books, jewellery, electronics, stationery, photographic equipment, baby products, and products for pets are sometimes included. Customers generally check out near the front of the store in discount department stores, while high-end traditional department stores include sales counters within each department. Some stores are one of many within a larger retail chain, while others are an independent retailer.
Since the s, they have come under heavy pressure from discounters, and have come under even heavier pressure from e-commerce sites since the s.
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Sokos department store building in Multimäki, Kuopio, FinlandDepartment stores can be classified in several ways:
Some sources may refer to the following types of stores as department stores, even though they are not generally considered as such:
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Origins in England, s[
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One of the first department stores may have been Bennett's in Derby, first established as an ironmonger (hardware shop) in .[7] 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 on Pall Mall, London.[8] The oldest department store chain may be Debenhams, which was established in and closed in . It is the longest trading defunct British retailer. An observer writing in Ackermann's Repository, a British periodical on contemporary taste and fashion, described the enterprise in 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 its kind.[9]
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. Jonathan Glancey for the BBC writes:
Harrods illuminated exterior at night in Knightsbridge, LondonHarding, Howell & Co was focused on the needs and desires of fashionable women. Here, at last women were free to browse and shop, safely and decorously, away from home and from the company of men. These, for the main part, were newly affluent middle-class women, their good fortune &#; and the department store itself &#; nurtured and shaped by the Industrial Revolution. This was transforming life in London and the length and breadth of Britain at a dizzying pace on the back of energetic free trade, fecund invention, steam and sail, and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of expendable cheap labour.[10]
This pioneering shop was closed down in when the business partnership was dissolved. All the major High Streets in British cities had flourishing department stores by the mid-or late nineteenth century. Increasingly, women became the main customers.[11] 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 name change to House of Fraser. The Manchester institution dates back to but had been trading as Watts Bazaar since .[12] 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 . Harrods of London can be traced back to , though the current store was built between and . Opened in , Austins in Derry remained in operation as the world's oldest independent department store until its closure in .[13][14] Lewis's of Liverpool operated from to . The world's first Christmas grotto opened in Lewis's in , entitled 'Christmas Fairyland'.[15] Liberty & Co. in London's West End gained popularity in the s for selling Oriental goods.[16] In , Oscar Wilde wrote "Liberty's is the chosen resort of the artistic shopper".[17]
Origins in Parisian magasins de nouveautés[
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Au Bon MarchéThe Paris department stores have roots in the magasin de nouveautés, or novelty store; the first, the Tapis Rouge, was created in .[18] They flourished in the early 19th century. Balzac described their functioning in his novel César Birotteau. In the s, 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.[19]
A novelty shop called Au Bon Marché had been founded in Paris in to sell items like lace, ribbons, sheets, mattresses, buttons, and umbrellas. It grew from 300 m2 (3,200 sq ft) and 12 employees in to 50,000 m2 (540,000 sq ft) and 1,788 employees in . 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 half the employees were women; unmarried women employees lived in dormitories on the upper floors.[20]
Au Bon Marché soon had half a dozen or more competitors including Printemps, founded in ; La Samaritaine (), Bazaar de Hotel de Ville (BHV); and Galeries Lafayette ().[19][21] The French gloried in the national prestige brought by the great Parisian stores.[22] The great writer Émile Zola (&#;) set his novel Au Bonheur des Dames (&#;83) in the typical department store, making it a symbol of the new technology that was both improving society and devouring it.[23]
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Australia is notable for having the longest continuously operating department store, David Jones.[24][25] The first David Jones department store was opened on 24 May , by Welsh born immigrant David Jones in a "large and commodious premises" on the corner of George and Barrack Streets in Sydney, only 50 years after the foundation of the colony. Expanding to a number of stores in the various states of Australia, David Jones is the oldest continuously operating department franchise in the world.[24] Other department stores in Australia include Grace Bros founded in , now merged with Myer which was founded in .[26]
First American department stores (&#;)[
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Arnold Constable was the first American department store. It was founded in as a small dry goods store on Pine Street in New York City. In 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. The store soon outgrew the Marble House and erected a cast-iron building on Broadway and Nineteenth Street in ; this "Palace of Trade" expanded over the years until it was necessary to move into a larger space in . Financial problems led to bankruptcy in .[27]
In New York City in , 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 , Stewart built a new store on a full city block uptown between 9th and 10th streets, with eight floors. 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.[28] In , Rowland Hussey Macy founded Macy's as a dry goods store.
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Marshall Field's State Street store "great hall" interior aroundMarshall Field & Company originated in . It was the premier department store on the busiest shopping street in the Midwest at the time, State Street in Chicago.[29] Marshall Field's served as a model for other department stores in that it had exceptional customer service.[citation needed] Marshall Field's also had the firsts; among many innovations by Marshall Field's were 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.[citation needed] Marshall Field's book department in the State Street store was legendary;[citation needed] 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]
In , John Wanamaker opened what some claim was the United States' first "modern" department store in Philadelphia: the first to offer fixed prices marked on every article and also introduced electrical illumination (), the (), and the use of pneumatic tubes to transport cash and documents () to the department store business.[31]
Another store to revolutionize the concept of the department store was Selfridges in London, established in 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.[32] Selfridge attracted shoppers with educational and scientific exhibits; in , Louis Blériot's monoplane was exhibited at Selfridges (Blériot 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 .
Utagawa Hiroshige designed an ukiyo-e print with Mount Fuji and Echigoya as landmarks. Echigoya is the former name of Mitsukoshi named after the former province of Echigo. The Mitsukoshi headquarters are located on the left side of the street.In Japan, the first "modern-style" department store was Mitsukoshi, founded in , which has its root as a kimono store called Echigoya from . When the roots are considered, however, Matsuzakaya has an even longer history, dated from . The kimono store changed to a department store in . In , Matsuzakaya store in Ginza allowed street shoes to be worn indoors, something innovative at the time.[33] These former kimono shop department stores dominated the market in its earlier history. They sold, or instead displayed, luxurious products, which contributed to their sophisticated atmospheres. Another origin of the Japanese department store is from railway companies. There have been many private railway operators in the nation and, from the s, they started to build department stores directly linked to their lines' termini. Seibu and Hankyu are typical examples of this type.
Innovation (&#;)[
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In the middle of the s, American management theories such as the scientific management of F.W. Taylor started spreading in Europe. The International Management Institute (I.M.I.) was established in Geneva in to facilitate the diffusion of such ideas. A number of department stores teamed up together to create the International Association of Department Stores in Paris in to have a discussion space dedicated to this retail format.
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The U.S. Baby Boom led to the development of suburban neighborhoods and suburban commercial developments, including shopping malls. Department stores joined these ventures following the growing market of baby boomer spending.
A handful of U.S. retailers had opened seasonal stores in resorts, as well as smaller branch stores in suburbs, in the s and s. Examples include, in suburban Los Angeles, The Broadway-Hollywood, Bullocks Wilshire, The May Company-Wilshire, Saks-Beverly Hills, as well as two Strawbridge and Clothier stores: Suburban Square () and Jenkintown () outside Philadelphia. Suburban Square was the first shopping center anchored by a department store.[35] In the s, suburban growth took off &#; for example, in , May Company California opened a four-level, 346,700-square-foot (32,210 m2)[36] store in Lakewood Center near Los Angeles, at the time, the largest suburban department store in the world.[37] However, only three years later it would build an even bigger, 452,000-square-foot (42,000 m2) store in the San Fernando Valley at Laurel Plaza.
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Starting in many analysts referred to a retail apocalypse in the United States and some other markets, referring to the closing of brick-and-mortar retail stores, especially those of large chains.[38][39] In , over 12,000 U.S. stores closed due to over-expansion of malls, rising rents, bankruptcies, leveraged buyouts, low quarterly profits other than during holiday peak periods, delayed effects of the Great Recession of -9,[39] shifts in spending to experiences rather than material goods, relaxed dress codes in workplaces, and the shift to e-commerce[40] in which Amazon.com and Walmart dominated versus the online offerings of traditional retailers.
COVID-19 increased the number of permanent store closings in two ways: first through mandatory temporary closing of stores, especially in March and April , with customers largely staying away from stores for non-essential purchases for many more months after that; and secondly, by causing a shift to working from home, which stimulated e-commerce further and reduced demand for business apparel.[citation needed]
Click-and-collect, curbside pickup[
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Click-and-collect services at department stores had been increasing during the s, with many creating larger, distinctly signed, designated areas. Some of the more elaborate ones included features such as reception and seating areas with coffee served, computers with large screens for online shopping, and dressing rooms.[41]
With the onset of COVID-19 in , most U.S. retailers offered a curbside pickup service as an option on their websites, and a dedicated area at one of the store entrances accessible by car.
Along with discount stores, mainline department stores implemented more and more "stores-within-a-store". For luxury brands this was often in boutiques similar to the brands' own shops on streets and in malls; they hired their own employees who merchandised the selling space, and rang up the transactions at the brand's own cash registers. The main difference was that the boutique was physically inside the department store building, although in many cases there are walls or windows between the main store space and the boutique, with designated entrances.[citation needed]
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Incomplete list, notable stores of 50,000 m2 (538,196 sq ft) or more. Individual department store buildings or complexes of buildings. Does not include shopping centers (e.g. GUM in Moscow, Intime "Department Stores" in China) where most space is leased out to other retailers, big-box category killer stores (e.g. Best Buy, Decathlon), hypermarkets, discount stores (e.g. Walmart, Carrefour), markets, or souqs.
closed open*store has no branches **opened at this location (may have expanded significantly in the years after initial opening)
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The top 10 department stores in the world are contributing to a fast-growing global department store industry in . The global department store industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5% by . Macy&#;s, Kohl&#;s, and Sears are the top department stores in the world by revenue. The global department store industry is mainly dominated by chains from the USA, Japan, and the UK, but this detailed breakdown conducted by BizVibe adds new companies on the list from all over the world.
This fact sheet is to assist business professionals, investors, and everyday readers that are interested in gaining insights into the global department store industry including:
BizVibe is already helping the world&#;s largest department store chains connect. Connect and track the latest news and insights from these companies.
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What are department stores? A department store is a retail establishment offering a variety of consumer goods in different product categories known as &#;departments&#;. Some of these departments include clothing, furniture, home appliances, toys, cosmetics, houseware, gardening, toiletries, sporting goods, do it yourself, paint, and hardware. Currently, the global department store industry is poised to reach USD 683.7 Billion by . Some of the most popular names associated with department stores are Macy&#;s, Nordstrom, Sears, and more. This post will breakdown the top department stores in the world by notoriety and revenue in .
The top 10 department stores in the world have been dominating the market for decades and are transitioning to a new age of technology and online retail. The following companies built the global department store industry that provides us with all the convenient household products we enjoy today. This is BizVibe&#;s list of the top department stores in the world today.
Ranking number on the list of the top 10 department stores in the world in is Macy&#;s, an American department store chain founded in by Rowland Hussey Macy. Macy&#;s is the world&#;s largest department store chain in terms of revenue, with last year&#;s revenue surpassing USD 24.97 billion across its 613 locations worldwide. Macy&#;s was founded in in New York and is the top department store in sales. Macy&#;s flagship store Herald Square in Manhattan is one of the largest department stores in the world in terms of size.
Macy&#;s is influential among the list of department stores on this list due to stellar growth and consistent sales in the global department store industry. Macy&#;s is currently innovating by transforming 282 of its stores to pick and ship orders &#; integrating stores with technology for the better.
Kohl&#;s ranks 2nd in our list of the top 10 department stores in the world in , with last year&#;s revenues exceeding USD 20.22 billion. Kohl&#;s is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl&#;s Corporation, that has over 1,158 store locations worldwide making it one of the world&#;s largest department store chains by the number of stores in operation and revenue. Originally starting as a grocery store, Kohl&#;s branched out as one of the largest department store chains in the world shortly after in . Currently, Kohl&#;s operates some of the largest brands including Dana Buchman, Vera Wang, and Narciso Rodriguez.
Ranking 3rd on this list of the top department stores in the world is El Corte Inglés, the biggest department store group in Europe. El Corte Inglés is headquartered in Madrid, Spain, and serves Spain, United Kingdom, Andorra, France, and Portugal employing 90,004 at its stores. As of , El Corte Inglés is Spain&#;s only remaining department store.
El Corte Inglés&#; flagship store includes many designer boutiques including Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Armani, Armani Jeans, Armani Collezioni, and Gucci.
Nordstrom is a US-based luxury department store chain founded in by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin. Originating initially as a shoe store, Nordstrom eventually became a full-line department store chain that sells clothing, footwear, handbags, jewelry, accessories, cosmetics, and fragrances. One of the most famous department stores in the world, Nordstrom operates 117 stores in 40 American states, three Canadian provinces since and one in Puerto Rico. Nordstrom brought in annual revenues of USD 15.86 billion last year, making it one of the top department stores in the world in terms of revenue. Nordstrom is also notable for being one of the top luxury department stores.
Coming in 5th on this ranking of department stores is Sears, an American chain of department stores founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in . This famous department store was formerly headquartered in the Sears Tower in Chicago but now holds its headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Sears is notable for initially becoming famous for its mail-order catalog, a pioneer in the department store chain industry. Through most of the 80s, Sears was the largest retailer in the USA but has since been surpassed by a few companies. Sears currently operates 425 stores in the world and currently operates many different types of stores including Sears, Sears Grand, and Sears Travel.
Sears Product Line
Sears Subsidiaries
Marks & Spencer is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in London, England, and ranks 6th in this list of the world&#;s largest department store chains in . As of . Marks & Spencer operates 959 stores across the U.K. including 615 that only sell food products. Back in , Marks & Spencer became the first UK company to make a pre-tax profit of £1 billion. Last year, Marks & Spencer brought in annual revenues of USD 12.65 billion.
Outside of the UK, the company also operates in Ireland, Paris, Philippines, Netherlands, and many others. M&S operates many store formats including outlet stores, home stores, full-line stores, in-store food halls, online stores, and more.
Ranking 7th on this list of the top department stores in the world is J. C. Penney, an American department store chain with 865 locations in 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Last year J. C. Penney brought in annual revenues of USD 12.01 billion ranking 7th in revenue as well among the world&#;s largest department store chains. Since , the company has also become an internet retailer and started opening some freestanding stores to meet consumer demands.
The Isetan Mitsukoshi Group is Japan&#;s largest department store group, operating a total of 26 stores nationwide. The company operates 4 distinct brands: Mitsukoshi, Isetan, Iwataya, and Marui-Imai and operates all over Japan, with flagship department store chains in Tokyo, Sapporo, Kyoto, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and other major cities nationwide. At Isetan, you can buy food, clothing, housewares, and much more. Isetan Mitsukoshi brought in annual revenues of USD 11.99 billion last year &#; making it one of the top department stores in the world in terms of revenue.
Ranking 9th on this list of department stores is the Canadian retail business group, The Hudson&#;s Bay Company. The company&#;s main retail and department store is based on its namesake, The Bay. Last year, the company brought in annual revenues of USD 6.68 billion &#; making it one of the world&#;s largest department store chains.
Rounding out BizVibe&#;s list of the top 10 department stores in the world in is Dillard&#;s, an American luxury department store chain with approximately 285 stores in 29 states and headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Dillard&#;s operates 285 stores worldwide and employs over 39,000 people worldwide. Last year the Dillard&#;s brought in revenues of USD 6.50 billion &#; making it one of the top department stores in the world in terms of revenue in .
This is BizVibe&#;s list of the top 10 department stores in the world in brands in ranked by revenue and its placement in the global department store industry. The top department store companies have paved the way for the next generation of how everyday goods are sold. We might be veering out of just physical stores but trends such as freestanding pop-ups and the power on online retail are expected to keep the industry moving forward.
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Looking past , the future of the global department store industry is poised to grow in the billions by . This growth is led by the top 10 department stores in the world as they transition to a new age of selling everyday products. As disposable income increases and the top department stores create a presence online, expect further growth in the industry.
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