Posts Tagged ‘defunct retailers’
Saturday, March 26th, 2011
I. Magnin on Union Square - San Francisco
For years, I. Magnin & Company was the leading high fashion/luxury goods chain in the West serving the ‘carriage trade’ customer with exclusive fashion from leading designers. It earned these exclusive relationships by providing a facility and customer service that showcased the brands. She became known for bringing the latest fashions from Paris.
Magnin & Company was started in 1876 by Mary Ann Magnin and she named the company after her husband, Isaac Magnin. She came from the Netherlands and he from England. Her first store carried lotions and high-end clothing for infants. She then expanded into bridal. Her first store was located on Market Street. She later moved to 918-922 Market Street, right across from the Emporium. The new store was 10,000 square feet, two stories, and renowned for its elegant ladies room. In 1906 the company had a second location under construction on Grant Street but it never opened. The earthquake and fire destroyed both the Market Street store and the incipient one. Mrs. Magnin built a new store at the corner of Stockton and Geary Street. In 1948 that building was replaced with a new flagship store, dubbed the ‘White Marble Palace’ by Christian Dior.
Three of the Magnin’s sons (John, Grover, and Sam) joined the company. The fourth son, Joseph Magnin started his own company, J. Magnin.
In 1910, I. Magnin’s began opening boutique shops in luxury hotels in California. Eventually, there were six of these shops. In 1939, the company expanded into Southern California with its first store on Wilshire Boulevard, a block from the Bullock’s Wilshire store.
In 1944, Bullock’s Department Stores bought I. Magnin & Company and formed Bullock’s-I.Magnin. This partnership funded the new I.Magnin flagship store opened in 1948. It also led to the expansion of I. Magnin & Company to Santa Ana, Sherman Oaks, and Del Amo.
In 1964, Bullock’s-I.Magnin was acquired by Federated Department Stores in a hostile takeover. As a result, Bullock’s and I.Magnin’s became separate divisions of Federated. Federated did fund the expansion in the 1970’s of I. Magnin & Co into Chicago and Washington, D.C.
In the late 1970’s and the early 1980’s, Federated Department Stores realized that I. Magnin’s customer base was shrinking as the ‘carriage trade’ passed. The company realized that the younger customers were not shopping at I. Magnin’s. Management changes were made to attract the younger customer. These strategies did not provide the expected results and in fact, often resulted in offending the older customers. Sales continued to decline. High end boutiques were doing a better job of attracting the young and wealthy.
In 1988, Federated was taken over by real estate developer Campeau Corporation. In a settlement with the R. H. Macy Company which was also a bidder, Campeau sold the Bullock’s and I. Magnin’s divisions to Macy’s. The following year, Macy’s combined the Bullock’s Wilshire and I.Magnin’s divisions and started shuttering stores. The 1992 Rodney King riot in Los Angeles made it easy for the original Bullock’s Wilshire store to be closed.
The secret sauce for I. Magnin’s was creating an environment to showcase high fashion and luxury goods. Everyone who visited the San Francisco flagship I. Magnin store will tell you stories about the store, especially the marble ladies room with the gold plated fixtures. The store and all its facilities were elegant. Designers preferred to have their goods showcased at I. Magnin’s versus other retailers. And this set the company apart from all other department stores. In addition, the sales associates developed strong relationships with all the carriage trade customers and would call them to let them know about new goods and would hold those goods until the customer visited the store.
For a while, Rose Marie Bravo ran I. Magnin’s and she set plans in place to rebuild the chain’s image. After she left, the business again lost merchandising direction. In 1994, Federated Department Stores reached an agreement with the creditors of the R. H. Macy Company to buy it out of bankruptcy. Before the deal closed, they shuttered the remainder of the I. Magnin’s stores. Many of the stores were converted to Macy’s. The upper floors of the San Francisco flagship were converted to Macy’s; the lower floors became a duty free store.
What happened????…. For years the I Magnin & Company served the high end customers well. This was while the family was heavily involved in the business. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, the company continued to cater to the carriage trade but missed the growth of the baby boom generation. The company’s executives did not change their strategies, they just focused on the same for far too long until the high end and luxury specialty retailers had captured the younger wealthy customer. By the time Federated Department Stores recognized this, it was too late. I. Magnin & Company was seen by the customers as a store for the past generation. The company had lost its cache. Rose Marie Bravo did implement good strategies, but it was simply too late and the return on a turnaround simply was not a good investment. Many retailers fall into this trap. Federated put in an executive to reduce costs. This executive did not understand the importance of the sales people in the store. He implemented a plan to reduce full-time employees and add more part-time employees. This nearly resulted in the employee’s joining the union and definitely led to the departure of some of the best sales people and a serious decline in morale and customer service.
I knew I. Magnin & Company too well. Harriet, the aunt of a good friend of mine, worked in the candy department on the first floor at the Kearny Street entrance. She would tell us how it was her responsibility to let the management know when someone famous or a well-known customer would come in the door so they could be met and given individual service. Harriet showed us all around the store, including the ladies’ restroom.
Later, when I worked at Bullock’s, I shopped I. Magnin’s at the various stores. I had visited all except the store in Washington D.C. The stores were well maintained, elegant, and the customer service was exemplary. It was evident that the store in Chicago did not get the exclusive designer goods that were in the big stores in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Many of smaller stores (Del Amo, Sherman Oaks) also lacked the breadth of merchandise. At that time it was clear that the younger customer was not going to feel comfortable in that environment.
I had a great relationship with one of I. Magnin’s most delightful carriage trade customers. Mazie Donovan had inherited vast sums. Because she was virtually blind and lived near me, I used to do bookkeeping for her every week. She maintained strong relationships with the San Francisco flagship store even though she lived in Hermosa Beach. Ms. Jolly from the fur department would always call Mazie when she had some fur item she wanted Mazie to consider. I can remember the Russian Sable Bolero that Ms. Jolly sent to Mazie on approval which Mazie purchased. Within a week after a call from Ms. Jolly, Mazie would arrange a trip to San Francisco to see what was being held for her. I knew each trip would end with a new jacket or coat.
I have shared my memories. I trust you will too. Please leave them in the comments section below.
I. Magnin & Co. Union Square -San Francisco - mid 1950's
I. Magnin & Co Collector's Stamp 1930's
I. Magnin & Co -Union Square San Francisco 1950's - Macy's Expanding
I. Magnin & Co Calendar 1912
The following postcards depict the store in Los Angeles at Wilshire Boulevard and New Hampshire, near Bullock’s Wilshire. This store had access to the affluent Hancock Park neighborhood.
Please keep in mind that these postcards are part of the Plummer & Associates collection. Please do not copy or reproduce any of these postcards without permission.
Tags: Allied Stores, Bon Ton, Broadway stores, BULLOCK'S, BULLOCK'S DEPARTMENT STORES, Bullock's Wilshire, bullocks-magnin, California retail history, capwell's, Carter Hawley Hale, CHH, Chicago, City of Paris, City Stores, defunct department stores, defunct retailers, Dillard's, dina lokets, emporium, executive search firms, fashion, fashion careers, Fashion Institute, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, FIT, grand dames, Grand Dames Retail, heidi plummer, High Fashion, I. Magnin's, I.Magnin & Co, J Magnin, john plummer, la times, los angeles, Los Angeles Retail History, luxury retail, luxury stores, macy's, Magnin's, may company, Merchantile Stores, modesto, NY Times, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, R.H. Macy CO, retail careers, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, retail recruiters, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, san francisco, San Francisco Retail History, SF Chronicle, Southern California Retail History, Specialty retail, stores magazine, susan gill, USC, Washinton D C, weinstock lubin & co, White House, Womens Wear Daily, wsj, WWD
Posted in CALIFORNIA STORES, Retail Postcards | 7 Comments »
Monday, March 14th, 2011
Gottschalk's - Fresno - 1914 - New Downtown Fresno Store
GOTTSCHALK’S
Gottschalk’s was founded in 1904 by Emil Gottschalk, a German Jewish immigrant. The store opened in downtown Fresno, California, a city in the great San Joaquin valley rich in agriculture. The store focused on moderate priced dry goods. This strategy was so successful that the company opened a new larger store (100,000 square feet) in downtown Fresno in 1914. About 1960, Irving Levy, the grand nephew of the founder, took control of the company as CEO. He remained Chief Executive Officer until his death in 1980. During his tenure, he opened the first branch store in Merced, California which served an agricultural based population plus those at Castle Air Force Base. He continued expansion in California growing the chain to six. In addition, he launched Bobbie West, a juniors chain, and Village East, a plus-sized women’s chain.
Gottschalk’s found its niche in small markets in the West. In these smaller towns the retailer became the dominant store and was able to operate with lower real estate costs and often lower labor costs than retailers in major markets. The company expanded through acquisition. In 1987, it acquired Malcolm Brock, the privately held chain operating in Bakersfield. A year later, it acquired the Harris Department Stores chain based in San Bernardino. In 2000, the company acquired Seattle based, Lamont’s which operated stores in the Pacific Northwest, including Alaska.
Gottschalk’s became a public company in1986 and was listed on the NYSE.
The downtown Fresno store was closed in 1998.The downtown area had been upgraded with an outdoor mall area, but that was not enough to save the store as customer preferred shopping in suburbs.
Gottschalk’s filed for bankruptcy protection in January, 2009. In March 2009 the company announced that it would be liquidating; the last stores were closed on July 12, 2009.
What happened????…. The small market strategy worked for Gottschalk’s. In many of the markets it was the dominant store allowing the company to flourish. The acquisition of Lamont’s quickly became a problem. Some of the Lamont’s stores were in malls which were not a good competitive format for Gottschalk’s. Those stores were the first to be closed. Competition also got stiffer as Mervyn’s, Kohl’s, Target, Wal-Mart, and a rejuvenated J.C. Penney entered Gottschalk’s markets. The biggest blow came from the Great Recession. It hit California hard. The final blow came when the company could not secure financing to emerge from bankruptcy protection.
When I was a child I did visit the downtown store. I had an aunt and uncle who lived in Fresno. To me it was just a big store, nothing remarkable. When I visited the store later, it was not well-maintained. It was not long afterwards that the store was closed. The suburban stores were the best store in each of their markets. The merchandise mix was moderate, but they were the only store that offered major national brands. That was the clear edge they had over Mervyn’s, Target, and Wal-Mart.
Since the demise of Gottschalk’s is recent, I am sure there are many around who can add their memories of the company to the comments section below.
Gottschalk's - Fresno - Postmark 1918 - note recolored
Gottschalk's - Fresno - New Years Greetings!
These postcards are from the Plummer & Associates collection. Please do not copy or reproduce any of these postcards without written permission from John Plummer.
Tags: Allied Stores, bakersfield, big box retail, Broadway Hale, Broadway stores, california department stores, capwell, capwell's, carter hawley hale stores, City Stores, defunct department stores, defunct retailers, Department Store History, dina lokets, emporium, fashion, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, Fresno, Fresno Bee, Fresno History, grand dames of retail, Harris Department Stores, heidi plummer, john plummer, Kohl's, la times, Lamont's, Merced, Merchantile Stores, Mervyn's, modesto, Modesto Bee, national retail federation, nrf, NY Times, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search firms, retail recruiters, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, sacramento bee, San Bernardino, SF Chronicle, Specialty retail, specialty retailing, stores magazine, susan gill, USC, Weinstock Lubin, Weinstocks, Womens Wear Daily, wsj, WWD
Posted in CALIFORNIA STORES, Retail Postcards | 12 Comments »
Friday, March 11th, 2011
Emporium - Market Street - San Francisco - 1905 (pre earthquake)
THE EMPORIUM – SAN FRANCISCO – CALIFORNIA’S LARGEST AND AMERICA’S GRANDEST DEPARTMENT STORE…..
The Emporium in San Francisco was the first and later became the largest and for many years the most important department store in San Francisco. The store, because of its size and convenience to transportation, helped turn Market Street into a shopping Mecca. The store offered popular or value priced merchandise. It also had special events to draw customers such as band concerts every Saturday night under the glass dome.
The original store was started in 1872 as the Golden Rule Bazaar. At the time, it was the only large store on the West Coast and was designed to serve those following the gold rush. It grew to operate out of three different buildings. During those years the store was operated by the Davis brothers.
In 1893Adolph Feist leased a building on Market Street with plans to open a major department store through a partnership with one of the major retailers in the East. When the partnership strategy failed he rented out space in the building to various small entrepreneurs. In 1896, the doors opened under the name The Emporium. Soon after, Mr. Frederick W. Dohrmann became involved. He was a German immigrant who had come to the S.F. Bay Area in 1860 and had proven himself successful in flour milling and pottery merchandising. He understood the possibilities of the original department store plan and ended up leading the 1897 merger of the Golden Rule Bazaar and the Emporium into one entity in the space that Adolph Feist had leased. He then brought his son, A.B.C. Dohrmann, in as the president. The younger Dohrmann built the systems and procedures to allow the different departments to work together. The store quickly became successful under his leadership. He remained President until his death in 1914.
The Emporium suffered major damage in the 1906 earthquake and fire. While the store was being rebuilt, a temporary store was opened on Van Ness Avenue. A new building was built on Market Street. The new building had 775,000 square feet of floor space. It had a glass arcade, a glass dome, solid mahogany fixtures, and a new grocery department. The design was intended to make this store as glamorous as anything found in the East.
In 1927, the Emporium merged with H. C. Capwell & Co. based in Oakland. The new holding company was named Emporium-Capwell. The two different divisions operated independently for years only merging their New York and overseas buying offices. The Emporium started to grow with stores on the San Francisco Peninsula, Santa Clara County, Marin County, and Sonoma County. Capwell’s, on the other hand, opened stores in Alameda County and Contra Costa County.
The Emporium-Capwell company was acquired by Broadway Hale Stores in 1969. This put together Broadway (Southern California), Weinstock’s (Sacramento), Emporium (San Francisco) and Capwell’s (Oakland) into one holding company under the name Carter Hawley Hale Stores (CHH). CHH then went on a major acquisition binge which resulted in significant debt. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in 1991. In 1992, the Zell/Chilmark fund bought CHH and renamed it Broadway Stores as the company emerged from bankruptcy protection. In 1996, Broadway Stores was sold to Federated Department Stores and they closed all the various divisions and either converted the stores to Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, or sold the facilities.
The downtown San Francisco store has mostly been converted into a Nordstrom’s anchoring the San Francisco Center mall.
What happened???? The Emporium remained a dominant department store chain in the San Francisco Bay Area until the 1970’s. Then Ed Finkelstein and Phil Schlein led a rejuvenated Macy’s organization which took the market by surprise. The new Cellar department and the fashion forward Juniors and Young Mens departments captured the youth and early adult markets. Macy’s also put money into the look of their stores setting them apart from the Emporium which did not have capital available for the stores as the parent company had to service its debt. By the mid-80’s, Macy’s was clearly the dominant player. Because Emporium was a value priced department store chain, they also faced pressure from Mervyn’s which offered better values and more convenience. The explosion of good specialty retailers also took market share. During the construction of BART, the downtown San Francisco store suffered as Market Street was a mess and this drove shoppers to the Union Square area. In the end, it was the recklessness of the parent company that destroyed the Emporium and all the other divisions of CHH.
I knew the Emporium well both as a young customer and later as a competitor. When I was a young child, I came with my parents to shop in San Francisco. Modesto was just 80 miles away, but in those days it was a major trip. We had our car serviced before we made the drive and we stayed in a hotel for three days while we shopped for back to school, Christmas, and for Spring/Summer. Although we shopped in many stores (White House, City of Paris, Macy’s, and Hale’s), the Emporium was the targeted store. Not only did it have the merchandise we could afford, but it was also a grand place to take children. During the holidays the roof had a children’s playground/amusement park. There was a Ferris wheel ride that hung out over the front of the store looking straight down at Market Street. There was also a small Southern Pacific passenger train that kids could ride. (The last time I saw the train it was at model train store in the Sunset District.) In those days, the store had a pet department with live animals which was also a playground for the kids. We usually ate in the mezzanine cafeteria. In the mid-70’s I shopped the Emporium when I worked at Bullock’s in Los Angeles and later when I was at Mervyn’s. In those days you could see a lack of excitement in fashion apparel, a decline in customer service, and, most importantly, a decline in the maintenance of the facilities.
NOTE: I treasure my memories of this Grand Dame of Retail and hope you will too. Please feel free to leave your memories in the comments section below.
The Emporium - San Francisco - 1904 - Pre Earthquake
Emporium - 1910 - Note Earthquake Reconstruction on Roof Nextdoor
The Emporium - San Francisco - 1910
The Emporium - San Francisco - Holiday Greetings - 1910
The Emporium - 1911
The Emporium - Temporary Store on Van Ness - 1908
Emporium - Entrance Arcade - 1905 - Pre Earthquake
Ekmporium - Entrance Arcade - 1911 - Post Earthquake
Emporium - San Francisco - The Grand Staircase - 1915
The Emporium - Rotunda, Cafe, & Bandstand - 1908 - Pre Earthquake
The Emporium - Bandstand - 1906 - Note Sender's Comments
Emporium - Rotunda - After Earthquake Reconstruction
Emporium - Pre 1906 - Women's Cloaks & Suits
The Emporium - Juvenile Section - Pre 1906
The Emporium - Oriental Section - Pre 1906
Emporium - 1912- Cafe - Note Fire Sprinkler System on Ceiling
Emporium - Cafe - 1915
Emporium - 1908 Calendar - Sent from Temporary Store
The Emporium - 1908 Calendar - Sent from Temporary Store
Emporium - Postcard Calendar - 1909 - Sent From Temporary Store
The Emporium - 1920's - Gloves Trade Card
The Emporium = 1910
The Emporium - 1920's - Trade Stamp
The Emporium - 1906 After Earthquake and Fire
The Emporium - 1906 - Smoldering Fire
The Emporium - 1906 - After the Fire
The Emporium - 1906 - Another View After the Fire
The Emporium - 1906 - After The Fire Looking Through Former Entrance
Emporium - 1907 - Postcard Envelop Containing Earthquake and Fire Postcards
San Francisco City Hall
Emporium - Panorama of the City of San Francisco After Earthquake and Fire.
Emporium - 1906 Earthquake and Fire Burning the Metropolitain Temple
Emporium - 1906 Fire Destroys Concordia Club
Emporium - 1906 - Ruins of St. Ignatius Cathedral and College
Emporium - 1906 - Earthquake and Fire Refugee Camp
Emporium - 1906 - Refugee Camp in Cemetary
The Emporium - 1906 - The Entrance After Fire and Earthquake
These postcards are from the Plummer & Associates Collection. Please do not copy or reproduce without written permission from John Plummer.
Tags: 1906, 1906 earthquake and fire, Allied Stores, big box retail, bloomingdales, Broadway stores, BULLOCK'S, Bullock-I.magnin, carter hawley hale stores, CHH, Cisty Stores, City of Paris, defunct department stores, defunct retailers, Department Store History, DEPARTMENT STORE POSTCARDS, dina lokets, Earthquake, emporium, Emporium Capwell, emporium history, executive search firms, fashion, Fashion Institute, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, grand dame, Hale Co, Hale Stores, heidi plummer, I MAGNIN, john plummer, la times, Liberty house, Liebes, macy's, Market Street Retail, may company, May Company Department Stores, Merchantile Stores, Mervyn's, modesto, Modesto Bee, national retail federation, New york Times, Nordstrom, Northern california retail history, nrf, NYT, Oakland Tribune, plummer & associates, plummer and assocites, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, POSTCARDS, postcards of retailers, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, retail lpostcards, retail postcards, retail recruiters, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, sacramento bee, san francisco, San Francisco Earthquake, San Francisco Retail, San Francisco Retail History, SF Chronicle, Specialty retail, stores, susan gill, USC, Weinstocks, Womens Wear Daily, wsj, WWD
Posted in CALIFORNIA STORES, Retail Postcards | 13 Comments »
Monday, January 31st, 2011
Downtown LA - May Company (after addition)
MAY COMPANY – CALIFORNIA – The Largest Department Store in the West
In 1923, the May Company based in St. Louis, Missouri, bought Hamburger’s in Los Angeles and re-named it May Company California. The May Company itself had started in 1877 in Leadville, Colorado, specifically to serve the silver miners. The May Company Department Stores expanded by moving to Denver and later purchasing Famous Brothers in St. Louis. It then moved to St Louis and merged with William Barr Dry Goods in 1911 to create Famous Barr. With the 1923 acquisition of the large Hamburger store in Los Angeles, it entered the California market.
For the first 15 years, the May Company California division focused on the downtown Los Angeles store. The first branch store was opened in 1939, at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax. Even though the Great Depression did not hit California hard, the May Company remained cautious. They did know that they needed a store in Western Los Angeles as that was where the population growth was happening. In 1947, after WWII, they opened a store in the Crenshaw shopping area where many of the aircraft plant workers lived. In 1952, they opened a large store in Lakewood, near the Douglas plant and airfield. Afterwards, the company began opening a new suburban store every year or two until their stores captured significant market share in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, and San Bernardino counties.
Like Broadway Stores, May Company was a mid-tier department store chain catering to the broad value oriented customer. The company developed strong merchants and, although highly promotional, they were great at following the fashion trends. I remember in the 60’s and 70’s when the juniors revolution was taking place, the May Company – California stores had a junior area that captured the times as well as the best junior specialty retailers. May Company was hot! In those days May Company California was a major profit producer for May Department Stores Company.
In later years, the May Company California expanded outside of California as the parent company bought Goldwater’s (Arizona) and incorporated the Goldwater’s Las Vegas store into a May Company California store.
In the late 1970’s and 1980’s May Company California stores started to show wear as the stores were not well-maintained under the expense control programs being implemented. The company still maintained strong merchandising programs and the May Department Stores Company became known for making money through effective merchandising. However, the California division was hurt by executive turnover and corporate programs that influenced and limited local merchandising.
In 1993, after the May Department Stores Company acquired Associated Dry Goods Company, the Associated’s W.J. Robinson & Company division was merged with the May Company California stores to form Robinsons-May. Robinson’s was an upper-tier department store operation and the merger of these two businesses first created some difficulties. When Bob Mettler became responsible for merchandising the problems seem to end as he differentiated the merchandising for the stores based upon local markets. He also brought a new level of enthusiasm to merchandising and buffered the merchandising team from the corporate merchandising pressures.
In 1984, the original store at 8th and Broadway was closed. The headquarters had moved out of that building years before. This area of downtown Los Angeles had deteriorated significantly.
In 2006, after the May Department Stores Company was acquired by Federated Department Stores, the Robinsons-May division was closed and the stores were converted to Macy’s or sold.
What happened????? Although May Company California was a strong and aggressive merchandising organization, they, like others, had difficulties facing increased competition. Nordstrom, Mervyn’s, Target, a reinvigorated J.C. Penney, Costco, and others were taking market share and operated with lower costs. The May Company reduced expenses in a manner that resulted in a less than pleasant shopping environment. Corporate turnover and control also caused problems and eventually ended local merchandising programs. In the end, the collapse of the parent company ended May Company California.
I have posted postcards of the downtown Los Angeles store, the Wilshire store and the Crenshaw store. Postcards of the downtown LA store are listed under Hamburger’s, the company May Company purchased in 1923. Postcards of the newer May Company California stores are, in my mind, not important for this blog. The newer stores were just big boxes with no architectural importance.
May Company Downtown LA 1930's
May Company California - Store at Fairfax and Wilshire Blvd -1940
May Company Store at Fairfax and Wilshire Blvd. Miracle Mile 1960's
May Company California - Crenshaw Store 1940's
Tags: Allied Stores, Associated Dry Goods, Beaux Arts, big box retailers, Carter Hawley Hale, City Stores, dayton hudson, defunct department stores, defunct retailers, Department Store History, department stores, Downtown Los Angeles History, executive recruiters, executive search, executive search firms, fashion, Fashion Institute, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, grand dames, grand dames of retail, J.W. Robinson & Co, john plummer, Los Anteles times, macy's, may company, May Company Department Stores, May Company Southern California, Merchantile Stores, modesto, national retail federation, nrf, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, plummer blog, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, retail, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, Retail History, retail recruiters, retail talent, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, Robinson's May, skywalker, Specialty retail, susan gill, USC, wholesale, Womens Wear Daily, wsj, WWD
Posted in CALIFORNIA STORES, Retail Postcards | 8 Comments »
Sunday, January 16th, 2011
The Broadway . Original Store 1900
The Broadway Department Stores was founded in 1896 by Arthur Letts, Sr, an English immigrant. He built his first store on Broadway at Fourth Street, farther south on the street than the other retail establishments. His store, targeting the cost-conscious customer, was an immediate success and led to the 1920′s replacement of the building with a new, larger facility at the same location. In 1907, Mr. Letts funded two of his best employees, John Bullock and P. G. Winnett, to form Bullock’s at Seventh & Hill Streets.
The Broadway acquired the B.H. Dyas Specialty Emporium on Hollywood Blvd during the beginning of the Great Depression. This gave Broadway an important store in West Los Angeles. This store later declined with the decline of Hollywood Blvd and the growth of Beverly Hills.
The Broadway Street store was closed in 1973 and reopened at the newly built Broadway Plaza on Seventh Street. In later years, Broadway acquired many competitors to become a major retailer operating in the Southwest (Southern California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. Acquisitions included: Coulter’s (Los Angeles), B.H. Dyas (Los Angles), Milliron’s (Los Angeles), Walker’s (Long Beach), and Marston’s (San Diego). In 1979, Broadway was split into two divisions, Broadway Stores based in Los Angeles, and Broadway Southwest based in Phoenix.
The Broadway merged with Hale Stores (Sacramento) in 1950 to form Broadway-Hale Stores. This put Hale Stores (Sacramento/San Francisco), Weinstock Lubin (Sacramento), and Broadway under one company ownership. In 1969, the company acquired Emporium-Capwell. Emporium was based in San Francisco and Capwell’s was based in Oakland. In 1969, CHH acquired the three unit Neiman-Marcus chain based in Dallas. In 1972, the company acquired Bergdorf-Goodman (New York), Holt-Renfrew (Montreal), Sunset House (Los Angeles), and Waldenbooks (Stamford, Ct). In 1977, CHH attempted to takeover Marshall Fields, but was unsuccessful. Licking their wounds they ended up taking over the troubled John Wannamaker chain based in Philadelphia. In 1979, the company acquired Contempo Casuals based in Los Angeles. For a time, CHH also held a major interest in the House of Fraser which included Harrod’s. Through all these acquisitions the company increased sales and debt but profits remained low. The company was ripe for a takeover and Limited stepped up to the plate in 1984 and 1986. To fend off the takeover, CHH spun off the Specialty Group (Neiman Marcus, Contempo Casuals, and Bergdorf Goodman), sold Waldenbooks to Kmart, sold Thalheimers to the May Company, sold Wannamaker’s to Woodward & Lothrop, and Holt Renfrew to the Weston family. In 1991, CHH filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In 1992, the Zell/Chilmark fund took the company out of bankruptcy and formed a new company called Broadway Stores, Inc. A new management team was recruited led by Mr. David Dworkin. Unfortunately, this new team misread the customer base and took Broadway Stores into a direction which proved disastrous. In 1995, the Zell/Chilmark organization sold Broadway Stores to Federated Department Stores. Within months the headquarters were closed and the stores were converted to Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s or were sold to Sears and other retailers.
What happened??? The Broadway never had the merchandising talent in fashion found at the competitors. It had few exclusive relationships with vendors and, because it was targeted towards the value-driven customer, it faced stiff competition from Sears, the rejuvenated J.C. Penney Company, discount stores and specialty retailers. Because the parent company was deep in debt due to the aggressive acquisitions, the Broadway did not have the funds to invest in the maintenance of their stores. The facilities were showing wear, carpets worn, and the fixtures and decor were outdated. Broadway also fell into advertising addiction; they relied heavily on costly advertising to drive whatever customer traffic they had. Most importantly, employee morale was low as the value of their profit sharing retirement plan declined with the company’s eroding performance. Probably the largest portion of blame goes to the lack of leadership at Carter Hawley Hale, the parent. Competitors lovingly called the company Carter Farter & Hoopla. Reportedly, the Wall Street Journal commented … God gave them Southern California and they blew it”.
The downtown store on Broadway Street was kept open far longer than it should have. The store in the later years was in a transitioning area of downtown LA, surrounded by closeout shops, closed theatres, and empty store fronts. The store had narrow wooden escalators which were scary to use and very noisy. You could hear the thump, thump of the escalators all over the store. At the end, the store misrepresented the brand as the merchandise assortment was targeting a customer in the lower income strata.
Broadway Store During Shriner Convention . 1907
New Broadway Store. Los Angeles. 1930
New Broadway Downtown LA . 1930's
Millinery Department - Broadway
The Broadway . Drapery Department . 1907
Corset Department . 1907
Drapery Department 1907 Another View
Fourth Floor Restaurant . 1907
New Eighth Floor Restaurant . 1930's
Garden Restaurant . 1930's
Broadway . New Van Nuys Store
Broadway Santa Card (reverse side below)
Reverse of above Santa card
Home of The Broadway Founder
More on the home of the founder of The Broadway
Founder's Home in Hollywood
The Broadway . Employee Handbook . 1920
1920 Broadway Handbook pgs 2 & 3
Employee Handbook pgs 4 & 5
The Broadway . Employee Handbook . pgs 6 & 7
Employee Handbook . The Broadway. 1920 . pgs 8 & 9
The Broadway . Employee Handbook. pgs 10 & 11 . 1920
Note: Please do not make any copies of these postcards without the permission of John Plummer. It has taken years and a great deal of expense to compile this collection.
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Posted in CALIFORNIA STORES, Retail Postcards | 10 Comments »
Monday, January 3rd, 2011
Bullocks Downtown Los Angeles – 1907 – Grand Opening
In 1907, John Gillespie Bullock and Percy Glen Winnet opened Bullock’s at the corner of 7th & Broadway Streets in downtown Los Angeles. The two had worked at The Broadway and convinced Arthur Letts, Sr, founder of The Broadway to back them in this new retail venture targeting the more up-scale customer. The store grew over the years as it acquired buildings on 7th Street between Hill and Broadway; one of the buildings was a competing department store. In 1923, John Bullock and P. G. Winnet bought out Arthur Lett’s interest.
In 1929, the company opened its first branch store on Wilshire Boulevard. This luxury Art Deco designed store targed the wealthy as they moved to the nearby Hancock Park neighborhood from the downtown’s West Adams district. Later, the Bullock’s Wilshire store became a separate division within Bullocks. For years Bullock’s Wilshire merchandised the store in Palm Springs which only operated in the Fall, Winter, and Spring seasons. The Palm Springs store served the Hollywood community with winter homes in that area.
Bullock’s was known as a chain which targeted the better customer and provided unparalled customer service. The company had approximately 65 buyer/managers in each store until 1970. Up until then, the company believed that having buyers in each store for each department helped provide a localized assortment. However, it was hard for Bullock’s to buy from larger manufacturers as each store could not meet minimum quantity orders. The company did have exclusive relationships with key better vendors which helped it retain the better market position.
The third suburban store was opened in Pasadena (it was designed to be converted into a hotel if it did not succeed as a store). Later the chain continued to expand with stores in Westwood, the San Fernando Valley, Santa Ana, Torrance, Lakewood, San Gabriel Valley, Orange County, Las Vegas, Pheonix, and San Diego.
Bullock’s acquired I.Magnin & Company in 1944 to form Bullocks-Magnin. In 1964, publicly held Bullocks-Magnin was acquired by Federated Department Stores. This was a hostile takeover. P.G. Winnet, the founder, opposed the sale. His son-in-law, Walter Candy who was President, was for the sale and gathered support of the management team. Abe Fortes, who later became a Supreme Court Justice, was the attorney representing Federated. (Note: Bullock’s in Northern California was a separate division of Federated Department Stores.) This acquisition affected both Bullock’s and Federated for many years. First, many of the management team were protected for supporting Mr. Candy and the Federated acquisition so it was agreed that directional and management changes would not be made for five years. That is one of the key reasons Bullock’s did not convert to central merchandising until 1970. P.G. Winnet mostly continued working out of the Bullock’s-I Magnin offices but did visit stores and was known for pinning candy on sales people who he recognized as outstanding. Secondly, Federated was restricted from further growth through acquisition. The Justice Department was concerned that Federated was gaining too much share of the department store sector which at the time was the largest individual segment in the retail industry.
In 1988, Bullock’s was sold to the R.H.Macy Company as Federated was owned by Campeau and needed cash. As Macy’s-Atlanta took over merchandising, Bullock’s lost its better positioning. As I understand it, under Macy’s store gross margin production shrank dramatically. In 1995, Bullock’s name was formally changed to Macy’s. Now, all the Bullock’s sites are known as Macy*s or Bloomingdales since the R.H. Macy Company was acquired by Federated Department Stores.
Bullocks was known for:
- Merchandise assortments which trended towards better.
- Higher quality salespeople who were focused on customer service.
- Strong fashion presentation with upgraded and well-maintained stores.
- Special events.
What happened??? When Federated Department Stores acquired Bullock’s it was a leader in Southern California but was marginally profitable. As management changes were made the company became highly profitable and in a dominant market position because the company secured top merchandising talent, invested in systems, and had the capital from Federated Department Stores to upgrade facilities and to expand into new markets. The downtown store continued to slide as the market demographics changed, the Southern California transportation system collapsed, and as customers shopped more at shopping malls. Bullock’s flourished until Nordstrom’s entered the Southern California market. At that time, Bullock’s began losing some of its fashion edge as markdown programs were reduced with the intent of increasing profitability but in reality allowed fashion to become stale in comparison to Nordstrom’s. Bullock’s remained dominant but should never have allowed Nordstrom’s to gain a foothold in Southern California. (Note: Terry Lundgren, CEO of Macy’s (Federated Department Stores) started with Bullock’s as a trainee. Keep in mind, the Bullock’s motto was….” to build a business which shall know no end”.
Today, the former downtown Bullock’s store building is divided between a St Vincents Jewelry Mart, a parking lot, and small retail stores. The Bullock’s Wilshire store now houses the Southwestern Law School. The Bullock’s Wilshire store is kept in its original Art Deco splendor and serves as a reminder of department store retailing in the grander days.
I started my retail career with Bullock’s. Although I grew up in Modesto, California, about 300 miles north of Los Angeles, I knew Bullock’s especially well. My mother was from Los Angeles. My grandmother used to knit infant clothing for Bullock’s downtown. My godmother, Ms. Paquita Machris, used to take me twice a year to Bullock’s Wilshire to pick out clothing. Her personal sales person, Ms. Dineen, met us at the MotorCourt and took us through the store followed by a lunch in the tea room where I enjoyed my first taste of Babas au Rhum. Years later, I always made sure Ms. Dineen was well taken care of as she had the largest sales book in the entire Bullock’s chain. I joined Bullock’s when I taught Statistics at U.S.C. I then became a part of the Personnel department in the corporate offices. I remained with Bullock’s until 1978 when I was recruited to Mervyn’s, a new publicly held company in the San Francisco Bay Area.
My collection of Bullock’s postards are shown below. If anyone has memories of Bullock’s I hope you will feel free to memorialize your memories in the Comments Section below. I know I have many friends and co-workers who are anxious to do so. You must receive my permission to copy or reprint any of these postcards.
Bullock’s Downtown
Bullock's Downtown 1920's
July 4, 1921
DownTown LA 1912
Bullock's Downtown 1930's (note outdoor dining - before smog)
Bullock's Downtown - 1930's
First Floor 1914 - Later became Cosmetics floor
Gown Room - Third Floor - Pre 1920
Children's Departments - Fourth Floor - Pre-1920
Millinery Room
The Tea Room…..
Tea Room - 1920's
The Lobby - Tea Room
The Foyer - Tea Room - 1920's
The Foyer - Tea Room - 1910
Tea Room - The Grey Room - 1920's
Tea Room - 1920's
Tea Room - 1930's
Tea Room Kitchen - 1930's
California Poem Sent to Bullock's Downtown Customers - 1924
Bullock’s Wilshire – Opened 1929
Bullock's Wilshire
Bullock's Wilshire - Fine Pottery and Glassware
Bullock's Wilshire - Fine Jewelry Gorham Sterling & Precious Stones
Bullock’s Pasadena
Bullock's Pasadena - Designed to be a hotel if it did not work as a retail store.
Fashion Postcards Sent to Bullock's Pasadena Customers
Bullock’s Santa Ana
Bullock's Santa Ana - Company developed mall- Sister Company I Magnin is co-anchor
Bullock's Downtown Easter Placecard - Shirley Temple - 1928
This placecard was provided to me by someone whose Great Aunt worked at Bullock’s and kept this placecard. She had Shirley Temple, Ma Kittle, and Bob Hope as customers. I have not verified the signature. Bullock’s, Bullock’s Wilshire, and Bullock’s Palm Spring served many of the Hollywood Stars!
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Posted in CALIFORNIA STORES, Retail Postcards | 23 Comments »
