Posts Tagged ‘fashion careers’
Wednesday, April 24th, 2013
The pundits are having a good time poking fun at Ron Johnson’s expense. Yes, he made big mistakes. However, he was not the real problem.
Penney’s has been declining for years. The real blame belongs to the Board and the prior management. Over the years, J C Penney focused on the same customer and followed those customers as they grew older; management failed to attract younger customer. Everyone in retail knows the younger customers are the profitable customers. Only during the brief tenure of Allen Questrom and Vanessa Castagna did J C Penney do the right things.
I always believed the probability of success in Ron’s strategy to take JCP upscale and simultaneously attract a younger customer was unlikely. As retailers switch from one customer base to another, the retailer usually first finds the bottom of the Grand Canyon. That is where JCP is today. The old customers do not like what they see and the new customers do not like shopping with the old customers. In my mind, investors cannot afford to take the time required to successfully support a retail turnaround.
I have seen several retailers attempt to make customer base changes. Some that come to mind are:
- Abraham & Straus Department Stores – Brooklyn, New York
- Sears – The Softer Side
- Kmart- The New Kmart
- Mervyn’s – Mervyn’s California
All were colossal failures. On the other hand, Target did successfully make a change but it was done gradually and over several years. The customer base change was also less significant.
The essence of this story is that the Board and management need to keep their eyes focused on the long-term health of the company versus short-term quarterly tactics. The truth is that a merchant prince can seldom pull off a successful major change in customer base.
Tags: big box retail, big box retailers, Dallas, Department Store History, department stores, dina lokets, ecommerce, executive search firms, fashion, fashion careers, Fashion Institute, heidi plummer, J.C. Penney Co, JCP, john plummer, modesto, national retail federation, nrf, plano, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, retail, retail careers, retail executive search, Retail History, retail recruiters, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailing, Specialty retail, susan gill, TEXAS, USC, wholesale, Womens Wear Daily, WWD
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, June 17th, 2011
For years, consultants in executive search have been explaining the difference between contingency and retained executive search firms. It has always been hard to do without sounding self-serving. I have attached a definition of Executive Search from Wickipedia (June 17, 2011) which I believe makes the differentiation quite clear.
Which process a client chooses is the client’s decision. I have a bias. After years within a client company and years as a leader in executive search, it is clear that the retained approach is best for the recruitment of key executives. The retained process is more intensive, extensive, and results in candidates with the best fit. Retained search also best represtents the client’s brand.
Executive search
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (June 17, 2011)
Executive search is the consultative process of recruiting individuals to fill senior executive positions in organizations. Executive search may be performed by an organization’s board of directors, or by an outside executive search organization.
Executive search profession
Executive search is an extremely lucrative industry and successful search consultants can earn large sums. For this reason there is fierce competition to work in this sector. Generally the office is broken down into three functions: Business Development, Recruiting and Research. Generally the Business Development person receives the largest commission while the Researcher receives the smallest.
The executive search profession ranges in models from “Retained” search to “Contingency” search. Retained search firms are paid a retainer equal to one-third of the fee up front to launch the search process, a third of the fee thirty days from launch and the final third sixty days from launch. If the fee is fully paid before a candidate is hired, the retained firm continues its work until the search is concluded. Contingency search firms, on the other hand, receive their entire fee at the conclusion of the search process. Over the years, many contingency firms have begun receiving retainers while retained firms have expanded their models to include flat fees, capped fees, etc.
Search consultancies are often entrenched in particular market sectors. Their market sector networks are used along with various methods to seek candidates for a particular job. Normally the individuals are not actively seeking a new job. It is the job of the search consultant to approach these individuals with a view to taking them out of their current company and placing them in another, often a competitor.
The service is paid for by the client company or organization, not by the hired job candidate. Potential job candidates are identified, qualified and presented to the client by the executive search firm based upon fit with a written or verbal Job Specification developed in conjunction with the client. Assessing degree of potential fit of the candidate with the job specification is a key activity for the search firm, since the most common reason a search consultant is engaged by a client company is to save time and effort involved with identifying, qualifying and reviewing potential candidates for specific leadership positions.
It is common for a potential candidate to be identified by the search firm via a telephone call. Often the phone call is the result of a recommendation from someone inside the existing network of the search firm. Quality oriented search firms work hard at cultivating and continually updating their network of contacts so that when a search assignment is awarded they will be ready to start recruiting potential candidates. Another way to identify potential candidates involves search firm “research”, which is contacting targeted people in specific companies who appear to fit the job profile in some logical manner. Some of the best candidate referrals come from people who could be candidates for the job themselves but for any number of reasons are not interested at that particular time.[1]
Retained executive search firms
Retained executive search firms are firms paid on a retainer-structure that identify, assess, and recruit Corporate Officers, Board Members, C-level executives, Diversity Candidates, and other senior talent. There are large, global firms who engage in this activity, as well as regional “boutique” firms. Some smaller firms act together as a network, thus gaining global reach and being able to compete with the large integrated ones. Some firms specialize in specific industries (for example pharmaceutical, retail, IT) or functions (i.e. sales executives), while others are generalists.
Job seekers who qualify for senior-executive level searches often mistake executive recruiters for career transition, or “outplacement” specialists. Executive recruiters work for their client companies. They do not actively place out-of-work individuals. This would not only be a conflict of interest, it would also be financially unwise. A job seeker does not pay a recruiter when he lands a job. The client company pays the recruiting firm when it fills a position. This nuance is lost on many. It may be worthwhile to contact executive search firms if you qualify, but do not expect them to take time out of their schedule to talk with you or see you. They are driven by their specific assignments for their clients: they find people for roles, not roles for people. Executive search consultants can be “career makers” for some individuals, but for most, this will not be the way they will find their next role.
When choosing a firm, it is a good idea to consider carefully what you want from the relationship. While contingency firms offer a service with no money up front, they will often only work on those searches that can be executed quickly and do not have the time to focus on high-quality candidates. Another option is to hire one firm and give them an “exclusive contingency” arrangement so that the money is still paid at the end of the search, but there is only one firm working on the search. This gives the firm the benefit of time to truly focus on quality and the hiring manager is not flooded with resumes. A third option is to pay the firm an engagement fee. Generally firms with engagement fees are exclusive as well and then have more resources available to them to purchase additional research. This also moves the search to a “retained” level which brings a level of professionalism sought by many upper level candidates. At the retained level, a client could pay a “performance retainer” which means a payment to start the search, a payment when candidates are submitted and final payment when the candidate starts. These milestones are chosen due to the fact that the firm “performed”. The more traditional retainer agreements are time based and are set at specific intervals regardless of retainers.
Types of executive search firms
There are broadly two different types of Retained Executive Search firms in operation.
Global: These tend to cover numerous different sectors including financial services, life sciences, automotive, consumer, energy, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, technology, and media companies, as well as other industries. Such executive search companies will have many offices all over the world and the consultants will typically be split by which sector they are expert in. These firms are often public listed and may have over 100 offices.
Boutique: These tend to be more sector specific. That is to say that they will cover only one sector and within this sector, they may only look at certain aspects. For instance, there are a number of boutique firms that operate within financial services and these companies tend to look at senior positions (MD, Director and Vice President) within Investment Banking (M&A, Corporate Finance), Capital Markets (ECM & DCM), Sales, Trading, Research, Interest Rates, Credit, Equities, Derivatives, hedge funds and long-only asset management. As such, these firms would have one or more offices in the major financial centers across the globe; London, New York, Chicago, Dubai, Shanghai, Beijing, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore. While the global firms may have a presence within these areas, they tend to cover board level positions within retail banking, asset & wealth management and insurance. However the larger global firms do periodically work within the capital markets arena
Tags: big box retail, contingency search, Department Store History, dina lokets, executive careers, executive search firms, fashion careers, food service careers, heidi plummer, john plummer, modesto, nrf, plummer & associates, plummer and assocaites, plummersearch.com, retail alumni, retail careers, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search firms, retailexecutivesearch.com, retained executive search, retained executive search firms, Specialty retail, stores magazine, susan gill, USC, Womens Wear Daily, WWD
Posted in Talent Development/Education | 2 Comments »
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
CHARMING CHARLIE APPOINTS KEITH CLINE AS CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
HOUSTON –(BUSINESS WIRE)– Charming Charlie announced today that it has appointed Keith Cline as Chief Financial Officer effective February 28, 2011.
Mr. Cline comes to Charming Charlie from Express, Inc. (NYSE: EXPR), where he most recently served as Senior Vice President, Finance. During his five year tenure, Mr. Cline played a key role in both the 2007 privatization of Express and the subsequent initial public offering in 2010. Prior to that, Mr. Cline served as Director, Corporate Finance at Limited Brands, Inc. [NYSE: LTD] from 2003 to 2006. Mr. Cline’s career also includes financial leadership roles with FedEx Custom Critical, The J. M. Smucker Company, and Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. Mr. Cline began his career in public accounting with Arthur Andersen & Company and is a graduate of The University of Akron with a B.S. in Accounting as well as a M.B.A. in Finance.
“We are very pleased to welcome Keith to our team,” said Charlie Chanaratsopon, Chief Executive Officer of Charming Charlie. “Keith’s extensive background in finance combined with his retail experience and leadership capabilities will be invaluable as we continue to aggressively expand our national footprint. He is exceptionally well qualified to serve as our new Chief Financial Officer and I look forward to working closely with him to take this Company to the next level.”
Tags: big box retail, CFO, CFO search, charming charlie, COSTUME JEWELRY, department stores, dina lokets, direct marketing, ecommerce, executive search firms, fashion, fashion careers, heidi plummer, JEWELRY, john plummer, modesto, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, plummersearch.com, retail, retail careers, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, retail recruiters, RETAILER, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, retailing, Specialty retail, susan gill, USC
Posted in Candidate Information, Talent Development/Education | No Comments »
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 »
Sunday, March 6th, 2011
The White House - Kearny Street Looking towards Market - 1905
The White House in San Francisco first opened as Davidson & Lane. It opened in 1854 on Sacramento Street by J.W. Davidson and Richard Lane. Raphael Weill, an 18 year old émigré from France, joined the company. In 1958, when Richard Lane left to make his fortune in the Gold Rush, Raphael Weill became a Partner in the business. By 1861, Raphael Weill had bought out his partner and the store moved to Kearny and Post Streets. In 1870 it was renamed Raphael Weill & Company but the store was known as the “White House” after Grand Maison de Blanc in Paris. In 1906, the great earthquake and fire destroyed the building. Like many other retailers, it relocated temporarily after the fire and until the new store could be built. The new store was built at Sutter and Grant. It was built in a Beaux Arts design by Albert Pissis. The company maintained a buying office in Paris and all key members of management were from France and brought the French style in merchandise to San Francisco. For years, the company thrived and was noted for its elegant tea room. Mr. Weill died in 1920. The company continued to operate until 1965 when it closed in bankruptcy.
The building still stands and is now a flagship store for Banana Republic.
What happened????….The store was located in the better part of San Francisco. Unfortunately, that was not enough. The company seemed to lose its way in the marketplace and could not compete in San Francisco with the rejuvenation of Macy’s. The company could not attract the best merchants while other stores were developing exclusive relationships with vendors. In the end, the White House was just another promotional department store with an older customer base and with high labor and rent costs. Customers that used to travel to San Francisco to shop were now shopping in the suburban malls. The rest of their customers had passed. The White House became irrelevant. Not many were sad to see the store close.
The White House was on our family list of stores to shop when we came to San Francisco. I bought my first suit there which I needed for debate and speech tournaments. The only distinguishing point about this suit was that it was on sale. It never fit well.
The White House - Kearny Street- 1906 before earthquake and fire
The New White House - Approx 1909
The White House - Calendar - 1931
The White House Tea Room
The White House Tea Room
The White House Tea Room
I trust any customers and/or employee will feel free to leave their comments below. This was too beautiful of a store to let the memories pass without being put in print.
As with my other postcard blogs, please do not copy these postcards without my written permission.
Tags: Allied Stores, big box retailing, california department stores, California Retail, California retail history, carter hawley hale stores, City of Paris, City Stores, Department Store History, department stores, dina lokets, emporium, executive search firms, fashion, fashion careers, Fashion Institute, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, french fashion, french retail, french retail in san francisco, Grand Maison de Blanc, Hale's, heidi plummer, john plummer, la times, macy's, Merchantile Stores, modesto, national retail federation, nrf, NY Times, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, retail careers, retail executive recruiter, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, retail recruiter, retail recruiters, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, san francisco, San Francisco Retail, San Francisco Retail History, San Francisco Stores, SF Chronicle, specialty retailing, stores magazine, susan gill, USC, White House, White House Department Store, Womens Wear Daily, wsj, WWD
Posted in CALIFORNIA STORES, Retail Postcards | 8 Comments »
Wednesday, February 16th, 2011
Weinstock Lubin & Co. Sacramento 1908 New Store After Fire
In 1875, David Lubin, a Polish émigré via New York opened Lubin’s One Price Store in downtown Sacramento. This first store was 16 by 24 feet. A year or two later, his half-brother, Harris Weinstock, and his sister, Jeanette Levy, joined the business as it expanded from just a store to a major mail order house and the company name changed to Weinstock Lubin. Soon after, the store was expanded to 80,000 square feet with four stories. In 1875, the company was the largest mail order house on the Pacific Coast. The company grew and soon opened buying offices in New York and San Francisco. In 1888, the company was incorporated and renamed Weinstock Lubin & Co. A store in San Francisco was opened in 1897. In January, 1903, the downtown Sacramento store was destroyed by fire. A fireman was killed. Not to be stopped, the company quickly proceeded to build a new store, a building which became the biggest in Sacramento. The company targeted the value driven customer. As time continued, the retail business took over and became the majority of the business.
The company developed a culture which allowed employees to have a stake in the business. The company started a profit sharing plan which shared profits by employee level. The company also hired teachers to provide younger employees with skills in writing and mathematics.
David Lubin was impatient and wanted to do more than just run the family department store and mail order house. He let Harris Weinstock become the CEO while he engaged in agriculture. He started orchards in the Sacramento area and brought European farming methods. His knowledge of agriculture assisted him when he helped found the California Fruit Growers’ Union. He then helped settle Eastern European Jewish refugees who worked on various farms in the area and, in 1891, he became the director of the International Society for the Colonization of Russian Jews. He then began to campaign for subsidies and protection for farmers, initially in California but eventually on an international scale. His son, Simon, helped him develop a proposal for an international chamber of agriculture; in 1896, David Lubin moved to Europe to implement the proposal. In May, 1908, with the sponsorship of Italy’s King Victor Emmanuel III, the International Institute of Agriculture (the IIA) opened, in Rome. The Institute’s goals were to help farmers share knowledge, produce systematically, establish a cooperative system of rural credit, and have control over the marketing of their products. In 1906, David was permanently appointed as the U.S. delegate to IIA. (Note: The IIA was folded in 1945 and merged into the United Nations.
In 1949, Weinstock Lubin & Company was acquired by its arch rival, Hale Bros. In 1979, the new parent company Carter Hawley Hale Stores expanded Weinstock Lubin & Company (now just called Weinstock’s) into Reno, Nevada, and Salt Lake City, Utah.
In 1991, Weinstock’s was combined with the Emporium division which took over all operations including merchandising.
The downtown store in Sacramento is now an office building.
What happened??? Weinstock Lubin & Company was once a powerful retailer in Central California. It unfortunately became a part of Hale Bros which later merged with Broadway Stores and became Broadway Hale and later merged with Emporium Capwell to become Carter Hawley Hale Stores. Wall Street jokingly called the company EGO, Inc. The parent company immersed itself with debt as it went on a drive to acquire other retail chains in an effort to become the biggest retail chain in the U.S. The impact of this debt reduced the amount of capital available to maintain the stores. Macy’s became a better competitor in California and Nordstrom also entered the market along with a host of specialty retailers and big box retailers. The department store divisions of Carter Hawley Hale no longer were relevant to the customers. After Carter Hawley Hale Stores were sold to an investor group, Zell/Chilmark, the new management team made key marketing mistakes which finished off the parent company and resulted in the 1995 sale to Federated Department Stores. With the sale, all divisions, including Weinstock’s were either converted to Macy’s or sold.
I visited Weinstock Lubin & Company when I was young as I only lived 80 miles south in Modesto. Although Weinstock Lubin had an enjoyable lunch bar for kids, it was not as magnificent as the stores in San Francisco. Weinstock Lubin was a major participant in the holiday festivities and always had wonderful window displays.
Weinstock Lubin & Co. Sacramento 1906
Weinstock Lubin & Co. Sacramento 1924
Weinstock Lubin & Co. Sacramento 1927
I encourage you to leave your memories of this store and department store chain in the comments section below.
Tags: Allied Stores, big box retailers, Broadway Hale, Broadway stores, BULLOCK'S, California Retail, capwell, carter hawley hale stores, catalog, david lubin, Department Store History, department stores, dina lokets, emporium, executive recruiters, executive recruitment firms, executive search firms, fashion careers, Fashion Institute, fashion stores, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, harry weinstock, heidi plummer, john plummer, la times, levy, macy's, mail order, Merchantile Stores, modesto, national retail federation, Nevada Retail, northern california stores, nrf, plummer, plummer & associates, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, Reno Retail, retail careers, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, retail recruiters, retail store history, retail stores, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, sacramento, sacramento bee, Salt Lake City, san francisco chronicle, skywalker, specialty retailers, specialty stores, stores, susan gill, USC, Utah Retail, weinstock lubin & co, Weinstocks, Womens Wear Daily, WWD
Posted in CALIFORNIA STORES, Retail Postcards | 26 Comments »
Saturday, January 22nd, 2011
The Boston Store - Los Angeles - 1910
J.W. ROBINSON & CO – Los Angeles
James Winchester Robinson opened his first store in 1881 under the banner of The Boston Store. The original store was located at Spring and Temple Streets. In 1914, the name was changed to J.W. Robinson & Company and it moved to a new location at 7th and Grand in a building designed by Noonan and Richards. In 1934 the building was modernized by Edward L. Mayberry. The downtown store had six floors of selling space. On the seventh floor were the restaurants, the beauty salon, and customer service. The women’s rest area and lavatory were reputed to be exquisite.
Robinson’s catered to the carriage trade as did Bullock’s and Coulter’s. The store presented better fashions and offered excellent customer service. For years the store competed well with Bullock’s in the downtown market because it was located west on 7th street in an area attractive to the upper-end customers.
In 1957, the company was acquired by Associated Dry Goods and became their fashion headquarters for the West.
In 1952, the company opened its first branch store in the Beverly Hills market. Robinson’s needed that store to capture the carriage trade: customers that were now shopping at Bullock’s, I. Magnin’s, and Sak’s stores located out on Wilshire and at the specialty shops on Rodeo Drive. Even Coulter’s had closed its downtown store and moved to Wilshire. Later, Robinson’s opened a winter-only store in Palm Springs to serve the customers who wintered there. Other suburban stores opened in Panorama City, Anaheim, Santa Barbara, Glendale, Pasadena, Newport Beach, Cerritos, Woodland Hills and the City of Industry.
In 1986, Associated Dry Goods was acquired by The May Department Stores Company (St. Louis). In 1993, the Robinson’s division of Associated Goods was merged with the May Company Southern California division to form Robinson’s May. This was a difficult marriage as May Company was targeting the moderated market and Robinson’s catered to the carriage trade. In 2005, after the acquisition of The May Company Department Stores by Federated Department Stores, the stores were either renamed Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s or were sold.
What happened???? Although Robinson’s had relatively good positioning in Los Angeles, it relied too long on its one store downtown. It did not have the clout with vendors to develop exclusive relationships. As the customers moved west to Beverly Hills and south to Orange County and when the downtown retail market declined, Robinson’s was slow to expand and gave up market share to Bullock’s, I. Magnin’s, Sak’s, and other retailers. Robinson’s started to rebound when Michael Gould became the CEO, but he did not get full support from the parent, Associated Dry Goods. When it merged with May Company, the company quickly lost the carriage trade customer.
I knew Robinson’s well as a competitor when I worked at Bullock’s. The downtown LA and the Beverly Hills stores were well-maintained and operated at high customer service levels. The management was not known as sophisticated. The management development program was not strong so the company was never able to develop talented merchants. I remember when the Attorney General for California looked into price fixing amongst the Southern California department stores. They found a folder amongst the corporate office files at Robinson’s entitled “Price Fixing Agreements”.
I wish there were postcards showing the interior of this wonderful store. I have only one which shows the women’s restroom. As soon as I locate it I will post it.
New Downtown LA J.W. Robinson Store Drawing
J. W.Robinson & Company - Los Angeles - 1917
J. W. Robinson & Company - Los Angeles - 1920's
J. W. Robinson & Company - Los Angeles - 1920's
J. W. Robinson & Company - Los Angeles - 1940 - After 'Remuddling'
Utopia Yarn/ J.W.Robinson & Co - 1940
Rogers Peet Suits/J.W. Robinson & Co. - 1941
J.W. Robinson & Co. - Beverly Hills Store
J. W. Robinson & Company - Newport
Tags: Allied Stores, apparel retail, Associated Dry Goods, big box retail, big box retailers, Boston Store, BULLOCK'S, Bullock's Wilshire, catalog, department store, Department Store History, department stores, direct marketing, Downtown Los Angeles Retail, Dowtown Los Angeles History, ecommerce, executive search, executive search firms, fashion, fashion careers, Fashion Institute, fast food, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, FIT, food service, J.W. Robinson & Co, J.W. Robinsons, john plummer, la times, LOS ANGELES RETAIL, LOS ANGELES RETAILERS, Los Angeles Times, macy's, may company, May Company Southern California, May Robinson, MBA, modesto, national retail federation, New york Times, nrf, NYT, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, private companies, retail, retail careers, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, retail recruiters, retailers, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, retailing, Robinson May, Robinson's, shop TV, skywalker, Southern California History, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RETAIL, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RETAILERS, Specialty retail, stores, Supply Chain, susan gill, USC, wholesale
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!
Tags: apparel, apparel retail, big box retail, big box retailers, BULLOCK'S, Bullock's Alumni, BULLOCK'S DEPARTMENT STORES, Bullock's History, Bullock's Palm Springs, Bullock's Wilshire, career, careers, catalog, defunct department stores, defunct retailers, Department Store History, DEPARTMENT STORE POSTCARDS, department stores, direct marketing, ecommerce, employment, executive search, executive search firms, fashion, fashion careers, Fashion Institute, fast food, FDS alumni, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, food service, grand dames, heidi plummer, Hollywood Celebrities, I MAGNIN, KCET, L A Times, los angeles, Los Angeles Department Stores, Los Angeles History, LOS ANGELES RETAIL, LOS ANGELES RETAILERS, macy's, modesto, national retail federation, nrf, Orange County Register, plummer & associates, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, POSTCARDS, R H Macy, retail, retail careers, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, Retail History, Retail Los Angeles, retail recruiters, retail stores, retail talent, retailers, retailexecuivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, San Fernando Valley News, San Gabriel Valley News, Santa A, Santa Ana Register, Shirley Temple, shop TV, skywalker, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RETAIL, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RETAILERS, Specialty retail, stores, supermarkets, susan gill, The Daily Breeze, USC, wholesale, Womens Wear Daily, wsj, WWD
Posted in CALIFORNIA STORES, Retail Postcards | 23 Comments »
Monday, November 22nd, 2010
Should an unemployed retail executive suspend his/her job search during the holidays?
Every retailer knows the holiday season is a busy time. Store executives are working iron days, merchants are following sales trends closely to ensure inventories are balanced, human resources are keeping the stores staffed with temporary employees, and senior management is in constant angst about the season’s prospects. Your natural fear is that retail executives will not have the time to consider you for employment or that you will be seen as a pest if you bother them.
Nothing could be further from the truth! In fact, if you suspend your job search during the holidays you might be losing out on some significant opportunities. Keep in mind…
1. Retailers traditionally make executive changes after the fiscal year ends on January 31. January, February, and March become the busiest seasons in the recruitment of retail executives. As a result, the holiday season is a good time for you to make an impression with retail executives; and,
2. Retailers with positions open want to fill them before the fiscal year ends.
Your approach during the holiday season is important. Following are some things to think about for your holiday season job seeking activities:
• Retailer executives, like everyone else, think about family and friends during the holiday season. This is a good time to keep in contact with your network by sending a holiday email with your resume attached and letting them know that you appreciate any referrals as they hear about opportunities. You might also consider making a short call to wish them the best. Your object is just to stay in front of them.
• If you know a specific company has a current opportunity, be aggressive. No matter how busy they are, they need to fill that position before the end of the fiscal year.
• This is also a good time to build your relationships with recruiters, and industry consultants. They are not as harried as those in the retail industry.
Tags: apparel, apparel employment, apparel retail, big box employment, big box retail, careers, catalog, christmas employment, cosmetics, department store, direct marketing, ecommerce, employment, employment opportunities, executive search, fashion, fashion careers, fast food, fast food employment, grocery, grocery employment, holiday employment, job search, john plummer, modesto, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, restaurant employment, resume, retail, retail careers, retail employment, retail executive, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, retail jobs, retail recruiters, retail services, retail talent, retailers, retailing, seasonal employment, shop TV, skywalker, Specialty retail, supermarkets, USC, wholesale
Posted in Candidate Information | 1 Comment »
Monday, October 4th, 2010
I often discover a gap in a candidate’s employment history while reviewing their resume. What is surprising is that so many individuals do not know what to do about these employment gaps. Some individuals try to hide it, which is lying. Others try to stumble through an explanation which makes an employer suspicious.
There are many reasons for a gap in your employment history. These could be:
- Your employer went out of business leaving you looking for employment.
- Your employer terminated your employment due to a staff reduction.
- Your employer terminated you for cause.
- Or, you quit.
Any of these reasons could leave you with an employment gap while you were looking for a new career. Sometimes, the gap is longer because of an economic downturn or because your family did not want to relocate.
What ever the reason, you should show the employment gap on your resume and be ready to fully explain what you were doing during that time. If you do not have a prepared and honest explanation it will lead prospective employers to think that something else was going on in your life … maybe incarceration.
The last thing you want to do is cover up an employment gap. If your perspective or, worse yet, your new employer finds out about the cover up, you will most likely be not hired, or terminated. Now, it is too easy for employers to verify accurate dates of employment; and, employers do check.
Honesty is the best explanation. An example of a good explanation is ….” after I left company xyz, I started looking for opportunities in my city. Unfortunately, there are no other retailers there so I tried to transfer my skills to another industry. My son/daughter was in his/her senior year in high school so our family made a choice not to relocate. A year later, I found myself still looking. With my son graduating, our family has now agreed to relocate.”
There are many other reasons. Do your best to honestly explain the situation.
Tags: ace hardware, Amazon, amercian apparel, auto zone, big box retail, big box retailers, catalog, charming charlie, Chipotle, creers, Darden Group, department stores, dina lokets, direct marketing, ecommrce, employment, employment gaps, employment opportunites, employment opportunities, executive search, executive search firms, fashion, fashion careers, fashion industry, fast food, food service careers, Gap, HEB, heidi plummer, home depot, J.C. Penney, job changes, job search, john plummer, kroger, Limited, lowes, macy's, McDonald's, modesto, Morton's, Nordstrom, orchard supply, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, Publix, recruiters, restaurant careers, restaurant recruiters, resume, retail, retail careers, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, retail recruiters, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, retailing, safeway, Sears, shoptv, skywalker, stores, supermarkets, Supply Chain, susan gill, the gap, True Religion Jeans, trueserv, USC, Walmart, wholesale, Womens Wear Daily, wsj, WWD, yum
Posted in Candidate Information | 8 Comments »
