Posts Tagged ‘plummer and associates’
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
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| True Religion Apparel, Inc. Names Jordan Daly as Vice President of Brand Strategy, Public Relations and Marketing |
| VERNON, Calif., May 12, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) –True Religion Apparel, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRLG) today announced that the Company has named Jordan Daly as Vice President of Brand Strategy, Marketing and Public Relations effective May 1, 2011. Ms. Daly will be responsible for developing the direction for, and managing all aspects of brand management, marketing, public relations and special projects on a global basis. She will drive a strategic multi-platform communication plan, oversee brand identity and positioning, campaigns, public relations, special events, product launches and internal communications to further build the Company’s market leadership position and maximize profitability. Mr. Jeffrey Lubell, the Company’s Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Merchant will be directly involved in overseeing Ms. Daly’s initiatives.Ms. Daly was most recently Vice President Public Relations Americas for Burberry Group, PLC. Prior to that, she served as Managing Director with HL Group, LLC specifically overseeing strategic marketing and communication platforms for consumer, fashion and lifestyle clients. Ms. Daly’s additional professional experience includes serving as Public Relations Director with kate spade and she worked in account management and advertisement roles with Factory Communications. Ms. Daly began her career at Harrison & Shriftman and has a B.S., Fashion Merchandising and Marketing from the University of Alabama.Jeffrey Lubell, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Merchant of True Religion Apparel, Inc. stated, “Jordan brings a wealth of knowledge in all facets of brand development that will help further increase our overall brand awareness and affinity. As we continue to expand and further evolve our global presence, Jordan will be instrumental in guiding our efforts to reach our target customer while enhancing our reputation as one of the world’s premier denim and lifestyle brands.” |
Tags: dina lokets, executive search, executive search firms, heidi plummer, john plummer, MARKETING, modesto, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, plummersearch.com, PUBLIC RELATIONS, retail, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, Retail History, retail recruiters, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, Specialty retail, susan gill, USC, WHOLESALE SALES
Posted in Candidate Information, Talent Development/Education | 1 Comment »
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 »
Friday, March 18th, 2011
Hale Bros. San Francisco - Pre-1906
HALE BROTHERS – SACRAMENTO
In 1880 the Criterion Store was opened by Prentice Cobb Hale and his two brothers. This store was located in downtown Sacramento. The next year the store and company was renamed Hale Brothers & Company. In 1896, the company incorporated under the name of Hale Bros. In 1887, the company established a buying office in New York headed by Marshall Hale. This store was known for offering value priced merchandise.
Hale Bros opened large stores in San Francisco and San Jose and several smaller stores in California’s smaller markets. In those days some of the stores included groceries in their merchandise mix. Each store was managed as a separate entity as systems were not sophisticated enough to have chain wide merchandising. The Sacramento store was last located at 9th and K Streets. The San Jose store was at the corner of 1st and San Carlos. The San Francisco store was first located at 989 Market Street. After the earthquake, the company built a new store at 901 Market Street in a neoclassical building designed by the Reid Brothers. It lost that store in a 1944 lease dispute with the owners of the land upon which the store was built. As a result, J.C.Penney moved into this prime location and Hale Bros was forced to take over the former J.C.Penney location adjacent to the enormous Emporium store. The foolish negotiations by Hale Bros resulted in the company opening in an older building while paying a much higher rent.
In 1949, Hale Bros. acquired their Sacramento rival, Weinstocks Lubin & Co. In 1949, Hale Bros. negotiated an all-stock merger with Los Angeles based Broadway Department Stores, then the largest and most aggressively growing chain in Southern California. The result was Broadway-Hale Stores. Prentice Hale became the Chairman and Ed Carter (Broadway) became President.
All stores were closed by 1968. Hale Brothers was facing increased competition from the Emporium and aggressive specialty retailers. Consumers were moving to the malls while Hale Bros stores were in downtown markets. Since the Emporium was merged into Broadway – Hale in 1969, I have to believe they knew that Hale Bros stores would not be relevant in that combined company. At the time, the only people crying over the loss were the employees of Hale Bros. The store was not missed.
The Sacramento store has now been restored to its original look; the unsightly aluminum sheathing has been removed. The San Jose store now houses a building and loan office. The San Francisco store was empty for years after J.C. Penney left San Francisco. It now houses big box retail venues.
What happened????…. In the case of Hale Bros you cannot blame Carter Hawley Hale for its demise. Instead, blame goes directly to the company’s management. The loss of the San Francisco store lease killed that store. They ended up with a store that was old and in decline and they paid more in rent. They just could not compete with the more customer friendly Emporium next door. Customers were also looking for more fashion but Hale Brothers did not offer it. The biggest problem was that the customers were moving to mall shopping environments and Hale Bros stores were only located in downtown venues.
I was taken to the Hale Bros stores in both Sacramento and San Francisco. In Sacramento, the Weinstock’s store was far more exciting. In San Francisco, going to Hale Bros was torture in comparison to the Emporium, the White House, or the City of Paris. Then, when Macy’s San Francisco woke-up, it was all over for Hale Bros.
I hope that all of you who know Hale Bros better than I do will be able to tell your stories in the comments section below. I would especially like to hear more about how the real estate mogul, Louis Lurie, out foxed Prentice Hale.
Hale Bros. - San Francisco - Destruction by 1906 Earthquake and Fire
Hale Bros. - San Francisco - Rebuild after Earthquake and Fire
Hale Bros. - San Francisco - New Store on Market - 1927
Hale Bros. - San Jose - Scene from 1932
Hale Bros. - San Francisco - First Floor - no date
Hale Bros. - San Francisco - Pompeian Court/Restaurant - 1914
These Hale Bros. postcards are part of the Plummer & Associates collection. Please do not copy or reproduce without permission from John Plummer.
Tags: Allied Stores, big box retail, bloomingdales, Broadway Hale, California retail history, Carter Hawley Hale, City of Paris, City Stores, defunct department stores, Department Store History, department stores, dina lokets, emporium, Emporium Capwell, executive search firms, fashion, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, grand dames, grand dames of retail, Hale Bros, Hale Brothers, Hale Stores, heidi plummer, I.Magnin & Co, J Magnin, J.C. Penney Co, john plummer, la times, macy's, Merchantile Stores, Mervyn's, modesto, Modesto Bee, national retail federation, nrf, NY Times, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, POSTCARDS, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search firms, Retail History, retail recruiters, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, sacramento, sacramento bee, Sacramento Retailers, san francisco, San Jose, SF Chronicle, Specialty retail, specialty retailers, stores magazine, susan gill, USC, value retail, Weinstock Lubin, weinstock lubin & co, Weinstocks, White House, Womens Wear Daily, WWD
Posted in CALIFORNIA STORES, Retail Postcards | 19 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 »
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 »
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 »
Friday, January 28th, 2011
.
CITY OF PARIS DRY GOODS COMPANY
City of Paris - 1904
Felix Verdier owned a silk-stocking manufacturing company in Nimes, France. In 1850 he chartered a ship, Ville de Paris, to bring silks, laces, and fine wines, champagne, and cognac to San Francisco. His ship was met in the Bay by boatloads of newly wealthy 49ers, brandishing bags of gold. As the story goes, he sold all the products before the ship was even docked. Felix Verdier immediately returned to France and reloaded with fresh merchandise destined this time for the store he opened at 152 Kearney Street and named the City of Paris.
The City of Paris became the premier department store in San Francisco. By 1896, a larger store in a Beaux-Arts design featuring an open atrium was built at Stockton and Geary Streets. In 1906, the big earthquake and resulting fires destroyed much of the store’s interior. A temporary store was established on Van Ness while the interior was redesigned by John Bakewell and Arthur Brown. Its open atrium was topped with a magnificent stained glass dome depicting the ship, Ville de Paris.
The rebuilt store became a showcase for retailing in San Francisco. It was opulent and continued to be stocked with merchandise of French design and manufacture. The liquor department was well regarded for its French influence as this was before the development of Napa Valley. Brentano’s took over the book department and became the largest volume bookstore west of Denver. Every Christmas season, the store set up a beautifully decorated tree in the Atrium. Herb Caen, the San Francisco Chronicle columnist, deemed it the official Christmas tree for San Francisco. Reportedly, he tree was 50 to 60 feet tall.
In the 1960’s, the City of Paris’ fortunes declined. It was no longer as highly profitable as consumer tastes changed and competitors became stronger. Macy’s, for example, had copied the basement theme of the Normandy Lane in the City of Paris and created The Cellar. (Later, Macy’s took The Cellar concept to their other stores and divisions.) The Verdier family decided to close the store in 1972. I think there are many who will remember the KFRC radio station studios which were on the first floor so pedestrians could see the studios through the window.
The City of Paris did open suburban branches. They opened one in Vallejo in the 1940’s. They also opened boutique shops in some of the better hotels. The branch stores never proved highly successful.
After the closing, Amfac bought the store in San Francisco and converted it to their Liberty House department store division. The new store was called Liberty House at the City of Paris. Liberty House quickly discovered that it was a difficult facility to operate on a profitable basis so they built a new store next door on Stockton Street. They sold the old building to Neiman Marcus who immediately announced plans to demolish the landmark building and replace it with a modern store.
The reaction in San Francisco to the announced destruction of this landmark was unbelievable. Herb Cain, the noted columnist, took on the fight as did many of the citizens of San Francisco. Although the building was not saved, an agreement was reached in which the dome and some of the important historic décor was saved and put into the new store. The replacement store is an important part of the retailing community in San Francisco as the dome has been preserved and Neiman Marcus is a respected retailer. The new fake tree at Christmas, unfortunately, does not meet the standards of the citizens who remember the old City of Paris tree.
What happened???? Many things worked in the favor of the City of Paris. The upscale shopping district moved from Market Street to the Union Square area. Unfortunately, City of Paris remained a small retailer with little market clout. In addition, consumer tastes were changing as apparel brands were becoming strong. American wines were also growing stronger. Most importantly, I. Magnin’s was located across the street and had captured the carriage trade. Macy’s California was under the leadership of Ed Finkelstein and he upgraded that chain from a promotional value oriented department store to one with style and a healthy upper moderate merchandise mix. He developed The Cellar concept and went after the younger customers with successful Junior and Young Mens departments. Most importantly, the Macy’s San Francisco main store was also on Union Square and its excitement drew many customers. I also believe that the succeeding family members did not have the interest or flair to take the store where it needed to go to be competitive.
I remember the City of Paris well. Every back to school season and for many Christmas seasons my family would visit the retail stores in San Francisco. The City of Paris store was something we always had to see even though we could not afford much of the merchandise the store carried. We always came to see the Christmas tree! When I was at Bullock’s I would continue to visit the store on trips to San Francisco. I watched the store in decline, but it was still an example to me of a store carrying unique product, with historic design and décor, and with superior customer service.
At the time the building was to be demolished, a colleague from Bullock’s was the head of Neiman Marcus. He could not understand why the citizens were so upset since the building was of a design that could not be operated on a profitable level. He did want the location so he worked to a compromise to save the dome and some of the decor. Most older San Franciscan’s still cannot accept the outside architecture of the store. To them the new building looks like a typical suburban store (without windows) plopped onto a city corner.
1906 - After the Earthquake and Fire. Structure Sound/Inside Burned
City of Paris - 1905 - Camp Crocker on Union Square
City of Paris - 1910 -Celebration
Union Square - 1904 - City of Paris
Union Square - 1915 - City of Paris (Note: Dohrman's Across Street)
Union Square - 1944 - City of Paris - (Note: I Magnin Replaces Dohrman's)
City of Paris - 1907 - Temporary Store After Earthquake on Van Ness
City of Paris - 1911 - After Earthquake Renovation
Rotunda 1915
City of Paris - Christmas Tree - 1911
City of Paris - Christmas Tree in Atrium
City of Paris - Christmas Tree - 1950's
Christmas Tree 1961
I hope all who shopped or worked at the City of Paris Dry Goods Company will feel free to memorialize their impressions of this beautiful store by writing in the COMMENTS section below.
NOTE: Please do not copy any of these postcards without the written permission of John Plummer. These cards took years to collect.
Tags: Allied Stores, Associated Department Stores, attrium., Beau arts, california department stores, California retail history, california retailers, Carher Hawley Hale, CHH, Christmas Tree, City of Paris, City of Paris Christmas Tree, City of Paris SF, city of paris store, City of Paris store history, City Stores, defunct deparment stores, department store alumni, Department Store atriums, Department Store History, DEPARTMENT STORE POSTCARDS, department stores, department stores histiry, executive search firms, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, french fashion, french in san francisco, french retailers, grand dames of retail, herb caen, histoic buildings, historic landmarks in San Francisco, john plummer, la times, macy's, may co, May Company Department Stores, Merchantile Stores, modesto, national retail federation, Neiman Marcus, northern california, nrf, plummer & Associate, plummer and associates, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, retail alumni, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, retail postcards, retail recruiters, retail search, retail stores, retail stores history, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, san francisco, San Francisco Christmas Tree, San Francisco Retail, San Francisco Retail History, SF Chronicle, SF Retail, skywalker, stores, susan gill, USC, Wall Street Journal, White House SF, Womens Wear Daily, wsj, WWD
Posted in CALIFORNIA STORES, Retail Postcards | 23 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 »
Tuesday, December 21st, 2010
Plummer & Associates, Inc.
P.O. Box 607
New Canaan, Connecticut 06840
(800) 603 9981
www.plummersearch.com
Happy Holidays!
At this time of year we all think of our relationships, friends and family. We also like to review our successes and seek areas for improvement.
2010 has been a better year for all of us involved in retail. Although the economy has a long way to go to fully recover, there are significant signs of improvement indicating that the consumer is spending more. That bodes well for all of us!
At Plummer & Associates our commitment is to do a better job than we have before. During the deepest part of the recession, we spent time re-thinking our business model and how we serve our clients. We have always been proud of our success in recruiting top candidates who excelled with our clients, but we challenged ourselves to work more efficiently and at less expense to our clients. We as a team are proud of what we have accomplished.
We have now added a blog to our website: www.plummersearch.com/blog. Currently this blog covers topics related to talent development and information for candidates. In January, as part of our contribution to the retail industry, the blog will cover the evolution of downtown retailers for the prime period from 1880 to 1960. Our first blog will cover the stores of Southern California and the second will cover Northern California. Over time, we will cover all states and provinces in North America, utilizing our collection of over 10,000 retail store postcards.
For now, we thank you for our relationship and want you to know that we are honored to work with you. We trust we have earned your respect so that we may continue this relationship in 2011.
We wish you the best for the holidays and look forward to being in touch in the New Year.
Sincerely,
John Plummer
Susan Gill
Heidi Plummer
Dina Lokets
Kathy Brooke
And the Plummer & Associates Team
P.S. The Santa buttons above are from our collection representing retail stores in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the U.K.
Tags: A&S, Abraham and Straus, Allied Stores, Bambergers, Black Stores, bloomingdales, Bon Marche, Bon Ton, Boston Stores, broadway, buffums, BULLOCK'S, Burdines, capwell, Carson, Carson Pierie Scott, Christmas, City of Paris, City Stores, Davidsons, Department Store History, department store santa pinbacks, department stores, emporium, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, Filene's, food service, Gimbel's, Goldsmiths, Hambergers, happy holidays, heidi plummer, holiday greetings, holiday pinback, Holiday Season, I MAGNIN, J Magnin, J.W. Robinsons, john plummer, Lord & Taylor, Macy, macy's, Marshall Fields, May Company Department Stores, Meier & Frank, Merchantile Stores, modesto, national retail federation, Nordstrom, nrf, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, restaurants, retail careers, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, Retail History, retail holiday greetings, retail recruiters, retailexecutivesearch.com, Rhodes, Richs, santa, santa pinbacks, Seasons Greetings, Specialty retail, store, susan gill, thalheimers, USC, Walker Scott, Wannamaker, wholesale, Woodward Lothrup
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Monday, December 13th, 2010
In January, 2011, we will launch our blog which will show the history of retailing in downtown North America. We will employ our collection of over 10,000 postcards of these famous stores. Our purpose is to bring to life these Grand Dames that existed in major metropolitan areas as well as in small town America. We also want to make this interactive so customers and associates of these retailers can memorialize their thoughts in the Comments Section for the Blog.
Our first series will be about the stores in Southern California. We will feature Los Angeles stores such as Goodman’s Department Stores, Coulter’s, Hamburger’s, May Company, Broadway, Bullock’s, Bullock’s Wilshire, I Magnin & Co, Desmond’s, Mullen & Bluett, and others. San Diego stores will be Marsten’s and Walker-Scott. Harris Stores in San Bernardino is another.
The second series will cover Northern California. This will include San Francisco Bay Area stores such as: City of Paris, White House, Gump’s, Emporium, Capwell’s, Kahn’s, Rhodes, Hale Stores and more. The Sacramento store, Weinstock-Lubin, and the Fresno’s Gottschalk’s will be included.
During the year we will continue to post blogs on other states and provinces in North America.
Collecting the postcards for these Grand Dames has been enormously satisfying. I don’t want this important part of retail history to be forgotten. I hope you will have as much fun reviewing this collection and adding your comments and memories of these institutions in the Comments/Leave A Reply section below. If you have postcards of any of these stores which are different from my collection I would be honored to have the opportunity to post your card on the Blog.
Elmira, New York
Note: Elmira, New York, like most small towns has variety (five & dime) stores next to local department stores. Sometimes they also had a chain department store such as J.C. Penney, Sears, and/or Montgomery Ward. The variety stores always had excellent real estate in the busiest part of downtown. The local department store catered to both value-oriented and upscale customers with their good, better, and best merchandising program. The rest of the stores included a local drug store, a millinery store, a gift store, a hardware store, an automotive tire & battery store, a cinema/theatre, a candy/soda fountain, a cigar/tobacco/news store, a feed/farm store, a cafeteria, auto dealerships, a barber shop, and a restaurant or two. Of course, there was always a grocery store.
Downtown areas in major metropolitain areas were different as the stores were bigger. Department stores were what we today would call a shopping center. They were large and catered to different customers (budget, moderate, and luxury).
Tags: A&S, Abraham & Straus, Associated Dry Goods, Atlanta Stores, auto dealerships, Balitmore Stores, barber shop, Best & Co, Birmhingham Stores, bloomingdales, Boise Stores, Bon Marche, Boston Stores, Bridgeport Stores, Broadway stores, BULLOCK'S, Burdines, Carter Hawley Hale, CHH, Chicago Stores, Cincinnati Stores, City of Paris, City Stores, Cleveland Stores, Columbus Stores, Dallas stores, Dayton Stores, department stores, Desmoines stores, Dillard's, downtown retailers, Downtown Stores, dry goods, Eaton's, executive search firms, Famous Barr, famous department stores, Fashion Institute, fashion stores, FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, Filene's, FIT, Florida Stores, Foleys, Fresno Stores, Gimbel's, grand dame retailers, Hale Stores, hardware store, Harris Bros, Hartford Stores, heidi plummer, holt renfrew, houston Stores, Howland's, J.C. Penney, john plummer, Kentucky Stores, Kress, Lord & Taylor, los angeles stores, Louisville Stores, macy's, Manhattan Stores, Marshall Fields, may co, May Company Department Stores, Meier & Frank, Merchantile Stores, modesto, Montgomery Wards, Montreal Stores, Nashville Stores, New Orleans Stores, New york stores, Newberry, Nordstrom's, Oakland Stores, Oklahoma Stores, Philadelphia Stores, Phoenix stores, plummer & associates, plummer and associates, Plummersearch, plummersearch.com, Portland Stores, postcards of retailers, R.H. Macy CO, retail blog, retail executive recruiters, retail executive search, retail executive search firms, Retail History, retail recruiters, retailexecutivesearch.com, retailexecutivesearchfirms.com, Rhodes, Richmoond Stores, Sacramento Stores, sak's, sak's fifth avenue, San Diego Stores, San Francisco Stores, Sanger Harris, Sears, Seattle Stores, skywalker, St Louis stores, Steinbach's, Stix Baer & Fuller, susan gill, Tacoma Stores, Tennessee Stores, tire store, Toronto Stores, Tuscon Stores, USC, Vancouver Stores, Variety Stores, Washington Stores, Woolworth
Posted in Retail Postcards | 26 Comments »
