- Department store
- A large retail company that plans, buys, merchandises, and displays merchandise in groups/departments either by target market or by product category such as in a swimwear department, a coat department, a designer collection department, and a junior sportswear department. In addition to apparel and related items, a department store also includes product inclusive of but not limited to furniture, jewelry, toys, and cosmetics. They are often part of a group of stores that have a national or global presence. Department stores can be further classified as discount department stores. Areas between departments are not as clearly defined in a discount department store and front-end checkout areas, as well as shopping carts are part of the profile.The first department store, Le Bon Marché, was founded in Paris by Aristide Boucicaut in 1838, and established departments were in place by 1852. In New York, Alexander Turney Stewart opened the "Marble Palace" on Broadway in downtown Manhattan. This became a department store in 1858 and, by 1862, it was linked with Macy's, B. Altman, and Lord & Taylor forming the "Ladies Mile." Thus it gave birth to numerous department stores throughout the country that would eventually be consolidated and reconfigured over the next two centuries. According to the Census Bureau, a department store is a retail establishment that employs more than fifty people and carries a wide assortment of merchandise.
Historical Dictionary of the Fashion Industry. Francesca Sterlacci and Joanne Arbuckle.
