RETAILERS: THE WAY WE WERE
In the universe of American commerce, retail was an art form for business-oriented minds. From images of fashion to appreciation of value, the merchant princes of the 20th century helped change the world of retailing. Looking at the images of these retail flagships brings back the days when there were Hecht’s, Robinsons, Rich’s and Gimbels and others on our horizons.
These merchant princes grew the American retail universe with taste and value by understanding the American consumers’ desires and needs. Over the 20th century, retailing success was sourced from the margins between cost and retail price. As business schools trained its graduates to find multiple sources of “profit,” American retailing started to take another shape in the 1970s.
Retailers became “publishers” from margins earned from their catalog advertising and co-op newspaper sales. Another cash source were contributions and costs for counter personnel charged to vendors. Unlimited “return credits” hit the scene. The profit margin between the retail price and cost ceased to be the retailers’ primary profit source. For vendors, the burden of profitability and this changing face started a change of the scene of retailing.
As we enter the 21st century, seeing these images of department stores revives the fond memory of the retail merchant princes.