Community Chat

[just bee]

The Emporium (aka The Broadway, Emporium-Capwell, Capwell's).

Affectionately referred to as "The Big E."

[just bee]

Foley's

Liberty House

Daly's

The Akron

Gemco

Mervyn's

I. Magnin

Joseph Magnin Co.

White Front

Yellow Front

Charles Variety

Sprouse-Reitz

Goldblatt's

Wieboldt's

Zayre

Sears

Montgomery Ward

Alden's

Spiegel

Kresge

Newberry's

and so many more...

[Sage04]

Since this Thread started I´ve tried to remember a particular department store. Don´t know if anyone mentioned it but i just remembered. It was called Hearns Department Store

One was at Third Avenue in the Bronx and one was at 14th St in Manhattan. I loved that Store. A lot of people were able to get things from there by putting them on Law-away and paid weekly or monthly.

[lynnie61]

I forgot about Service Merchandise.  We also had a Dahlkempers.  You ordered on a clipboard, and they processed your order, and it came to the front on conveyor belts from the stock room.   Haha, almost an Amazon of the 70’s  50 years earlier.   

Fashion hoisery, small stores for “stockings only”.  Loved Joseph Horne’s, Gimbels and Kaufman’s in Pittsburgh.  Hugh’s and Hatcher men’s wear.  Gimbels in Pittsburgh had a monorail in the toy department a few Christmas’ in the 60’s. 

There was a great website, the Department store museum, talked about all these regional department stores.  We loved all these stores at Christmas.  Sadly, mostly a tradition young people will not get to experience.  Dressed up, took the bus downtown to see the Christmas displays, shop and have lunch.  Some great childhood memories.  

[gardenman]

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@cosmic1 wrote:
I loved Service Merchandise. We always pored through the catalogues. I still have a garnet ring and a tigers eye necklace from their that I received in the 70’s as Christmas Gifts.

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I think the catalog-type stores like Service Merchandise, Basco, and Best might be due for a revival given new technology.

Smartphones would make shopping in those types of stores very easy. With the right app, a smartphone could know which aisle you were in in the store and what items (generally anyway) you were looking at. Each display could simply have a QR code (or something similar) that would give you detailed information on the product, maybe even home shopping channel-type video demonstrations of it. You could see other customer's reviews of the product. You could then add it to your virtual cart and continue shopping or opt for something else. When you were done you'd go to a locker at the front of the store, authorize the payment, open the locker and take your stuff. You could even get an alert on your phone when your order was ready for pickup.

The potential for a store like that is pretty high. Much of it could be fully automated. The startup costs to develop the app would be fairly high, but once developed and deployed the costs of running the store would be fairly minimal. You could even shop from home/work and either have your stuff delivered or have it waiting in the locker for pickup. 

I think those types of stores were a bit ahead of their time. You used to have to carry around a clipboard to write down the numbers of what you wanted and then either enter it into one of their computers yourself or hand it to a clerk who would do it. Smartphones largely automate that whole process and give you more information at your fingertips. I think that type of store is due for a revival. One could be quite successful these days.

[NicksmomESQ]

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@gertrudecloset wrote:

Name some stores you used to shop in from back in the day. What did you purchase most at the stores?  In the Northeast, once upon a time we had these stores that had more than clothing:

Alexander's Department Stores

May's Department Stores

F.W. Woolworth's

Gimbel's

Abraham & Strauss

John's Bargain Stores

Buster Brown (not a department store)

Woolworth had household goods, clothing and a diner indoors.  This was a good source to get some things cheaply. 

John's Bargain Stores were like today's Dollar stores

May's, Alexander's, Gimbel and Abraham and Strauss sold women's and men's clothing and shoes.

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@gertrudecloset   I shopped in all of them.I would also like to add Martins,Alexander's & Sterns to the list.

[LonestarBabs]

In Des Moines IA:

Younkers

Richman-Gordman

In Dallas TX:

Sanger-Harris

[FlyersGirl]

@kathie66 Yes, and similar to those stores, we had Basco and Best that were warehouse/catalog stores. You would browse through the store and take a "ticket" for the item that you wanted to buy then bring it to the service counter where you would pay for the item then wait for them to bring it to you from the warehouse. 

[Zaimee]

@CatsyCline @kathie66  I remember Robert Hall and that jingle! I worked a one day inventory there...Northern Blvd. Flushing, NYC. 

@Sage04  14st Manhattan...May's, Orbach's , or Klein's?

Also adding:       Annie Sez 

                            Filene's

                           Ronnie's.   Flushing and Forest Hills,  Queens

[Lindsays Grandma]

@Foxxee   I remember many of the stores you mentioned, however, Bullock's stood out for me.  When living in California for 40 years I shopped very often at Bullock's Department Store.  During the 1994 earthquake the entire front of the store collapsed.

The quake hit around 6:00 A.M. which was fortunate if it had to be, because many people would have been injured or killed in that collapse if the store was open.