department store

Examples of department store in the following topics:

• Popular Culture

  • The first department stores began appearing at the end of the 19th century.
  • Other department stores from this period included Wanamaker's in Philadelphia and Fields.
  • Most department stores were run by families.
  • Competition between department stores created the end-of-season sale and price wars.
  • These companies appealed to people who didn't live near a department store.

• Store Retailers

  • Department Stores: Department stores are characterized by their very wide product mixes.
  • Each type of merchandise is typically displayed in a different section or department within the store.
  • The depth of the product mix depends on the store.
  • Chain Stores: The 1920s saw the evolution of the chain store movement.
  • The Macy's flagship department store with the famous brownstone at 34th and Broadway.

• Customer Expectations

  • A department store is, after all, very different from a mom-and-pop store.
  • Department stores, supermarkets, and warehouse stores are all large retail outlets.
  • A department store, for example, will sell both durable and consumable goods.
  • Mom-and-pop stores, specialty stores, and general stores are all smaller retail outlets.
  • These stores often focus on a few key categories of products.

• Benefits and Solutions

  • A specialized department store selling high-end luxury goods will attract buyers looking to augment their status through the purchase of luxury goods.
  • The department store will also need ample parking, bathrooms, changing rooms, escalators, elevators, helpful staff, and other augmented benefits.
  • Finally, while the products in the store have a promised benefit - that of status, and of winning the admiration of peers - there is no guarantee that this will hold true.
  • Examples include restrooms, escalators, and elevators in the case of a department store, and warranties and return policies in the case of a lawn mower.

• Value of Retailing

  • It creates jobs for the people who supply the raw materials and to factory workers who actually make the products, for the people transporting goods to the marketplace, the construction companies that build the stores and malls and for an entire service sector that maintains goods purchased by individuals.
  • For example the $16.5 billion merger between Federated Department Stores and Mays forming Macy's Department Stores and the 2004 merger between Kmart Holding Corp and Sears that was valued at $10.9 billion.
  • There are many different types of retailers; department and discount stores, warehouse stores, variety, demographic retailers aimed at a specific buyer, "Mom & Pop" stores owned and operated by individuals specialty stores, general and convenience stores, mail-order, hypermarkets, supermarkets, malls, category specialists, vending machines, no-frills, self-service or automated retail (robotic kiosks seen in airports and at supermarkets), big box stores and of course on-line e-tailers.

• Distribution Centers vs. Direct Store Delivery

  • Most stores are small and have weekly sales of only a few hundred dollars.
  • Department Stores - Department stores are characterized by their very wide product mixes.
  • Chain Stores - Chain stores are able to buy a wide variety of merchandise in large quantity discounts.
  • Non-store Retailing - Non-store retailing describes sales made to ultimate consumers outside of a traditional retail store setting.
  • Online vendors, such as Amazon, or a good example of non-store retailers.

• Defining Productivity

  • Summary reports are routinely issued to various departments and department managers are held accountable for managing inputs in their respective areas.
  • The accounting department typically has the overall responsibility of collecting, organizing, and storing data generated by various departments.

• Organizational stages of growth

  • Similar activities are housed in a department or under a single chain of command.
  • The grouping of all milling machines into one department or the placing of lathes in another department is illustrative of departmentation by equipment or process.
  • For instance, retail stores may organize their operations to meet the needs of specific customer groups by forming special departments to cater to house wares, menswear, children's clothing and so forth.
  • Many banks have separate departments for mortgages, checking accounts and commercial loans.
  • For instance, a large hospital could have an accounting department, surgery department, marketing department, and a satellite center project team that make up its organizational structure.

• Channel Integration

  • Channels include: retail stores, online stores, mobile stores, mobile app stores, telephone sales, and any other method of transacting with a customer.
  • The brick-and-mortar stores become an extension of the supply chain in which purchases may be made in the store, but are researched through other channels of communication.
  • A move to omni-channel retailing can create a more knowledgeable consumer, so store employees need to be more knowledgeable about merchandise carried and production processes.
  • Communications between the IT department, marketing department, and sales staff will need to be as smooth as possible with little confusion about goals and strategies.

• Functional vs. General Management

  • General managers focus on the entire business, while functional managers specialize in a particular unit or department.
  • A functional manager is a person who has management authority over an organizational unit—such as a department—within a business, company, or other organization.
  • Meanwhile, general managers run individual stores, focusing on the quality of service, operational efficiency, local tastes, etc. at their store.