A Salute to an American Retail Pioneer

Even as innovations like the Internet and "category killers" continue to transform the face of American retailing, and even as competitors pick off its base of customers, the American department store endures as a retailing icon. Although the ranks of traditional department store operators have shrunk to three Big Names - J.C. Penney Co., Macy's Inc. and Sears Holdings - and a handful of regional survivors, all of them can trace their heritage to a store established in 1876 by a Philadelphia merchant named John Wanamaker.

Wanamaker, who had achieved a measure of retail success with his Oak Hall men's store, established in 1861, decided to expand dramatically in 1876 with a new type of store. John Wanamaker's Grand Depot, which opened in a former Pennsylvania Railroad freight depot across from Philadelphia's central public square, featured 129 separate retail counters radiating from a central circular tent used to display women's fashions. This was the first "department store" in Philadelphia -- and, some historians claim, the nation.

Before he became a department store pioneer, however, Wanamaker had already introduced a number of innovations that transformed American retailing. The most important ones were two he introduced at Oak Hall: a one-price policy for all customers and a money-back guarantee. Both had their origins in Wanamaker's Christian faith: he figured that if all people were equal in the eyes of God, they should also be equal before the sales clerk, so his prices were publicly displayed on price tags, and no haggling was allowed. His return policy - "We will refund your money or exchange the goods if they do not please the folks at home!" - was equally revolutionary, though it would become more closely associated with Sears via that company's longtime slogan, "Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back."

Wanamaker also pioneered the use of advertising to promote his stores and merchandise; he ran the first copyrighted store advertisement in 1874. When customers discovered the claims he made in the ad were true, he secured the loyalty of a generation of shoppers that would be passed down through the years. He also pioneered the practice of running regular promotional sales, including the first "white sale" in January 1878.

His retail empire eventually spread to New York, where department stores bearing his name survived in some form into the 1980s. Although his name no longer graces the store he founded - it vanished when the company was sold to May Department Stores in 1995 - his legacy lives on in the hearts of Philadelphians, the stewardship of Macy's, which now owns the store housed in the Wanamaker Building, and the work of retail historians around the country.

You can learn more about Wanamaker at PBS' "They Made America" web site.

By: Sandy Smith

Sandy Smith is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his career in public relations and corporate communications. His work has appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia CityPaper, PGN, and a number of Web sites. Philly-area residents may also recognize him as "MarketStEl" of discussion-board fame. He has been a part of the great reserve army of freelance writers since January 2009 and is actively seeking opportunities wherever they may lie.