Wanamaker's

=**Outline:**=
 * 1) Brief Biography about John Wanamaker
 * 2) History of Wanamaker's
 * 3) Innovations of the store



The department store of the modern age wasn’t invented by the normal shrewd businessman that modern society is used to. John Wanamaker was a very religious man who pioneered the idea of putting the customer first. This new alien concept of making sure the customer has an enjoyable time to bring about repeat customers proved to be the most successful part of his plan. Because of the successfulness of his plan, Wanamaker helped to change the way people in the United States buy goods in a way that revolutionized the American market. John Wanamaker was born on July 11, 1838 south of Philadelphia. Like other department store founders of the nineteenth century, his origins were much more humble than his future prominence would suggest (Ershkowitz, 15). He always had strong desires to either become a minister or a merchant. Despite others telling him to become a minister, Wanamaker went against their advice and became a merchant (13). His ambition and restlessness drove him to where he was. He constantly strived to become better which made his stores better and him richer. His restlessness got him interacting personally with his employees and customers (Ershkowitz, 19) Wanamaker was deeply influenced by his religious background. His religion would extend into his business practices. He was known as “Honest John” (Ershkowitz, 19) and would make sure his advertising would be sure to tell the whole truth of all his sales. In addition several of his innovations were the results of him wanting to protect the consumer. Both these two things affected the creation of his department store, Wanamaker’s. His main store in Philadelphia across the street from City Hall was the largest building in the world devoted to retail merchandising in 1911 (Wanamaker, 277). This store helped to shift the center of downtown business from Independence Mall closer to City Hall (Ershkowitz, 56). Wanamaker’s ambition could be clearly seen in his choice of location: a large freight depot uptown away from the old business center of Philadelphia. In 1876, Wanamaker opened his new department store just in time for the American Centennial Exhibition (Wanamaker, 43). During the opening six months, Wanamaker’s, arranged in a way very similar to the stalls outside, was praised by visitors from the fair for its large size and selection. However, most merchants disregarded it for the same innovative things that would later be crucial for modern business. They complained that the prices were minimizing the profits to be had and no way for them to feasibly be lower and how everyone was treated the exact same way and charged the same price. Others complained that the merchandise was too trustworthy and that everything was exactly as advertized even if people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Finally, the staple of modern day Boxing Day trips to the mall, the return policy on goods also was believed to be a big problem with this store (47). However, Wanamaker knew very well that the way to success was a slow route via the happiness of his customers. Before it was even a year old, Wanamaker’s was already spreading out. From being a fully male clothing store, Wanamaker’s extended into the women’s clothing. Wanamaker’s was also the first store to send buyers abroad to study foreign markets and sources of production “and to skim their cream for the rapidly-growing business” (Wanamaker, 48). Eventually, after a redesign of the store and an expansion into dry goods, other stores and businesses began to take notice. Fear that they may be driven out of business drove local stores to start running ads promising the lowest possible prices on these goods. Wanamaker’s had to produce their own chairs in house because the former maker refused to work for the store. However, by 1900, more business seemed to accept the fate and adapt Wanamaker’s policies (Wanamaker, 58-63). From 1910 to 1911, Wanamaker started to slowly convert his Philadelphia store to the now well known store that is currently standing. From his new design came the most decadent sign of stature: the large Wanamaker organ. Acquired from the 1902 St. Louis World’s Fair, the already largest playable organ in the world was later expanded because Wanamaker deemed its tone inadequate to fill his huge multilevel court. Eventually, in 1932, the organ was deemed completely with over 28,000 pipes. During Wanamaker’s lifetime, famous musicians from around the world were brought to play this organ during after-hours performances ([]). This organ was perhaps the biggest gimmick that Wanamaker’s had to draw people compared to other department stores of the time. In addition to the organ, Wanamaker also brought in a large eagle statue from the same World’s Fair which became the corporate trademark of the chain. In order to accommodate the weight, the floor of the Grand Court had to be reinforced. While not as grand as the organ, this statue became an important piece of Philadelphia cultural history for people meeting in Center City Philadelphia to “Meet [them] at the Eagle” ([]). John Wanamaker’s death in 1922 hampered the growth of the Wanamaker’s chain. Wanamaker’s eventually was bought out by various people and companies before landing in the hands of Macy’s. While the name itself may be gone, Macy’s has helped to foster the Wanamaker’s traditions in the 150 year old flagship building especially the Wanamaker Organ and the Christmas Light Show ([|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanamaker's]). Wanamaker’s was full of firsts with some of the most basic ones being based off his religious beliefs. His belief that everyone was equal under God caused him to create the non-negotiable price tag ([]). In addition, he believed that all merchandise was also equally important to sell under the same principle. He also believed in being a good person to his employees by giving them half days on Saturdays and days off on Sundays (Wanamaker, 7) as well as free medical care, recreational facilities, profit sharing plans, and pensions ([]). A very controversial policy when it was first introduced, the return policy was one of his major selling points. If one did not like what one got, they could return it for the full value. In addition, the items sold at Wanamaker's have to be good enough to be bought back from the customers (Wanamaker, 146). The anecdote given by the //Golden Book of Wanamaker Stores// tells of a young Wanamaker buying something from a jeweler before seeing something better farther back in the store. When he asks if he could return what he just bought for the thing that caught his eye, the jeweler refuses claiming that he already bought it. Wanamaker eventually grew up to become a merchant just to change it. This policy of trapping the consumer with lesser goods was something that Wanamaker also vowed to change with his store. His top goods would be up front. (137) In a sense, Wanamaker’s could be viewed as an “anti-trap” because returning customers who knew that his store wasn’t like the others would be lulled into a sense of security. They would then be more inclined to spend their money at Wanamaker’s because they knew what they were getting was right. Wanamaker was known best for being one of the most trustworthy merchants of his time. His ads told the truth and showed merchandise that was exactly what was at the stores for the price given. In addition, his merchandise was always exactly what they said on the label. Nothing was mislabeled. With items marked as exactly what they are, Wanamaker hoped to eliminate the very need to return goods (185). Following its first reopening in 1877, Wanamaker’s introduced several firsts. It was amongst the first to have specialized sales to move large inventories of items at reduced prices to make room for new stock. This serves a double purpose of keeping the stockrooms free of soon to be outdated merchandise and of enticing consumers to buy goods they wouldn’t have bought at full price. They were also the first venue in America to showcase fashions from Paris in a large scale at the same time they are being sold in Europe thus monopolizing the American market on fashion for years to come (66-67). In addition, Wanamaker’s was the first to offer free international shipping for orders over $5 to anywhere in the international postage area (288). Wanamaker’s didn’t just have economic firsts, but also technological firsts. Being the first store with electricity was certain to bring in people who were fascinated with arc lighting. In addition to near instant communication with others and very quick transportation of people and objects, the introduction of telephones, pneumatic tubes, and elevators certainly did the same (Wanamaker, 7) (Wanamaker, 75). Wanamaker believed that there is always a way to lower prices. By buying in bulk, Wanamaker was able to get a cheaper price for goods that he was able to pass on to the customer. In addition, as the //Golden Book of Wanamaker Stores// puts it, “A close alliance between producers and consumers is of as much value in cheapening necessities as labor-saving machines have been” (160). Thus, he also believed in the manufacturing of some items in house to lower the prices of the goods, raise the known quality of sold goods, and introduce some distinction in the products that are sold (187). While Wanamaker’s regularly brought in goods from other nations, Wanamaker’s supported the nationalistic and isolationist views that our country had at those times. His store had an open door policy for all goods and wouldn’t turn down clearly superior goods based off national origin. However, for two comparable items, locally made goods were given precedence on store shelves (178). John Wanamaker was one of the few people that could legitimately say that they changed modern retail. All the most controversial things that Wanamaker introduced soon became the very staples of today’s retail. With the confidence that customers would like what they got and the honesty to give customers the true thing, Wanamaker had nothing to worry about when compared to the shiftier merchants of the nineteenth century.

=**References:**=

Wanamaker, John. __Golden Book of the Wanamaker Stores__. Philadelphia, PA: John Wanamaker, 1911. Wanamaker, John. A __Friendly Guide to Philadelphia and the Wanamaker Store__. Philadelphia, PA: John Wanamaker, 1926. Ershkowitz, Herbert. __John Wanamaker: Philadelphia Merchant__. Conshohocken, PA: Combined Publishing, 1999. "Wanamaker's". Wikipedia. May 25, 2009 . "Who Made America? | Innovators | John Wanamaker". PBS. June 6, 2009 . Maykuth, Andrew. "John Wanamaker: A retailing innovator". Andrew Maykuth. June 6, 2009 .