A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines at variable price points in all product categories. Department stores usually sell products including apparel furniture home appliances electronics and additionally select other lines of products such as paint hardware toiletries cosmetics photographic equipment jewellery toys and sporting goods. Certain department stores are further classified as discount stores. Discount department stores commonly have central customer checkout areas generally in the front area of the store. Department stores are usually part of a retail chain of many stores situated around a country or several countries. Contents 1 History 1.1 United Kingdom 1.2 France 1.3 Ireland 1.4 Australia 1.5 Lewis's 1.6 New York City 1.7 Chicago 1.8 Salt Lake City 1.9 Detroit 1.10 1890 onward 2 Countries 2.1 Argentina 2.2 Australia 2.3 Canada 2.4 Chile 2.5 China 2.6 Cyprus 2.7 Denmark 2.8 El Salvador 2.9 Finland 2.10 France 2.11 Germany 2.12 India 2.13 Indonesia 2.14 Iran 2.15 Ireland 2.16 Japan 2.17 Kuwait 2.18 Lebanon 2.19 Malaysia 2.20 Mexico 2.21 The Netherlands 2.22 Norway 2.23 Panama 2.24 Philippines 2.25 Portugal 2.26 Puerto Rico 2.27 Russia 2.28 Singapore 2.29 South Korea 2.30 Spain 2.31 Sweden 2.32 Switzerland 2.33 Thailand 2.34 United Kingdom 2.35 United States 3 See also 4 References 5 External links History United Kingdom

Kendals (formerly Kendal Milne & Faulker) in Manchester is the worlds oldest department store. It is still known to many of its customers as Kendal's despite its 2005 name change to House of Fraser. The Manchester institution dates back to 1836 but had been trading as Watts Bazaar since 1796. At its zenith the store had buildings on both sides of Deansgate linked by a subterranean passage "Kendals Arcade" and an art nouveau tiled food hall. The store was especially known for its emphasis on quality and style over low prices giving it the nickname "the Harrods of the North" although this was due in part to Harrods acquiring the store in 1919. Other large Manchester stores included Lewis's (now a Primark) and Paulden's (currenly Debenhams.) Le Bon March department store in Paris 1867. France

Aristide Boucicaut founded Le Bon March in Paris in 1838 and by 1852 it offered a wide variety of goods in "departments" inside one building. Goods were sold at fixed prices with guarantees that allowed exchanges and refunds. By the end of the 19th century Georges Dufayel a French credit merchant had served up to three million customers and was affiliated with La Samaritaine a large French department store established in 1870 by a former Bon March executive. Ireland

As Le Bon March evolved into a department store in the early 1850s Delany's New Mart opened in 1853 in Dublin Ireland on Sackville Street (now O'Connell Street). Unlike others Delany's had not evolved gradually from a smaller shop on site. Thus it would claim to be the first purpose built Department Store in the world. The word department store had not been invented at that time and thus it was called the "Monster House". Acquired by Limerick man Michael J Clery in 1883 both the store and Imperial Hotel located in its upper floors were completely destroyed in the 1916 Easter Rising. However the store reopened in 1922 this time across numerous floors as the famous Clerys department store that stands today housed in a modern neoclassical building based on Selfridges of London. Australia

David Jones (Australia) was started by David Jones a Welsh merchant who met Hobart businessman Charles Appleton in London. Appleton had established a store in Sydney in 1825 and Jones subsequently established a partnership with Appleton moved to Australia in 1835 and the Sydney store became known as Appleton & Jones. When the partnership was dissolved in 1838 Jones moved his business to premises on the corner of George Street and Barrack Lane Sydney. Jones survived the depression of the 1840s and by 1856 had retired from active management of the business. A few years later when the firm failed he returned to manage its affairs and in a few years had fully discharged all obligations to his creditors.1

By 1887 the George Street store had been rebuilt and a mail order facility introduced. A factory was opened in Marlborough Street Sydney to reduce reliance on imported goods.

David Jones also makes a claim to be the oldest department store in the world still trading under its original name.2 Lewis's

By 1956 Lewis's had the largest stores in the provinces of the UK. It started in Liverpool in 1856. Lewis's experimented in new ways of advertising (such as flooding the basement of the Manchester store to create a mini Venice.)

Since 1856 it had stores in Manchester (1877) Liverpool (1856) Birmingham Glasgow Liverpool (The Bon Marche) Leeds Hanley London (Selfridges) Bristol and Leicester . The group's first and final store in Liverpool went into administration in 2007 and was purchased as a going concern by Vergo Retail Limited enabling the store to continue trading under the Lewis's brand.3 In February 2010 Vergo Retail announced that this store would close by June4 but following Vergo going into administration the date of closure was announced as 29 May.5 New York City In New York City in 1846 Alexander Turney Stewart established the "Marble Palace" on the east-Broadway between Chambers and Reade streets. He offered European retail merchandise at fixed prices on a variety of dry goods and advertised a policy of providing "free entrance" to all potential customers. Though it was clad in white marble to look like a Renaissance palazzo the building's cast iron construction permitted large plate glass windows. In 1862 Stewart built a department store on a full city block at Broadway and 9th Street opposite Grace Church with eight floors and nineteen departments of dress goods and furnishing materials carpets glass and china toys and sports equipment ranged around a central glass-covered court. Within a couple of decades New York's retail center had moved uptown forming a stretch of retail shopping from "Marble Palace" that was called the "Ladies' Mile". In 1858 Rowland Hussey Macy founded Macy's as a dry goods store. Benjamin Altman and Lord & Taylor soon competed with Stewart as New York's first department stores later followed by "McCreary's" and in Brooklyn "Abraham & Straus." (The Straus family would be in the management of both Macy's and A&S.) Similar developments were under way in London (with Whiteleys) in Paris (with La Samaritaine) and in Chicago where department stores sprang up along State Street notably Marshall Field and Company which was the second-largest department store in the world prior to converting to Macy's. In 1877 Wanamaker's opened in Philadelphia. Philadelphia's John Wanamaker performed a 19th century redevelopment to the former Pennsylvania Railroad terminal in that city and eventually opened a modern day department store in the building. Chicago Marshall Field & Company Marshall Field's was a department store in Chicago Illinois that grew to become a major chain before being acquired by Macy's Inc. on August 30 2005. Marshall Field's Served as a model for other departments stores in that it had exceptional customer service. Fields also brought with it the now famous Frango mints brand that became so closely identified with Marshall Field's and Chicago from the now defunct Frederick & Nelson Department store. Marshall Fields also had the Firsts among many innovations by Marshall Field's. Field's had the first European buying office which was located in Manchester England and the first bridal registry. The company was the first to introduce the concept of the personal shopper and that service was provided without charge in every Field's store right up to the chain's last days under the Marshall Field's name. It was the first store to offer revolving credit and the first department store to use escalators. Marshall Field's book department in the State Street store was legendary; it pioneered the concept of the "book signing." Moreover every year at Christmas Marshall Field's downtown store windows were filled with animated displays as part of the downtown shopping district display; the "theme" window displays became famous for their ingenuity and beauty and visiting the Marshall Field's windows at Christmas became a tradition for Chicagoans and visitors alike as popular a local practice as visiting the Walnut Room with its equally famous Christmas tree or meeting "under the clock" on State Street. Salt Lake City On March 1 1869 Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution was opened in Salt Lake City as a new community store that became the first incorporated department store in America in 1870. A new 3-story brick and iron store was built in 1876 noted for its unique architecture and striped awnings. This store was replaced by an enclosed shopping center in 1973 and the new Zion department store preserved the gilt-edged ornate facade of the old store. In 1999 the May Department Stores bought a 14-store ZCMI chain and changed its name to "Meier & Frank" a May property with eight stores in Oregon and Washington. Subsequently May Department Stores completed a merger with Federated Department Stores and the Meier & Frank brand ZCMI stores have become Macy's stores effective late 2006. Detroit In 1881 Joseph Lowthian Hudson opened a small men's clothing store in Detroit. After 10 years he had 8 stores in the midwest and was the most profitable clothing retailer in the country. In 1893 he began construction of J. L. Hudson Department Store at Gratiot and Farmer streets in Detroit. The 25-story tower was added in 1928 and a 12-story addition in 1946 giving the entire complex 49 acres (200000 m2) of floor space. In 1954 Hudson's became a suburban shopping center pioneer when it built Northland Center 13 miles (21 km) northwest of Detroit. In 1969 it merged with the Daytons to create Dayton-Hudson headquartered in Minneapolis. George Dayton had founded his Dayton's Daylight store in Minneapolis in 1902 and the AMC cooperative in 1912 built Southdale Center in 1956 and started the Target discount store chain in 1962. The new corporation closed the flagship J. L. Hudson Department Store in downtown Detroit in 1983 but expanded its other retail operations. It acquired Mervyns in 1978 Marshall Field's in 1990 and renamed itself the Target Corporation in 2000. The podium of the Renaissance Center includes among other retail venues a department store. 1890 onward By 1890 a new world of retailing had been created as department stores had a clear market position as universal providers. General stores eventually became department stores as small towns became cities. The department store created several of North America's first large businesses. The department store is also largely responsible for the standard store design seen today because of its size it required new building materials glass technology and new heating amongst other architectural innovations. Some department stores leased space to individual merchants similar to the changes in late 17th-century London but by 1900 the smaller merchants were purchased or eventually replaced by the larger companies. Today only the most specialized departments are leased out such as photography photo finishing automotive services or financial services. However today this is rare as most departmentseven a store's restaurantare usually run by the store itself. Before the 1950s the department store held an eminent place in both Canada and Australia during both the Great Depression and World War II. Since then they have suffered from strong competition from specialist stores. Most recently the competition has intensified with the advent of larger-scale superstores (Jones et al. 1994; Merrilees and Miller 1997). Competition was not the only reason for the department stores' weakening strength; the changing structure of cities also affected them. The compact and centralized 19th century city with its mass transit lines converging on the downtown was a perfect environment for department store growth. But as residents moved out of the downtown areas to the suburbs the large downtown department stores became inconvenient and lost business to the newer suburban shopping malls. In 2003 U.S. department store sales were surpassed by big-box store sales for the first time.6 Countries See also: List of department stores by country Argentina In Buenos Aires upscale department stores came during the early years of the 20th century. Gath & Chvez opened in 1905 and Harrods Buenos Aires was established in 1912. Today the Chilean department store Falabella is one of the most prominent in the country with branches in Buenos Aires Crdoba San Juan Mendoza and Rosario. Falabella is one of the most popular stores in Argentina today. Australia Although there were a number of department stores in Australia for much of the 20th Century today Myer and David Jones located nationally are practically the national department stores duopoly in Australia. Other retail chain stores such as Target Kmart and Big W also located nationally are considered to be Australia's discount department stores. Harris Scarfe though only operating in four states and one territory is a department store using both the large full-line and small discount department store formats. Most department stores in Australia have their own credit card companies each having their own benefits while the discount department stores do not have their own credit card rights. Canada Display at Honest Ed's in Toronto From its origins in the fur trade the Hudson's Bay Company is the largest department store operator in Canada and the oldest corporation in North America with locations across the country. It also owns Zellers another major Canadian department store. Other department stores in Canada are: Sears Canada Walmart Canada Ogilvy's Les Ailes de la Mode and Holt Renfrew. Historically department stores were a significant component in Canadian economic life and chain stores such as Eaton's Spencer's Simpsons and Woodward's were staples in their respective communities. Department stores in Canada are similar in design and style to department stores in the United States. In northern or isolated communities The North West Company (named after the historical North West Company fur trade company) operates smaller department stores. Chile Albeit relatively small the domestic Chilean retail market has proved fiercely competitive with several department stores sprouting in Santiago and then expanding north and south of the country. Leading department stores today include Falabella Ripley Almacenes Pars La Polar Sodimac Johnson's and Corona. Fallabella founded in 1889 has opened branches in Argentina Colombia and Peru with Pars -its main Chilean competitor- coming on its heels. China Department stores first appeared in China at the beginning of the 20th Century the concept said to be introduced by expatriate Chinese living in Australia. Before 1949 there were four main department stores in Shanghai: Wing On Sincere Sun Sun and Da Sun; the first two still exist today. During World War II patriotic sentiment in China had led to the formation of a number of department stores specializing in locally-made merchandise. These types of stores became the mainstay in China after the formation of the Communist state in 1949. Both types of department stores have long had branches in Hong Kong; however Japanese department stores began to appear in the 1960s and within a generation's time became the dominant force in the market. The Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s had resulted in the closures of some of these stores but on the whole Hong Kong still has one of the world's most competitive retail markets. Since the opening policy in 1979 the Chinese department stores also develops swiftly along with the fast growing economy. There are different department store groups dominate different areas of China for example INTIME department store has the biggest market presence in Zhejiang province while Jinying department stores dominate Jiangsu Province. Besides there are many other department store groups such as Pacific PARKSON WangfujingNew Worldetc. many of them are expanding quickly by listing in the financial market. Cyprus The most famous department store chain in Cyprus is Debenhams (former Woolworths (Cyprus)). Denmark In Denmark you find three department store chains: Magasin (1868) Illum (1891) Salling (1906). Magasin is by far the largest with 6 stores all over the country with the flagship store being Magasin du Nord on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. Illums only store on Amagertorv in Copenhagen has the appearance of a department store with 20% run by Magasin but has individual shop owners making it a shopping centre. But in peoples mind it remains a department store. Salling has two stores in Jutland with one of these being the reason for the closure of a magasin store due to the competition. El Salvador Carrion Dorian's Mexican Department stores present only in Mexico and El Salvador. Siman Finland The most famous department store chains in Finland are Stockmann a listed company and Sokos owned by a nationwide retailing cooperative. The Stockmann department store in central Helsinki is the biggest department store in the entire Nordic countries and a famous landmark of Helsinki. France France's major upscale department stores are Galeries Lafayette and Le Printemps which both have flagship stores on Boulevard Haussmann in Paris and branches around the country. The oldest department store in France (and in the world) is Le Bon March in Paris owned by the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH. La Samaritaine another upscale department store also owned by LVMH closed in 2005. Mid-range department stores chains also exist in France such as the BHV (Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville) part of the same group as Galeries Lafayette. Germany In Germany there are a number of department stores. There are three big department store companies Karstadt (part of Arcandor AG also operating the KaDeWe and two Wertheim department stores in Berlin and the Alsterhaus in Hamburg) Hertie and Kaufhof (part of the Metro AG). There are also some smaller independent department stores. Some department stores only sell clothing. The biggest clothing department store chain is C&A. Larger department stores in Germany usually contain a self-service restaurant clothing departments a toy department a department for computer and electronics a small book department (for bestsellers) a department for newspapers and magazines and a food department (like a supermarket). One of the most famous department stores in Germany is the Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe German for "department store of the west") which is located in Berlin. India India has number of departmental stores. Being the seventh largest country in the world there are lot of companies like Big Bazaar Shopper's Stop Pantaloon Ezone Reliance Fresh and Dmart entering into retail. Small time department stores - or convenience stores as they are better known in most western countries are also upcoming. Although these stores are much bigger in size than an usual size convenience store in lets say the US they are much smaller than a regular sized Department store. Examples include : Sabka Bazaar : Big Apple : Marks and Spencers Big Bazaar along with Mcdonalds Restaurant at Ahmedabad India. Indonesia Indonesia's largest department store chain is Ramayana with over ninety branches across the country. The same group also operates under Robinsons all targeting the lower income sectors. Other local department store is Matahari now owned by Lippo Group. The group previously managed to trade under Mega M Galeria JC Penney Parisian and Walmart brands all of which have been progressively closed. The middle up segment is mainly occupied by Metro Department Store originated from Singapore and Sogo. In 2007 saw the re-opening of Jakarta's Seibu poised to be the largest and second most upscale department store in Indonesia after Harvey Nichols which will be opened in 2008 at the same shopping centre the Grand Indonesia Shopping Town. Other international department stores include Debenhams and Marks & Spencer. Debenhams Harvey Nichols Marks & Spencer Seibu and Sogo are all operated by PT. Mitra Adiperkasa. Iran Iran's largest and newest department store chain is Shahrvand with 25 stores all located in Tehran. The other chains are ROLEX and TANDIS which have stores throughout the country. Ireland Originally the Republic of Ireland had two department stores Clerys and Arnotts the latter considered to be one of the largest stores in Ireland. However several large retailers now own chains of department stores such as: Brown Thomas Debenhams Dunnes Stores Marks & Spencer The most upmarket chain is undoubtedly Brown Thomas (known colloquially as BT) founded as a haberdasher's in 1849 on Dublin's Grafton Street. The company (which belongs to the same group as the UK's Selfridges or Canada's Holt Renfrew) bought its long time competitor across the street Switzers in 1995. BT then moved to the larger site. It also acquired and re-branded the former Switzer stores in Cork (formerly Cash's) Limerick (formerly Todd's) and Galway (formerly Moon's). The British department store Debenhams purchased the Roches Stores chain in 2006 closed two stores and rebranded the others. The opening of Dundrum Town Centre in Dublin's suburbs saw the arrival of two more British stores House of Fraser and Harvey Nichols. Japan Main article: Department stores in Japan Some of the largest department stores in Japan include Daimaru (J. Front Retailing) Hankyu (H2O Retailing) Hanshin (H2O Retailing) Isetan (Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings) Marui Matsuzakaya (J. Front Retailing) Matsuya Mitsukoshi (Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings) Printemps Ginza Seibu (Millennium Retailing) Sogo (Millennium Retailing) Takashimaya Tobu and Tokyu (109). Many are owned and operated in conjunction with private railway companies. Recently business integration has been successive. Kuwait One of the oldest and biggest Department stores in Kuwait is Union Trading Company also known as UTC Operating 15 retail outlets across the country and offers a wide selection of imported international brands in Fashion & Apparel Perfumery Cosmetics Accessories Homeware Houseware Electronics Appliances and Food. Recently one of the most well-known high end clothing department stores wise in Kuwait is Villa Moda. Lebanon Department stores in Lebanon include ABC Group Bazar de l'Htel de Ville The Sultan Center Ashti and Spinneys. Malaysia In Malaysia companies such as AEON Jusco Parkson Metrojaya The Store Isetan Marks & Spencer Robinson & Co. Debenhams and Tangs are considered department stores while retail brands such as Tesco Giant and Carrefour are discount department stores combines supermarket. Mexico Mexico has a large number of department stores including the Mexican chains: Upper Class El Palacio de Hierro. Up-Mid Class Liverpool and Mid Class sister store Fabricas de Francia. Lower middle class Suburbia. Working class Coppel and Elektra. Department store pharmacy and restaurants Sanborns Grupo Carso operated Sears Mexico branch. Upper Class American operated Saks 5th Avenue Former Mexican JC Penney Stores and Grupo Carso operated Dorians. The Netherlands Flagship branch of Dutch department store De Bijenkorf in Amsterdam. The most well-known department stores in The Netherlands are De Bijenkorf HEMA Maison de Bonneterie and Vroom & Dreesmann. Norway In Norway most department stores are located in Oslo. The most known are Christiania Glasmagasin Steen & Strm hlns House of Oslo and Illums Panama Panama's first department stores such as Bazaar Francs La Dalia and La Villa de Paris started as textile retailers at the turn of the nineteenth century. Later on in the twentieth century these eventually gave way to stores such as Felix B. Maduro Sarah Panam Figali Dant Sears Gran Morrison and smaller ones such as Bon Bini Cocos El Lider Piccolo and Clubman among others. Of these only Felix B. Maduro (usually referred to as Felix by locals) and Dant remain strong. All the others have either folded or declined although Cocos has managed to secure a good position in the market. Today major department stores aside from these two include Steven's and Collin's. There are also many discount department stores such as Conway which includes a furniture and decoration department named Conway Design La Onda Dorian's Saks Madison Store and El Titan among others. Philippines This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2011) One of the first department stores in the Philippines were located in Metro Manila and established by SM Prime Holdings and Rustan's. Since its debut in the 1950s they now hold more than 100 department stores to date. At present due to the huge success of shopping malls department stores in the Philippines usually serve as part of an anchor tenant inside. SM Supermalls and Robinsons Malls are two of the country's most prominent mall chains all of which has Department Store sections. Portugal Currently Portugal has only two department stores both operated by El Corte Ingls one in Lisbon Metropolitan Area other in Porto Metropolitan Area. This small number of department stores can be explained by the wide spread presence throughout the country of shopping malls and supermarket chains like Modelo owned by Sonae Intermarche and Pingo Doce owned by Jeronimo Martins which are more akin to the local taste. Puerto Rico In Puerto Rico various department stores have operated such as Sears JC Penney Macy's Kmart Wal-Mart Marshalls Burlington Coat Factory T.J Maxx and more. La New York was a Puerto Rican department store. Topeka Capri and Pitusa are competitors on the Puerto Rican markets which also have hipermarkets operating under their names. and warehouseCostcoand Sam's Club. Russia Arguably the most famous department store in Russia is GUM in Moscow followed by TsUM and the Petrovsky Passage. Other popular stores are Mega (shopping malls) Stockmann and Marks & Spencer. Media Markt M-video Technosila and White Wind (Beliy Veter) sell large number of electronic devices. In St. Petersburg The Passage has been popular since the 1840s. Singapore Most department stores are clustered around Orchard Road in Singapore. The most well-known department stores in Singapore are BHG (formally known as Seiyu) Isetan John Little Marks & Spencer Metro Mustafa OG Robinson & Co. Takashimaya and Tangs. Some of their branch outlets can also be found in the sub-urban shopping malls. South Korea File:Lotte department myoungdong.JPG Lotte Department Store Seoul Korea The three most prevalent chains are Lotte Hyundai Shinsegae. Lotte Department Store is the largest operating more than 30 stores (include outlet young plaza foreign branches). Hyundai Department Store has about 12 stores and there are 8 stores in Shinsegae. These three department stores are known to people as representative corporations in the field of distirution in South Korea. From fashion items to electric appliances people can buy various kinds of products. Every weekends lots of people are fond of going around these department stores because their location is usually easy to visit. As of 2010 the Shinsegae department store in Centum City Busan is the largest department store in the world. Spain Following the 2002 closure by the Australian group Partridges of their SEPU (Sociedad Espaola de Precios Unicos) department store chain which in fact was Spain's oldest the market is now dominated by El Corte Ingls founded in 1934 as a drapery store. El Corte Ingls stores tend to be vast buildings selling a very broad range of products and the group also controls a number of other retail formats including supermarket chain 'Supercor' and hypermarket chain 'Hipercor'. Other competitors such as 'Simago' and 'Galeras Preciados' closed in the 1990s however El Corte Ingls faces major competition from French discount operators such as Carrefour and Auchan . Sweden The largest department store chain in Sweden is hlns which operates stores throughout the country. Its flagship Stockholm store hlns City is the largest department store in Sweden. Other large stores are Nordiska Kompaniet in Stockholm and Gothenburg and PUB in Stockholm. Switzerland The Swiss retail market is dominated by two consumers' cooperatives Migros and Coop which also run department stores. Migros operates 12 upscale Globus department stores and 34 mid-range Migros MMM centers across the country. Since the acquisitions of EPA in 2002 Coop operates its mid-range department stores under the brand Coop City. Manor operates department stores throughout the country. Jelmoli and Loeb operate upscale department stores in Zurich and Bern respectively. Thailand The most popular department stores in Thailand are Central Department Store which are managed by Central Group. These are the list of department stores in Thailand Central Department Store - has 20 branches (2010)7 Zen Department Store - 1 branch 2 under construction (2011) The Mall Group - has 9 branches (2010) Paragon Department Store has 1 branch (located in Siam Paragon) (2010) Emporium Department Store has 1 branch (located in Emporium Shopping Mall (2010) Robinson Department Store has 22 branches (a division of the Central Group) (2010) The Center has 1 branch (a division of Tesco Lotus) (2010) Diana Department Store has 3 branches (2010) United Kingdom Most of the early department stores in London started out as small drapery stores which bought up neighbouring stores and increased their range of products. The exterior of Harrods in London. Whiteleys in Westbourne Grove was first to grow to department store size. By 1867 it consisted of 17 departments and by 1890 it was operating in a purposely built department store and had over 6000 staff employed in the business. Barkers in Kensington can be defined as a department store by 1880 when it encompassed 15 neighbouring stores and in 1889 the company moved into a new large building. This was eventually taken over by House of Fraser and closed for business in 2006. Peter Jones in Sloane Square had grown to department store size by 1890. Harrods was reborn as a proper department store in 1889 after a devastating fire in 1883. John Lewis Selfridges was opened in 1909 by the American entrepreneur Harry Gordon Selfridge and thus became London's seventh department store. House of Fraser owns and operates several department stores across the UK. Harvey Nichols of Sloane Street Knightsbridge is Harrods' closest competitor. Debenhams is one of the UK's most popular department stores. Bentalls in Kingston Upon Thames was rebuilt in the late 1980s with the impressive Aston-Webb facade retained as the frontage for the new Bentall Shopping Centre. Fenwick (department store) was founded in 1882 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Its flagship Newcastle store is one of the largest department stores in the country. The company is still family owned and is one of the largest independent department store chains in the country. Williams & Griffin in Colchester Essex. (Now owned by Fenwick but the Williams and Griffin brand premises and logotype remain independent) John Lewis Newcastle (formerly Bainbridge) in Newcastle upon Tyne is the worlds oldest Department Store. It is still known to many of its customers as Bainbridge despite the name change to 'John Lewis'. The Newcastle institution dates back to 1838 when Emerson Muschamp Bainbridge aged 21 went into partnership with William Alder Dunn and opened a drapers and fashion in Market Street Newcastle. In terms of retailing history one of the most significant facts about the Newcastle Bainbridge shop is that as early as 1849 weekly takings were recorded by department making it the earliest of all department stores.1 This ledger survives and is kept in the John Lewis archives. John Lewis bought the Bainbridge store in 1952. John Lewis Newcastle retained its original name of Bainbridge until 2002 when the store was rebranded as John Lewis Newcastle. Also Kendals in Manchester can lay claim to being one of the oldest department stores in the UK. Beginning as a small shop owned by S. and J. Watts in 1796 its sold a variety of goods. Kendal Milne and Faulkner purchased the business in 1835. Expanding the space rather than use it as a typical warehouse simply to showcase textiles it became a vast bazaar. Serving Manchester's upmarket clientele for over 200 years it was recently purchased by the House of Fraser - although most Mancunians still refer to it as Kendals. In Edinburgh Jenners saw a similar development. It starting as a drapery store in 1838 which by 1890 had grown into Scotland's largest retail store by gobbling up all the small stores in the neighbourhood. In 1895 after a devastating fire a new ultra-modern building opened with lavish electrical lighting hydraulic lifts and air conditioning. Four hours after the grand opening 25000 people had already visited the store. In the UK the term "department store" still refers to the traditional classic department store which has a wide range of independent departments with their own staff and their own tills. Large discount stores with the tills located by the entrance are not regarded as department stores in the UK although the owners may call them that. Such stores as Marks & Spencer Britain's largest clothes retailer would therefore not be included in the British definition of a department store. See also List of department stores of the United Kingdom United States The Macy's flagship department store in New York City with its famous brownstone at 34th and Broadway. In the United States companies such as Saks Fifth Avenue Neiman Marcus Barneys New York Bergdorf Goodman Belk Kohl's Carson Pirie Scott Bloomingdale's Nordstrom Von Maur Lord & Taylor Macy's Dillard's JC Penney and Sears are considered department stores while retail brands such as Target Kmart and Wal-Mart are discount department stores. T.J. Maxx Marshalls and Burlington Coat Factory are stores that sell designer goods at lower prices. Stores that carry a general line of groceries and other product lines similar to those of department stores are considered warehouse clubs or supercenters. Warehouse clubs require a nominal annual membership fee while supercenters do not. Costco BJ's Wholesale Club and Sam's Club are examples of warehouse clubs. See also List of department stores Concept stores Distribution Retailer Marketing References "Jones David (1793-1873) Biographical Entry". Australian Dictionary of Biography. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020022b.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-22.  "Story of David Jones". David Jones. http://www.davidjones.com.au/about/storyofdjs.jspref. Retrieved 2008-10-09. dead link Brigg's Asa: Friends of the people (The Centenary History of LEWIS'S); 1956 "Iconic City Store Set to Close!". Vergo Retail Ltd. 22 February 2010. http://www.lewissliverpool.co.uk/content/newsdetail/49.  "Vergo announces closing down sales at all 19 stores". East Anglian Daily Times. 26 May 2010. http://www.eadt.co.uk/business/vergoannouncesclosingdownsalesatall19stores1341242.  Shopping at Downtown Crossing Radio Boston 14 Aug 2009. http://www.central.co.th/branch/indexen.php Abelson Elaine S. When Ladies Go A-Thieving: Middle Class Shoplifters in the Victorian Department Store. New York: Oxford University Press 1989. Adams Samuel Hopkins (January 1897). "The Department Store". Scribner's Magazine XXI (1): 428. http://books.google.com/idZ2IAAAAAYAAJ&pgPA4. Retrieved 2009-08-23.  Barth Gunther. "The Department Store" in City People: The Rise of Modern City Culture in Nineteenth-Century America. New York: Oxford University Press 1980. Benson Susan Porter. Counter Culture: Saleswomen Managers and Customers in American Department Stores 1890-1940. Urbana IL: University of Illinois Press 1988. ISBN 0-252-06013-X. Ershkowicz Herbert. John Wanamaker Philadelphia Merchant. New York: DaCapo Press 1999. Gibbons Herbert Adams. John Wanamaker. New York: Harper & Row 1926. Hendrickson Robert. The Grand Emporiums: The Illustrated History of America's Great Department Stores. New York: Stein and Day 1979. Leach William. Land of Desire: Merchants Power and the Rise of a New American Culture. New York: Pantheon 1993. ISBN 0-679-75411-3. Parker K. (2003). "Sign Consumption in the 19th-Century Department Store: An Examination of Visual Merchandising in the Grand Emporiums (1846-1900)." Journal of Sociology 39 (4): 353-371. Schlereth Thomas J. Victorian America: Transformations in Everyday Life 1876-1915. New York: HarperCollins 1991. Sobel Robert. "John Wanamaker: The Triumph of Content Over Form" in The Entrepreneurs: Explorations Within the American Business Tradition New York: Weybright & Talley 1974. ISBN 0-679-40064-8. Spang Rebecca L. The Invention of the Restaurant: Paris and Modern Gastronomic Culture. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press 2000. 325 p. Whitaker Jan Service and Style: How the American Department Store Fashioned the Middle Class. New York: St. Martin's Press 2006. ISBN 0-312-32635-1. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Department stores History of The Department Store The rise of the department store in Britain A.T. Stewart's Tamilia Robert D. (May 2002) (PDF). The Wonderful World of the Department Store in Historical Perspective: A Comprehensive International Bibliography Partially Annotated. http://faculty.quinnipiac.edu/charm/dept.store.pdf. Retrieved 2008-09-13.  (292 KiB) International Association of Department Stores New York Journal. Under One Roof The death and life of the New York department store. by Adam Gopnik