Jordan Marsh
Industry | Retail |
---|---|
Founded | 1841 |
Founders |
|
Defunct | 1996 |
Fate | Bankruptcy, acquired by Macy's |
Successor | Macy's |
Headquarters | |
Products |
|
Parent | Federated Department Stores |
Jordan Marsh (officially Jordan Marsh & Company) was an American
Allied also operated a separate group of stores in Florida called Jordan Marsh Florida, which was disbanded in 1991.
History
Beginnings
In 1841,
Jordan Marsh and Company, in addition to establishing the first department store, introduced the concept of “department shopping.” Jordan Marsh combined an elegant atmosphere with excellent personal service and a wide range of merchandise. With many different departments displaying wares from around the world, the store drew shoppers from the city as well from the growing "streetcar suburbs." Once at the store, consumers could do more than just shop. Jordan Marsh offered fashion shows, a bakery famous for its blueberry muffins, art exhibitions, and even afternoon concerts.[2]
Jordan Marsh also pioneered new services for shoppers not available in more traditional
In 1935, Boston's Jordan Marsh became one of the founders of
Expansion
After
The shopping mall
In 1956, the first store in Miami, Florida was opened with slogans such as "Florida's high fashion department store" and "the store with the Florida flair". Later, it was divided into a separate division of Allied then the Jordan Marsh of Boston with headquarters in Miami. With newcomers heading into the state, the store lost focus and decided to downgrade in order to compete. Jordan Marsh also opened a San Diego branch around the same time, occupying the former Sears store downtown. The branch did not do nearly as well as the Florida branches and the failed store closed in 1958. The Florida stores were disbanded in 1991, with several being merged with Maas Brothers, which later became Burdines, now Macy's.
The main building of Boston's Jordan Marsh complex, an ornate brownstone edifice with a landmark corner clock tower designed by
In 1986, the Canadian Campeau Corporation acquired Allied Stores Corporation, which was reorganized under the merger agreement. In February 1987, Campeau merged D.M. Read Co. of Bridgeport, Connecticut, into Jordan Marsh, and merged Jordan Marsh Florida with Maas Brothers of Tampa, Florida, as the new Maas Brothers/Jordan Marsh Florida division.
In 1988, Campeau Corporation acquired Federated Department Stores. To consolidate with Federated, Allied's New York headquarters moved to Cincinnati. Allied Stores: The Bon Marché, Jordan Marsh, Maas Brothers/Jordan Marsh Florida and Stern's, operating in tandem with Federated: Bloomingdale's, Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, Rich's, Goldsmith's, and Burdines.
Closing
In 1990, saddled by debt resulting from the highly leveraged Campeau takeover of Federated, both Federated and Allied filed for bankruptcy. Campeau Corp. U.S., Inc., was renamed Federated Stores, Inc. The operations of Jordan Marsh Florida and Maas Brothers were absorbed by Burdines in 1991.
In 1992, a new public company, Federated Department Stores, Inc., emerged in February. The former Allied Stores Corporation was merged into Federated. A consolidation of the
Enchanted Village
From the 1940s until 1972—and again in the early 1990s—the Jordan Marsh flagship store in Boston's
On June 16, 2009, the Enchanted Village, including all
See also
- Adriatic Mills, a Worcester, Massachusetts, textile mill owned by Jordan Marsh
- Jordan Hall, was built with major funding from one of the Jordan family
- Jordan Marsh Co. v. Commissioner
References
- ^ a b c "Jordan Marsh Announces New Store". Mass Moment.
- ^ ISBN 9780252060137.
- Boston Globe.
- Boston Globe. pp. A1, A12.
Further reading
- Cohen, Lizabeth (2003). Consumers' Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 9780307555366.
- Benson, Susan Porter (1986). Counter Cultures: Saleswomen, Managers, and Customers in American Department Stores. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252060137.
- Jordan, Marsh Illustrated Catalogue of 1891 (Dover Publications reprint, 1991).
- Tales of the Observer, by Richard H. Edwards, Jr. (Jordan Marsh Company, 1950).