Because historians will be unaware of the existence of Macys or Bergdorfs or Saks? Sure. Very plausible.
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I think the Boscov family would have something to say about that.
Boscov’s is a true American department store, including furniture, appliances, clothing, housewares… you name it.
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My. I didn’t even know about this store, and I have been to New York many times. I went straight to the knife and pans and pots section of the website. Not many good kitchen knives nor cookware. 
Great. You have just told me that we are becoming more stupid (less academic and care less about academic). Probably true.
Boscov’s is based in Reading PA. I think they only have 1 store in NY–Albany. Most are in PA and Ohio.
It’s not a place for high end cookware, I’ll grant you that. But it is a department store.
I know I contributed to thread drift here, but if there’s anything I like more than food, it’s retail history.
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Not necessarily more stupid, but more specialized.
I could talk about food and cookware (and apparently department stores) all day, but don’t ask me who won the last World Series. I haven’t a clue.
RIP Hutzler’s in Baltimore the “best” of the local department stores. They had everything - and fine quality, too
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Oh I see. Sorry, I did a quick google and thought they are a NY store. I didn’t know department stores are supposed to be academic like, but it makes sense. Just like an university has different departments specialize in different area, a department store will have people who are well verse of a mattress vs gloves vs a toaster.
No, I think we are not more specialized. Whenever I go to a department store these days, 90% I don’t feel like the people there know the section they are responsible for. I think the focus has shifted from “knowing the quality of my section” to “inventory”. I bet 50-70 years, department store people can really tell you the difference of different toasters, but I doubt people can do that now. Now, being a man, I am taking a wide guess, but I bet the perfumes and make up section people do know their stuffs.
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If that first sentence is your technical definition, then there are a lot of businesses, large and small, multi-story or single, cosmetics or no, that qualify as department stores. But I don’t think that can be what you mean.
I think you are keying off some romantic historical idea of large buildings with things like display windows, revolving doors, escalators, cosmetic counters and bridal registry desks. That’s not defined in what you wrote or cited.
So what is it? Is it the numerosity of different departments? How wide a variety or many lines must there be?
Bought my father a tie there in the mid-1950s.
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Only an opinion, but to me it meant a large store that had departments like menswear, womenswear, jewelry, furs (yuck), furniture, silver and china, cooking, etc. It usually had a nice restaurant, too. What distinguished this from a store like Target that has large designated areas for those (and other) things, but much of the staff works the whole store was the staffing of the departments. The Target clerk can look on their phone and tell you if something in stock, but they are unlikely to know as much about what you are looking for as you do. In a department store, say Neiman’s, the clerk in china and silver can go into great detail on Ceralene versus Mottahedah. They have not got a clue about bathrobes.
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I am not keying off anything. This is not my definition–it is a technical, business, academic term with meaning. That meaning is clearly described in the wikipedia article I linked to.
Here is an excerpt of more precise breakdowns of today from the link:
Department stores can be classified in several ways:
-
Mainline department store or simply, the traditional department store, offering mid- to high-end goods, most or at least some of the time at the full retail price. Examples are Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, J.C. Penney, Montgomery Ward, Sears and Belk.[2]
- Junior department store, a term used principally in the second part of the 20th century for a smaller version of a mainline department store. These were usually either independent stores, or chains that specialized in cosmetics and wearing apparel and accessories, with few home goods.[3][4] such as Boston Store and Harris & Frank
- Discount department store, a large discount store selling apparel and home furnishings at a discount, either selling overstock from mainline department stores, or merchandise especially made for the discount department store market. Examples are Nordstrom Rack, Saks Off 5th, Marshalls, Ross Dress for Less, and Kohl’s.[5]
Some sources may refer to the following types of stores as department stores, even they are not generally considered as such:
- Hypermarkets (discount superstores with full grocery offerings, such as Target, Walmart and Carrefour)[6]
- Variety stores, also known in the U.S. as five and dimes
Today’s Macy’s is not the Macy’s of 50 or even 10 years ago.
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Yes they do. That is largely because cosmetics and fragrances tend to be leased departments, and those sales associates are trained by the cosmetic companies on the products.
These days, most associates in other departments are really just cashiers or stockpeople.
However, if I’m paying Neiman Marcus prices for china, then I fully expect them to know their stuff. @Vecchiouomo
Twas a time that Macy’s Cellar had that level of knowledge. But now they are not run by merchants anymore. Sigh…
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I have lived in a lot of big cities, and my all time favorite was the City of Paris in San Francisco. A trip through their basement was, for a food lover, an ethereal experience.
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You realize you’re just repeating and relying on Wikipedia, right?
Tim’s point about specialized departmental service or SME was more helpful. Still, that kind of service is hardly unique to what you seem to think a department store is.
Kaleo, I am correct. What I pasted from Wiki is correct. If you don’t agree or think I am espousing an opinion, then fine.
Tim is also correct, but that is only one part of the definition.
Let’s end this here, shall we? I’ve always thought you to be one of the more reasonable posters.
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All the brick & mortar stores are done really. Except for grocery stores & Home Depot/Liwes where you can get stuff you need right now. They occasionally have lower prices but who needs the headache. By me, all those stores are located on Rte 9 which is a total PITA any time of the day. Plus, its out of stock or whatever. A side note, i built the buy buy baby corporate office on Long Island.
I love the food halls at department stores in Europe and Japan.
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Maybe you are correct, but it’s still unclear what the defining characteristics are of a “department store” (other than having different departments).
The Wiki piece on the subject does a good job of distinguishing various kinds of similar businesses. That’s about it, IMO.
OK, I’m out.
Realizing that it is a term that is not defined, what do you think a department store is, Kaleo?
