No one would have guessed that the small, fancy dry goods
store that opened on the corner of 14th Street and 6th Avenue
in New York City in 1858 would grow to be one of the largest
department store retailers in the world.
But after several failed retail ventures, Rowland Hussey
Macy’s determination and ingenuity paid off at the age of
36 with the launch of R.H. Macy & Co. He adopted a red star
as his symbol of success, dating back to his days as a sailor.
First-day sales totaled $11.06 but by the end of the first
full year, sales grossed almost $90,000. By 1877, R.H. Macy
& Co. had become a full-fledged department store
occupying the ground space of 11 adjacent buildings.
Always the innovator, Macy’s is known for several
firsts that changed the retail industry. Macy’s was the
first retailer to promote a woman, Margaret Getchell, to an
executive position, making business history. Macy’s
pioneered such revolutionary business practices as the one-price system, in which the same item was sold to every customer
at one price, and quoting specific prices for goods in
newspaper advertising. Known for its creative merchandising,
Macy’s was the first to introduce such products as the
tea bag, the Idaho baked potato and colored bath towels.
Macy’s also was the first retailer to hold a New York
City liquor license.
By November 1902, the store had outgrown its modest
storefront and moved uptown to its present Herald Square
location on Broadway and 34th Street, establishing an
attraction for shoppers from around the world. With the
store’s 7th Avenue expansion completed in 1924,
Macy’s Herald Square became the “World’s
Largest Store,” with over 1 million square feet of retail
space.
By 1918, R.H. Macy & Co. was generating $36 million in
annual sales. Yet, the prosperity of the retailer was never
more apparent than when the company went public in 1922 and
began to open regional stores and take over competing
retailers. In 1923, the Toledo-based department store LaSalle
& Kock was acquired; the next year, Davison-Paxton in
Atlanta was acquired, and in 1936, the Newark-based
Bamberger’s was purchased.
To help celebrate their new American heritage, Macy’s
immigrant employees organized the first Christmas Parade in
1924. The procession featured floats, bands, animals from the
zoo and 10,000 onlookers, beginning a time-honored tradition
now known as the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day
Parade.
In 1945, the company expanded west and purchased
O’Connor Moffatt and Company in San Francisco. Two years
later, O’Connor Moffatt stores, including the landmark
Union Square store that opened in 1866, were converted to
Macy’s after a survey indicated that San Franciscans
would welcome the name.
Macy’s California broke new ground with the first
department store flower show in 1946. What began as a fragrance
promotion in the cosmetics department now annually welcomes the
spring season, treating visitors to a botanical, cultural and
community spectacle. In 1971, Macy’s Union Square
store’s lower level, once cluttered with bargains, was
transformed into “The Cellar,” changing the way
customers shop for housewares. Due to its success, the Herald
Square store followed suit five years later.
On December 19, 1994, Federated Department Stores, Inc. (now
known as Macy’s, Inc.) acquired R.H. Macy & Co.,
creating the world’s largest premier department store
company. Federated Department Stores operated over 400
department stores and more than 157 specialty stores in 37
states.
A & S Department Stores were converted to the
Macy’s nameplate in May 1995. Also in 1995, Federated
acquired The Broadway Department Stores, bringing Broadway,
Emporium and Weinstocks to the Macy’s family, as well as
six former I. Magnin stores. Some 46 stores were converted to
Macy’s. Following the lead of A & S, Jordan Marsh
Department Stores of Boston, already owned by Federated, were
converted to Macy’s in March 1996. In January 2001,
Macy’s absorbed 17 Stern’s Department Stores
located in New York and New Jersey. In June 2001, Federated
purchased the Liberty House operations in Hawaii and Guam,
bringing the proud Macy’s tradition and heritage to the
Pacific.
Macy’s entered 2005 with about 240 locations,
primarily on the East and West Coasts. With the conversion of
all Federated’s regional store nameplates in March 2005,
Macy’s grew to about 425 locations across the country. In
September 2006, with the conversion of stores acquired from May
Company, Macy’s now serves customers through more than
800 stores in virtually every major geographic market in the
United States, as well as the macys.com Web site.