2. A. T. Stewart and Company standardized the training of sales staff
New York’s A. T. Stewart and Company was founded by another foreigner who believed America was the land in which to realize one’s fortune. His store, the first of which appeared on Broadway in 1823, though not yet a true department store, offered fabrics from his native Ireland, finding a ready customer base as Irish immigration to New York increased in the 19th century. In 1845 he parlayed his success into the construction of a new store across Broadway from his original location, which he called the Marble Palace. Stewart used innovative marketing methods, including the placement of merchandise on the sidewalks outside of his stores, in cases placed to drive foot traffic into the premises. He also stressed a somewhat cynical view towards potential customers, instructing his clerks to be wary of them. “…if they could, they would cheat you”, Stewart told his staff at a time when prices for most goods and merchandise were still a subject of negotiation between buyer and seller.
Eventually, the Marble Palace, and other Stewart store locations, adopted the innovations of other stores, including fixed pricing clearly marked on merchandise. Stewart’s image and merchandise evolved over time to include fine furs, ready-made clothes in European styles, and items for the furnishing of fashionable homes including rugs and carpets, draperies, upholstered furniture, and linens and tableware. Stewart’s was also an innovator in ordering goods using mail order, selected from catalogs developed for the purpose, a forerunner of Sears, Roebuck & Company and Montgomery Ward. By the late 19th century Stewart’s offered among its merchandise products manufactured in its own factories, and bearing the Stewart name. Eventually, Stewart’s operations and several stores were purchased by competitors, chiefly Wanamaker’s.