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Macy's History

Decent Essays

Most Americans are familiar with Macy’s because it is one of the largest, most well known department stores in America. The department store has been meeting the needs of Americans since 1858 by offering a commodity of mid-range to upscale priced merchandise including: cosmetics, apparel, home décor, appliances and much more. The store is also famous for sponsoring the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City since 1924. Macy’s continues to grow due to its success in its affordable quality of merchandise.
History
Macy’s first began as a small dry goods store on the corner of 14th Street and 6th Avenue in downtown New York City in 1858. No one would have guessed that it would later become one of the largest retailers in the world. In 1858, a sailor named Rowland H. Macy who lived in New York City started the store calling it R.H. Macy & Co. He decided to use a red star as a symbol of success for the logo. The first day the store opened his sales were only $11.06 but by the end of his first year of sales they were around $85,000 (Macy’s Inc. 2016). Surprisingly, by 1877 Macy’s had expanded into a department store that took up ground space of eleven buildings that were adjacent to each other. Macy’s was the first ever retailer to have a woman, named Margaret Getchell, as the first female promoted to an executive position which would make business history. They were the first to put specific prices of goods in newspaper advertising as well as sell the same priced item

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