Lyman was preoccupied with the move to their new store at 59th Street and Third Avenue. Joseph decided to retire and Lyman continued to thrill his customers. The wondrous conveyances were finished in plate glass mirrors and fine mahogany.
Painted mural on the West Wall of Bloomingdale Bros. First Floor inside Bloomindale Bros. Delivery wagons line the loading dock for loading before making their deliveries. They paid attention to what clothing companies in several international markets were selling. The brothers opened a purchasing office in Paris, France and brought several of those items to the United States.
Their first store began to carry more and more garments. Things went so well that the tiny store soon ran out of space. The shop had large glass windows which were used to display their items, often in a theatrical manner.
Lyman began running print ads in the early 20th century to attract more business. Buster Brown artist Robert Oucault was hired to create several paintings based on the tagline.
Renowned architects Van Vleck and Stannet recreated the establishment in the Art Deco style that was very popular at the time. Their first location in Queens hosted more than 25, guests when it opened in Model rooms showcased new designs that were sure to be top sellers in no time. Bloomingdale's, a pioneer of the department stores that would dominate the twentieth century retail market, was there to greet them, offering ladies a dazzling assortment of high-end women's fashions.
In , the brothers opened a new store with large plate glass display windows and spacious merchandising areas at Third Avenue and 59th Street. The two had a flair for dramatic presentation of merchandise, which continues to be a Bloomingdale's trademark to this day. By the turn of the century, the department store was becoming a mainstay of the urban retail industry.
The store's growth was facilitated by its convenient location at a hub of New York City's horse-drawn trolley system. In , Lymen Bloomingdale's son, Samuel J.
Oucault, creator of the famed Buster Brown Shoe drawings, to create a series of paintings around the theme. The campaign was the largest of its era, with the slogan appearing on everything from billboards to over 5, beach umbrellas offered free to street vendors and delivery cart drivers.
Hard times hit shortly after, as the whims of the upper class shifted once again and a popular shopping area sprang up further downtown, on Sixth Avenue between 14th and 23rd Street. Samuel J. Bloomingdale took over as president, and kept the business from declining drastically. In , the 58th Street Station of the Lexington Avenue subway was constructed in Bloomingdale's basement further supporting the "All Cars Transfer to Bloomingdale's" message and business picked up again.
The following year, Bloomingdale's merged with Federated Department Stores, uniting it with three retail giants: Wm. Lazarus of Columbus, Ohio. Samuel Bloomingdale stayed on as honorary chairman of Bloomingdale's board and later went on to serve as director of Federated. In , the Bloomingdale's building, which had grown by spurts and starts to engulf the entire block, was completely redesigned by architects Starret and Van Vleck in the Art Deco style.
The store weathered the economic hardships of the Great Depression and World War II, and in entered into a new era of fashion merchandising. The collection was launched with an enormous media event entitled, "Women of the Year, ," and paved the road for further, far more elaborate events in the future. That year, Bloomingdale's also instituted its "model rooms," which showcased the talents of designers and artists such as architect Frank Ghery and filmmaker Federico Fellini while at the same time promoting special merchandise that tied in with the theme.
Both campaigns were successful. Components of the original "Bloomingdale's Collection" are now part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and--more importantly for business--when Bloomingdale's inaugurated its first branch store in Fresh Meadows, New York, in , over 25, people came through the store on opening day. A decade later, Bloomingdale's expanded on these two concepts and introduced "Casa Bella," a promotional campaign that featured in-store cultural exhibits highlighting home furnishings and products from Italy.
The following year, the store captured the media's attention by creating the first "designer shopping bag" to promote its "Esprit de France" exhibit.
The design by artist Joseph Kinigstein was a reproduction of French tarot cards in dramatic shades of red, black, and white. In , Marvin S. Traub became merchandising manager at the store. A "constant traveler in search of the unusual," Traub made the store his museum. There is a sky bridge that crosses between 59th and 60th street at their Manhattan store.
This is no longer in use but it was one of the last remaining examples of this type of bridge in Manhattan. This type of bridge was very popular at one point as it was a way to relieve some of the congestion that has always been a problem on the streets of New York. The retail industry has changed a lot over the past few years and many stores have struggled to maintain physical stores now that online shopping is becoming more and more popular.
One of the ways that they do this is by continuing to work with the most popular designers of the time to ensure that products from these designers are available in their stores.
They have embraced internet shopping and used it to their advantage when other retailers have struggled to do this. When Joseph and Lyman Bloomingdale first opened their store in Manhattan they wanted it to be different from anything anybody had experienced before. This is a legacy that the company still tries to achieve more than years later. They are constantly evolving in terms of the services that they offer to their customers so that they do not have to look elsewhere.
Their flagship store in the heart of Midtown Manhattan also plays a big part in their success. Garrett by trade is a personal finance freelance writer and journalist. With over 10 years experience he's covered businesses, CEOs, and investments. However he does like to take on other topics involving some of his personal interests like automobiles, future technologies, and anything else that could change the world.
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