A. Schwab | |
 A. Schwab | |
   | |
| Location | 163 Beale Street |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 35°08′22″N90°03′10″W / 35.139542°N 90.052697°W |
| Built | 1876 |
| Architectural style | Italianate (brick) with modified first floor |
| Part of | Beale Street Historic District (ID66000731) |
A. Schwab Dry Goods Store is the sole remaining original business on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee.
A. Schwab Dry Goods Store was established in 1876 by Abraham Joseph Schwab, an Alsatian Jewish immigrant, who fled to the United States to escape German enlistment during the Franco-Prussian War. [1] After arriving in Memphis, Schwab joined the Hirsch family and opened A. Schwab Dry Goods Store, selling men's shoes and boots under the name "Hirsch, Schwab & Co" at 66 Beale. A. Schwab's was also the retailer of the largest overalls in the world which sold two pair a year. Over the next decade Hirsch, Schwab, & Co would expand its services into clothing, hardware and home appliances before the families split in 1886. [1] [2]
Following the split Schwab would continue independently moving to 149 Beale under the current name of A. Schwab. In 1911 the business was passed along to his sons, Sam, Elias, and Leo, who moved the shop to the first floor of its current address at 163 Beale. The new store front was inherited by Sam's daughter, Eleanor Schwab Braslow, and Elias's son, Abram Schwab. Eleanor would keep the books and maintain A. Schwab's stock while Abram would act as the public face of the business. The two expanded the shop to its current size in 1924 buying the second floor of their building and the adjacent storefront, 165 Beale, which had previously been one of the original Piggly Wiggly grocery stores. [2] Elanor and Abram also began a line of Schwab's hygiene products trademarked in 1924 under the name "Schwab's Nature" selling soaps and face wash through their store and other local pharmacies. [3]
Today it is a local tourist attraction. On the balcony mezzanine is the Beale Street Museum, a collection of Beale Street memorabilia, along with several items and records of the Schwab family. The second floor has is an event venue and houses the hoodoo items and musical goods. The first floor sells quirky merchandise and tourist memorabilia while what used to be the next door shop has been converted into an ice-cream bar. [4]
A. Schwab was the oldest store in the Mid-South and is housed in the oldest remaining building on Beale Street. After 136 years of ownership, the Schwab family sold the business at the end of 2011.
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appearance in the middle of the 19th century, and permanently reshaped shopping habits, and the definition of service and luxury. Similar developments were under way in London, in Paris and in New York City (Stewart's).
Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately 1.8 miles (2.9 km). It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of blues music. Today, the blues clubs and restaurants that line Beale Street are major tourist attractions in Memphis. Festivals and outdoor concerts frequently bring large crowds to the street and its surrounding areas.
A general merchant store is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general goods. The store carries routine stock and obtains special orders from warehouses. It differs from a convenience store or corner shop in that it will be the main shop for the community rather than a convenient supplement.
Alexander Turney Stewart was an American entrepreneur who moved to New York and made his multimillion-dollar fortune in the most extensive and lucrative dry goods store in the world.
Clarence Saunders was an American grocer who first developed the modern retail sales model of self service. His ideas have had a massive influence on the development of the modern supermarket. Saunders worked for most of his life trying to develop a truly automated store, developing Piggly Wiggly, Keedoozle, and Foodelectric store concepts.
Rich's was a department store retail chain, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, which operated in the southern U.S. from 1867 until March 6, 2005 when the nameplate was eliminated and replaced by Macy's. Many of the former Rich's stores today form the core of Macy's Central, an Atlanta-based division of Macy's, Inc., which formerly operated as Federated Department Stores, Inc.
Downtown Memphis, Tennessee is the central business district of Memphis, Tennessee and is located along the Mississippi River between Interstate 40 to the north, Interstate 55 to the south and I-240 to the east, where it abuts Midtown Memphis.
L. S. Ayres and Company was a department store based in Indianapolis, Indiana, and founded in 1872 by Lyman S. Ayres. Over the years its Indianapolis flagship store, which opened in 1905 and was later enlarged, became known for its women's fashions, the Tea Room, holiday events and displays, and the basement budget store. As urban populations shifted to the suburbs, Ayres established branch stores in new shopping centers in several Indiana cities. Ayres also acquired retail subsidiaries in Springfield, Illinois; Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Louisville, Kentucky. Ayr-Way, the Ayres discount store subsidiary, became the first discount store launched by a full-line department store. By the end of the 1960s Ayres had become a diversified merchandising business with retail department stores, a chain of discount stores, specialty clothing stores, a home furnishings showroom, and a real estate holding company. A long-time Ayres slogan, "That Ayres Look", promoted the company as a fashion leader, and by 1972 it had become the oldest continuous retail slogan in the United States.
Dymocks Booksellers is an Australian-founded privately owned bookstore chain, that also specialise in CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, e-books and related merchandising. As of June 2022, the chain has about 50 stores in Australia.
Goldsmith's was a department store founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1870 by German immigrant brothers Jacob and Isaac Goldsmith. It grew into a chain largely located in the Memphis metropolitan area, until 2005, when the nameplate was eliminated and replaced by Macy's. Goldsmith's stores were subsequently folded into Federated's Macy's Central division, reorganized into Macy's South, and today into a differently configured Macy's Central, the current division encompassing the stores.
Hutzler's, or Hutzler Brothers Company, was a department store founded in Baltimore by Abram G. Hutzler (1836–1927) in 1858. From its beginning as a small dry goods store at the corner of Howard and Clay Streets in downtown Baltimore, Hutzler's eventually grew into a chain of 10 department stores, all of which were located in Maryland.
J. W. Robinson Co., Robinson's, was a chain of department stores operating in the Southern California and Arizona area, previously with headquarters in Los Angeles, California.
A record shop or record store is a retail outlet that sells recorded music. Per the name, in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, record shops only sold gramophone records. But over the course of the 20th century, record shops sold the new formats that were developed, such as eight track tapes, compact cassettes and compact discs (CDs). Today, in the 21st century, record stores mainly sell CDs, vinyl records and, in some cases, DVDs of movies, TV shows, cartoons and concerts. Some record stores also sell music-related items such as posters of bands or singers, related clothing items and even merchandise such as bags and coffee mugs.
The H. & S. Pogue Company was a Cincinnati, Ohio based department store chain founded by two brothers, Henry and Samuel Pogue. They came from County Cavan, Northern Ireland, to Cincinnati and worked in their uncle's dry goods store. They later were able to buy him out and H. & S. Pogue Dry Goods Company was established in 1863 at 111 West Fifth Street. Brothers Thomas, Joseph, and William Pogue would eventually join the enterprise.
The Stax Museum of American Soul Music is a museum located in Memphis, Tennessee, at 926 East McLemore Avenue, the original location of Stax Records. Stax launched and supported the careers of artists such as Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, Sam & Dave, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, Wilson Pickett, Albert King, William Bell, Eddie Floyd, Jean Knight, Mable John, and countless others including spoken word and comedy by Rev. Jesse Jackson, Moms Mabley, and Richard Pryor.
Chor Bazaar is one of the largest flea markets in India, located at Mutton street, near Bhendi Bazaar in Grant Road, South Mumbai. The area is one of the tourist attractions of Mumbai. The word "chor" means 'thief' in Marathi, Gujarati and Hindi. According to popular legend, if you lose anything in Mumbai you can buy it back from the Chor Bazaar.
Michael Jordan's Restaurant was a multi-level restaurant and sports bar located at 500 N. LaSalle Street in Chicago, Illinois, United States of America. Named after Michael Jordan, a basketball player with the Chicago Bulls, the restaurant was once one of the most popular tourist spots in Chicago. It operated from 1993 until 1999, closing shortly after Jordan's second retirement from playing basketball.
Tourism in Memphis includes the points of interest in Memphis, Tennessee such as museums, fine art galleries, and parks, as well as Graceland the Beale Street entertainment district, and sporting events.
Marston's was a department store based in San Diego, California, and founded by city leader George Marston. It had a downtown main store on Sixth Street and opened two suburban branches before being sold to The Broadway in 1961.
The retail format influences the consumer's store choice and addresses the consumer's expectations. At its most basic level, a retail format is a simple marketplace, that is; a location where goods and services are exchanged. In some parts of the world, the retail sector is still dominated by small family-run stores, but large retail chains are increasingly dominating the sector, because they can exert considerable buying power and pass on the savings in the form of lower prices. Many of these large retail chains also produce their own private labels which compete alongside manufacturer brands. Considerable consolidation of retail stores has changed the retail landscape, transferring power away from wholesalers and into the hands of the large retail chains.
 | This United States retail business article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
