Frank Winfield Woolworth was an American entrepreneur and the founder of F. W. Woolworth Company and the operator of variety stores known as "Five-and-Dimes" or dimestores, which featured a low-priced selection of merchandise. He pioneered the now-common practices of buying merchandise directly from manufacturers and fixing the selling prices on items, rather than haggling. He was also the first to use self-service display cases, so customers could examine what they wanted to buy without the help of a sales clerk.
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different product categories known as "departments". 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.
The Strand Bookstore is an independent bookstore located at 828 Broadway, at the corner of East 12th Street in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, two blocks south of Union Square. In addition to the main location, the store's Central Park kiosk is open on fair weather days at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 60th Street. The company's slogan is "18 Miles Of Books", as featured on its stickers, T-shirts, and other merchandise. In 2016, The New York Times called The Strand "the undisputed king of the city’s independent bookstores."
Frieda is a character in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles Schulz. According to Schulz, Frieda's character was inspired by his longtime friend Frieda Rich, a local artist whom he met while taking classes at the Art Instruction Schools in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She was a regular in Peanuts throughout the 1960s, but as newer characters were phased in towards the end of the decade, she began appearing less often, and she ceased to be a featured character after 1985, making only cameo appearances since then in various television specials. She is known for having naturally curly hair, of which she is extremely proud. Her full name was revealed in the 2015 film The Peanuts Movie as 'Frieda Rich', where she places 12th in the test results.
A discount store or discount shop is a retail shop which sells products at prices that are lower than the typical market price.
Alexander Turney Stewart was a successful Irish entrepreneur who made his multimillion-dollar fortune in what was at the time the most extensive and lucrative dry goods business in the world.
Zayre was a chain of discount stores that operated in the eastern half of the United States from 1956 to 1990. The company's headquarters was in Framingham, Massachusetts. In October 1988, Zayre's parent company, Zayre Corp., sold the stores to the competing Ames Department Stores, Inc. chain, and in June 1989, Zayre Corp. merged with one of its subsidiaries, The TJX Companies, parent company of T.J. Maxx. A number of stores retained the Zayre name until 1990, by which time all stores were either closed or converted into Ames stores.
Barneys New York Inc. is an American chain of luxury department stores founded and headquartered in New York City.
Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is a luxury department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son Andrew Goodman.
Katherine Noel Valentine Brosnahan, known professionally as Kate Spade and Kate Valentine, was an American fashion designer and businesswoman. She was the founder and former co-owner of the designer brand Kate Spade New York.
Rainbow Shops, commonly referred to as just Rainbow is a privately held, moderately priced American retail apparel chain comprising several lifestyle brands primarily targeting teens and young women. The company is headquartered in East New York, NY, United States.
Abraham & Straus, commonly shortened to A&S, was a major New York City department store, based in Brooklyn. Founded in 1865, it became part of Federated Department Stores in 1929. Shortly after Federated's 1994 acquisition of R.H. Macy & Company, it eliminated the A&S brand. Most A&S stores took the Macy's name, although a few became part of Stern's, another Federated division, but one that offered lower-end goods than did Macy's or A&S.
Berrenger's is an American primetime television soap opera created by Diana Gould that aired on NBC in 1985. The series revolved around the Berrenger family, a New York dynasty which owned the glamorous department store which bore their name.
Sample sales are used by retail businesses in order to discard excess merchandise. Sometimes these samples have been used by agencies to sell products that they will distribute to local vendors. Sample sales are often associated with the fashion industry. These sales are an opportunity to get near perfect merchandise at a fraction of the price. It is often difficult to have information on the date and time of sample sales, although there are websites which list information about sample sales. They are also used to draw in new clients, hoping that the new people will return to the company's store and buy more merchandise.
Bonnie Cashin was an American designer, she is considered to be one of the pioneering designers of American sportswear. She created practical, uncomplicated clothing that catered to the independent woman of the post-war era.
Nettie Rosenstein was an American fashion designer, based in New York City between c.1913 and 1975. She was particularly renowned for her little black dresses and costume jewelry.
Lynn Pressman Raymond was an American business executive who joined her husband Jack Pressman in developing and growing the Pressman Toy Corporation, and was an innovator in creating and licensing toys based on hit television programs and professional athletes in her two decades as president of the firm following her husband's death in 1959.
Martin's was a specialty apparel retailer in the New York metropolitan area, with its flagship location on Fulton Street in Brooklyn. It grew to six stores by the mid 1970s, before being sold to the operator of Times Square Stores in 1977.
Ira Neimark is an American author, lecturer, and former retail executive who served as Chairman and CEO of Bergdorf Goodman from 1975 to 1992. His reintroduction of French couture to New York with Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, and Christian Dior sparked a period of growth for Bergdorf Goodman, which went from $18 million in sales in 1975 to $250 million in sales by 1992. During his tenure, he expanded the women's store three times and opened the Bergdorf Goodman Men's Store in 1991 across the street from the primary location on Fifth Avenue, between 57th and 58th Streets, in New York.
