Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and then sells in smaller quantities to consumers for a profit. Retailers are the final link in the supply chain from producers to consumers.
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 (Stewart's).
Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It has been a sister brand to the Bloomingdale's department store chain since being acquired by holding company Federated Department Stores in 1994, which renamed itself Macy's, Inc. in 2007. It is the largest department store company by retail sales in the United States as of 2015.
CompUSA, Inc., was a retailer and reseller of personal computers, consumer electronics, technology products and computer services. Starting with one brick-and-mortar store in 1986 under the name Soft Warehouse, by the 1990s CompUSA had grown into a nationwide big box chain. At its peak, it operated at least 229 locations. Crushed by competition from other brick-and-mortar retailers, corporate oversight which was out of touch with evolving market realities, and a failure to make a strong transition to online sales, CompUSA began closing what they classified as "low performing" locations in 2006. By 2008 only 16 locations were left to be sold to Systemax. In 2012, remaining CompUSA and Circuit City stores were converted to TigerDirect stores, and later closed. As of 2023, the CompUSA online website redirects to an error page hosted on Wix.com.
The Apple Store is a chain of retail stores owned and operated by Apple Inc. The stores sell various Apple products, including Mac personal computers, iPhone smartphones, iPad tablet computers, Apple Watch smartwatches, Apple TV digital media players, software, and both Apple-branded and selected third-party accessories.
El Corte Inglés S.A., headquartered in Madrid, is the biggest department store group in Europe and ranks third worldwide. Its primary source of sales is from department stores, followed by internet sales. It is a family business, with most stock being held by relatives of the deceased businessmen Ramon Areces Rodriguez and César Rodríguez González (1882-1966), and the Ramon Areces foundation.
Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain founded in 1861 by Benjamin and Lyman Bloomingdale. It was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1930, which acquired the Macy’s department store chain in 1994, when they became sister brands. Ultimately, Federated itself was renamed Macy’s, Inc. in 2007.
Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Yorkdale Mall, or simply Yorkdale, is a major retail shopping centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located at the southwest corner of the interchange between Highway 401 and Allen Road, it opened in 1964 as the largest enclosed shopping mall in the world. Yorkdale is currently the third largest shopping mall in Canada by floor space and has the highest sales per unit area of any mall in Canada, with current merchandise sales levels at roughly CA$1,905 per square foot. At 18 million annual visitors, it is one of the country's busiest malls. Many international retailers have ventured the Canadian market initially at Yorkdale.
Sephora is a French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products with nearly 340 brands, along with its own private label, Sephora Collection, and includes beauty products such as cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, nail color, beauty tools, body lotions and haircare.
Del Monte Shopping Center, also known as Del Monte Center, is an open-air shopping center located in Monterey, California. Del Monte Center is the largest shopping center on the Monterey Peninsula and has the only department store in a 22-mile radius. Del Monte Center was designed by architect John Carl Warnecke, built by Williams and Burrows Construction Company and originally opened in 1967 but expanded and renovated in 1987. The shopping center encompasses 675,000 square feet (62,700 m2) of retail space including 85 stores, one department store (Macy's), Whole Foods Market, restaurants, a gym and spa (Energia) and a thirteen screen Century Theatres. Petco was added in 2004, replacing Stroud's. The existing theater complex moved in 2006, with the former complex becoming a furniture store for Macy's.
El Puerto de Liverpool is a Mexican company that consists of commercial, financial, and real estate operations.
Computer City was a chain of United States-based computer superstores operated by Tandy Corporation; the retailer was sold to CompUSA in 1998 and was merged into the CompUSA organization.
Retail design is a creative and commercial discipline that combines several different areas of expertise together in the design and construction of retail space. Retail design is primarily a specialized practice of architecture and interior design; however, it also incorporates elements of industrial design, graphic design, ergonomics, and advertising.
Pearland Town Center is a lifestyle center concept regional shopping mall located in the rapidly growing city of Pearland, Texas south of Houston. Managed by CBL & Associates, the center was completed in 2008 and includes three anchor stores with room for an additional anchor store. In May 2011, it was announced that TIAA-CREF would receive 12% ownership of Pearland Town Center in an attempt to reduce CBL's debt. The anchor stores are Barnes & Noble, Dillard's, Macy's, and Dick's Sporting Goods.
Plaza del Caribe is an enclosed shopping mall located in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is owned by Empresas Fonalledas, and is the largest mall in southern Puerto Rico. The mall is located at the intersection of Puerto Rico Highway 2 and Highway 12. The anchor stores are JCPenney and Macy's. A former third anchor store, Sears, closed in February 2020.
Off-price is a trading format based on discount pricing. Off-price retailers are independent of manufacturers and buy large volumes of branded goods directly from them. The off-price retail model relies on the purchase of over-produced, or excess, branded goods at a lower price, thus being able to sell to consumers at a discount compared to other stores which purchased an initial run. Among the largest retailers of this type are TJX Companies and Ross Stores. The model is more common in countries that import fashion-oriented or household goods, as the discount role in producer countries is usually filled by factory outlets or small-scale open-air marketplaces.
Bluemercury is a chain of American beauty stores founded in 1999 by Marla Malcolm Beck and Barry J. Beck in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. The stores sell cosmetics, as well as in-store facials and spa treatments. In addition to selling products from other brands, the company developed its own M-61 skincare line in 2012 and Lune+Aster make-up line in 2015.
b8ta was a retail-as-a-service company which serve as presentation centers for consumer electronics and home goods. The company was founded in 2015 by Vibhu Norby, William Mintun, Phillip Raub, and Nicholas Mann. Its first location opened in Palo Alto in December 2015. Companies could pay to rent out space for their product to be displayed inside the locations, along with a tablet that each brand customizes with software. All of the products in stores were on display out-of-the-box and could be touched and demoed. The company also sold the products directly to consumers. Store employees, which the company calls "b8ta testers", assisted customers with demos and product information which is taught to them by companies with products on display. In November 2019, b8ta opened a fashion store named Forum in West Hollywood with the same business model.
La Jolla Village Square is a retail power center with a collection of mostly big box retailers. Before 1992, was an enclosed upscale regional mall with department store anchors and an adjacent "convenience center" portion. It is located in the La Jolla Village neighborhood of San Diego just south of UC San Diego (UCSD) and about one mile west of Westfield UTC, with which it used to compete as an upscale regional mall. It is across the street from "The Shops at La Jolla Village", whose tenants include Whole Foods Market, Nordstrom Rack, and CVS Pharmacy.
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.
