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Bloomingdale's

Coordinates: 40°45′43″N 73°58′00″W / 40.76194°N 73.96667°W / 40.76194; -73.96667
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Bloomingdale's Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryRetail
Founded1861; 163 years ago (1861)
FoundersJoseph B. Bloomingdale
Lyman G. Bloomingdale
Headquarters59th Street and Lexington Avenue,
New York City, New York
,
U.S.
Number of locations
58 (Q3 2023)[1]
Area served
Key people
Tony Spring (chairman and CEO)
Products
  • Clothing
  • footwear
  • leather goods
  • jewelry
  • cosmetics
  • fragrances
  • bedding
  • bath
  • furniture
  • home decor
  • housewares
  • cafe
RevenueUS$1.072 billion
ParentMacy's, Inc.
Websitewww.bloomingdales.com

Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain founded in 1861 by Joseph Bloomingdale 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.

As of 2024, the chain had a total of 32 owned department stores in the U.S. and 3 franchised stores in Dubai and Kuwait; 21 outlet stores (all in the U.S.), and 3 Bloomie's by Bloomingdales concept stores.[1]

Its headquarters and flagship store are located at 59th Street and Lexington Avenue in the New York City borough of Manhattan. [2][3]

History

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The historic Lexington Avenue flagship store in Midtown Manhattan

19th century

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Founding (1861)

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The first Bloomingdale's was founded in New York City by Benjamin Bloomingdale and his son Lyman Bloomingdale in 1861 in its Lower East Side area, originally under the name Bloomingdale's Hoopskirts, initially focused on selling hoop skirts and European fashions. The brothers quickly identified opportunities for growth and expansion in the dynamic retail landscape of the time.In 1872, Lyman and his brother Joseph opened a second location called Bloomingdale's Great East Side Bazaar in Midtown Manhattan at 965 Third Avenue, between 56th & 57th Sts. The Bazaar later moved into three adjacent buildings further up the block before finally moving into a building at 59th St. and Third Avenue, where its flagship store remains today.[4]

Relocations and expansion (1860s-1890s)

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In the subsequent years, Bloomingdale's underwent a series of relocations and expansions. The brothers moved the store from its original location to a larger space on 59th Street and Third Avenue. As the business flourished, necessitating more significant retail space, the store moved once again to its iconic location at 59th Street and Lexington Avenue in 1886. This move marked a turning point, solidifying the store's position as a prominent retail destination.[4]

In 1872, the store changed its name to "Bloomingdale's", reflecting the family name but also symbolized the flourishing and growth of their business.

Joseph Bloomingdale retired from the company in 1896, giving his brother Lyman full control, and Lyman's sons Hiram and Samuel inherited his shares upon his death in 1905.

20th century

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As the 20th century dawned, Bloomingdale's embraced innovative retail practices. The introduction of the department store window display in the late 19th century set a trend, making the store more visually appealing and attracting attention from passersby. This approach contributed to the store's reputation for being fashion-forward.[4]

By 1902, the store grew to occupy 80 percent of the city block between 58th St. and 59th St. to the north and south, and Third Avenue and Lexington Avenue to the east and west.[5]

After the New York City Subway debuted, the store's primary entrance was shifted to its Lexington Avenue side in 1918 to draw customers coming from the nearby IRT Lexington Avenue Line stop at 59th Street and Lexington Avenue. Given that the U.S. was involved in World War I, Samuel Bloomingdale gave the American Red Cross free use of an entire floor there until the war ended. By 1927, after acquiring all the remaining portions along it, Bloomingdale's controlled 100 percent of the block, expanding the store's size to 84,000 square feet (later nearly quadrupled via newly added floor space).[5]

Like most publicly traded companies, Bloomingdale's faced severe financial problems following the Black Tuesday stock market crash in 1929, and it merged with the newly created Federated Department Stores in early 1930, which helped it survive the Great Depression.[4]

1945–1960: American designers and fashion influence

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After World War II, Bloomingdale's played a crucial role in shaping post-war American fashion. The store actively engaged with European designers and trends, as well as promoting American designers, and was an influencer in fashion trends and the evolution of American fashion sensibilities. This period marked a phase of continued growth and influence for Bloomingdale's, solidifying its status as a premier department store. By the 1950s, Bloomingdale's had become an established and influential retail institution. The store's commitment to offering a wide range of high-quality merchandise and its role in shaping fashion trends laid the foundation for its continued growth and legacy in the decades to come.[4]

First branch stores

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In 1947, and tandem with America's economic boom after World War II, Bloomingdale's opened its first store outside of Manhattan in New Rochelle, a New York City suburb, where it assumed control of the former Ware's Department Store. After concluding that using pre-existing buildings could have been a better fit with its tried-and-true floor layouts, the company debuted its first custom-built store in 1949, located in the Fresh Meadows neighborhood across the East River in Queens. Over 25,000 people visited on its first day of business.[5]

1960-1975

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During the 1960s, Bloomingdale's shifted its merchandise mix to incorporate haute couture fashions imported from Paris and home furnishings from Italy. It also launched its first single designer-specific department in 1969, for Halston, one that was quickly followed later that year by a dedicated Polo Ralph Lauren boutique in its men's store. By the early 1970s, Bloomingdale's had begun embracing avant-garde European design, and following the United Nations recognition of China in 1971, it became the first American retailer to sell products from Communist-era China. Its iconic rounded logo debuted in 1972, followed a year later by its "Big Brown Bag" and "Little Brown Bag," all of which remain in use today. Bloomingdale's continued to thrive throughout the 1970s, despite New York City's turbulence at the time, partly via continued expansions into the suburbs. Its largest branch opened in White Plains, New York in 1975, with 260,000 square feet of floor space, and shortly after that, Bloomingdale's shuttered its original, but much smaller, New Rochelle branch.[5]

Expansion beyond New York area

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In 1976, Bloomingdale's launched its first store outside of the New York City area in Tysons, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. in Northern Virginia. The First Lady at the time, Betty Ford, attended its opening as its guest of honor.[5]

In 1981, Bloomingdale's opened a branch at the King of Prussia Mall in suburban Philadelphia, then the largest mall in the world. Other new stores opened as well, along the East Coast, Florida, Chicago, and in Dallas, Texas. [6] In 1988, Canadian real estate developer Robert Campeau launched a hostile takeover attempt of the company, successfully acquiring it for $6.6 billion: it was the largest non-oil corporate merger ever at the time.[5]

Economic challenges (1990s)

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Bloomingdale's faced continued economic challenges in the early 1990s, resulting in the closures of its Dallas, Fresh Meadows, and Stamford, Connecticut locations. In 1994, Federated Stores acquired the entire Macy's chain, which had been in bankruptcy for two years. In 1996, Bloomingdale's expanded to the U.S. West Coast, converting four former chains of The Broadway, which it acquired via its merger with Macy's, in Southern California into Bloomingdale's stores in a single day.[5] Bloomingdale's continued growth and shuttering of duplicative locations stemming from Macy's merger.

21st century

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Map of Bloomingdale's locations as of October 2015

In 2004, the company returned once again to downtown Manhattan, opening an 82,000-square-foot store – featuring an "edited" selection of the flagship store's offerings – in SoHo.

In 2007, Bloomingdale’s expanded into San Diego (Fashion Valley) and Costa Mesa (South Coast Plaza), once again by replacing former Robinsons-May stores that closed in 2006, in each case because there were already existing Macy's stores in each mall. In 2006, Bloomingdale's opened its largest store save its Manhattan flagship in San Francisco's Union Square, 330,000 sq ft (31,000 m2) in area.

On June 1, 2007, Federated Stores changed its corporate name to Macy's, given its more robust name recognition, but left its Bloomingdale's store names intact.[5]

On February 14, 2008, parent company Macy's, Inc. announced plans to enter the Phoenix market with a 180,000-square-foot store by 2009.[7] Arizona would have been the thirteenth state to have a Bloomingdale's store location, with this store being the tenth in the western U.S. and 41st throughout the chain.[8] This store never materialized as a result of the Great Recession in 2008 and 2009.

In May 2008, Bloomingdale's began the phase-out of its Bloomingdale's By Mail catalog to greater emphasize its rapidly growing online presence at bloomingdales.com. On September 10, 2008, Macy's announced plans to open three new Bloomingdale's stores, two modeled after its SoHo store. One was intended to be a three-level 82,000-square-foot (7,600 m2) anchor store at The Shops at Georgetown Park in Washington, D.C.,[9] but the plan collapsed after the mall's parent company declared bankruptcy. The other two stores were completed, including a new 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m2) branch at Westfield Valley Fair in San Jose, California, [10] and a 205,000 sq ft (19,000 m2) store in Santa Monica Place, in Santa Monica, CA. The latter debuted in early 2010. San Jose's debut was delayed until 2020, primarily due to the Great Recession, and Santa Monica closed in 2021 due to subpar performance.[5]

In February 2010, Macy's launched Bloomingdale's first international location in Dubai. As is the case for rival Saks Fifth Avenue, the global presence for Bloomingdale's is operated under license by a local interest: in this case, Al Tayer Group LLC, a leading UAE-based conglomerate.[11] Bloomingdale's CEO announced that the Dubai store would most likely be the only store outside of the U.S.[12] (The company's leaders later had a change of heart, and opened a branch in Kuwait in 2017.) Later in 2010, the company launched its first outlet store at Potomac Mills, located outside of Washington, D.C.[5]

In 2012, Macy's Inc. closed four Bloomingdale's stores, one each in the Minneapolis (Mall of America), Atlanta (Perimeter), Washington DC (White Flint), and Chicago (Oak Brook) areas.[13][14]

In late 2019, Macy's announced that fur would no longer be sold in any of its stores, including Bloomingdale's department & outlet stores, as of the end of the 2020 fiscal year.[15]

As part of an initiative to better establish its New York flagship store as a "retail destination," designed to allure shoppers who primarily purchase department store goods online, Bloomingdale's introduced new departments and offerings throughout the decade, including a branch of Magnolia Bakery and a boutique for Sarah Jessica Parker's SJC Collection shoe line. It was the first department store in New York to offer the latter. In 2018 and 2019, Bloomingdale's remodeled nearly 200,000 square feet inside the store, wholly revamping its denim, cosmetics, shoes, and women's contemporary clothing departments.[5]

In March 2020, Macy's, Inc. announced that it would temporarily close all Bloomingdale's and Macy's locations as a result of the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic.[16] Its original plan to reopen at the end of March quickly evaporated due to the pandemic's rapid spread, as did its intent to do so by the end of April 2020: as was the case with most brick-and-mortar retailers, Macy's ended up closing some of its stores for a year or more, with reopening days that varied depending on their locations. Some did not reopen until late 2021.

On September 9, 2022, Bloomingdale's celebrated its 150th anniversary, featuring a variety of special events and unique merchandise offerings through the end of the year at its Manhattan flagship location.[5]

Timeline of department store openings

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Year
Opened/
Closed 		# Mall or district City Metro Area State (US) or
country 		Gross
floor
area
(sq ft) 		Type Remarks
1886 open 1 59th Street New York New York New York 850,000 L
1947 1977 554 Main Street New Rochelle New York New York 110,000 Building was previously Ware's Dept. Store. Closed in 1977 after nearby White Plains store opened in 1975.[17] Functioned for a time afterwards as a furniture outlet.[18]
1949 1991 Fresh Meadows Queens New York New York 149,000 At opening, 106,325 sq.ft., did not sell furniture or large appliances. Two stories plus basement. Architects Voorhees, Walker, Foley and Smith. Town-and-country suburban architectural theme, grey brick, white marble.[19][20]
1959 open 5 Shops at Riverside Hackensack New York New Jersey 292,000 O
1967 open 6 Short Hills Short Hills New York New Jersey 246,000 GL
1971 1982 Manhasset furniture store Manhasset, L.I. New York New York Closed after the opening of nearby store in Garden City[21]
1971 1982 Eastchester furniture store Eastchester New York New York Closed after the opening of nearby store in White Plains[21]
1973 open 11 Mall at Chestnut Hill Home/Men's Chestnut Hill Boston Massachusetts 124,000 O
1975 open 12 White Plains White Plains New York New York 296,000 O
1976 open 14 Tysons Corner Center McLean Washington DC Virginia 268,000 L
1981 open 16 King of Prussia (Court) King of Prussia Philadelphia Pennsylvania 250,000 O
1982 open 17 Willow Grove Park Willow Grove Philadelphia Pennsylvania 239,000 O
1983 1990[22] Valley View Center Dallas Dallas–Ft. Worth Texas 220,378
1986 open 2 Town Center at Boca Raton Boca Raton Miami-FtL-WPB Florida 270,000 O
1988 open 8 North Michigan Ave. Chicago Chicago Illinois 270,000 L
1990 open 24 Stamford Town Center Stamford New York Connecticut 161,000 L
1995 open 27 Roosevelt Field Garden City New York New York 314,000 L
1996 open 28 Century City Los Angeles Los Angeles California 232,000 L
1996 open 30 Fashion Island Newport Beach Los Angeles California 172,000 GL
1996 open 30 Fashion Island Home Newport Beach Los Angeles California 68,000 L
1996 open 29 Sherman Oaks Sherman Oaks Los Angeles California 228,000 O
1997 open 3 Aventura Mall Aventura Miami-FtL-WPB Florida 252,000 GL
1997 open 32 Beverly Center Los Angeles Los Angeles California 163,000 L
1998 open 4 Walt Whitman Mall Huntington New York New York 231,000 L
2002 open 24 Bridgewater Commons Bridgewater New York New Jersey 161,000 L
2002 open 20 Mall at Millenia Orlando Orlando Florida 236,000 O
2002 open 37 Willowbrook Wayne New York New Jersey 255,000 O
2002 2013[23] Fashion Show Mall Home Store Las Vegas Las Vegas Nevada
2003 open 55 Lenox Square Atlanta Atlanta Georgia 281,000 L
2003 2020 Medinah Temple Chicago Chicago Illinois Home and Furniture Store in a historic building in the Near North Side, Chicago. June 2019 sold building to Chicago developer Al Friedman. Vacated September 2020.[24]
2004 open 53 Soho New York New York New York 121,000 L
2006 open 61 Fashion Valley San Diego San Diego–Tijuana California 225,000 GL
2006 open 11 Mall at Chestnut Hill Women's Chestnut Hill Boston Massachusetts 186,000 O
2006 open 22 San Francisco Centre San Francisco San Francisco Bay Area California 335,000 O
2007 open 62 South Coast Plaza Costa Mesa Los Angeles California 291,000 O
2007 open 34 Wisconsin Place Chevy Chase Washington DC Maryland 190,000 O
2010 2021 Santa Monica Place Santa Monica Los Angeles California 205,000 Closed due to subpar performance[5]
2010 open n/a Dubai Mall Dubai Dubai  UAE 146,000 F Main store
2010 open n/a Dubai Mall Dubai Dubai  UAE 54,000 F Home store
2013 open 60 Glendale Galleria Glendale Los Angeles California 112,000 L Opened as part of the mall's remodel, replacing Mervyn's.[25][26]
2014 open 31 Stanford Shopping Center Palo Alto San Francisco Bay Area California 124,000 GL
2015 open 58 Ala Moana Center Honolulu Honolulu Hawaiʻi 164,000 L On November 12, 2015, Bloomingdale's opened its first store in Hawaii. The three-story store replaced a former Sears and includes special services such as smart fitting rooms, charging lounges, and a 40 Carrots restaurant.[27]
2017 open n/a 360 Mall Al Zahra Kuwait.  Kuwait 93,000 F
2019 open 46 SoNo Collection Norwalk New York Connecticut 153,000 L
2020 open 50 Samanea Mall Westbury New York New York 25,000 L
2020 open 57 Valley Fair San Jose San Francisco Bay Area California 144,000 O
1990[22] Stamford Stamford New York Connecticut
1992 2012 Mall of America Bloomington Minneapolis–St. Paul Minnesota 233,000 L On January 4, 2012, Macy's announced it would close these four Bloomingdale's stores.[13][14]
2003 2012 Oakbrook Center Home Store Oak Brook Chicago Illinois 93,000
1977 2012[28] White Flint Mall North Bethesda Washington DC Maryland 259,000 O
2003[29] 2012 Perimeter Mall Dunwoody Atlanta Georgia 234,000

Notes to Table[1]

Partial list (stores open at end 2023, plus 4 that closed in 2012)

Store Type:

  • F = Franchise of Dubai-based Al Tayer Insignia
  • GL = Ground Lease - Represents store properties where Macy's was involved with the construction of the building on leased land. Macy's Inc. generally has all of the attributes of ownership of these properties for the term of the lease.
  • L = Leased - Represents store properties where Macy's Inc. leases the building and land.
  • O = Owned - Represents store properties where Macy's Inc. owns the building and land. May also include a small amount of leased premises, such as additional space, kiosk or small shop real estate.
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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Spreadsheet attachment to page "Store Count"". Macy's Inc. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  2. ^ "Funeral Services Today for E. W. Bloomingdale, Well Known Merchant". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. February 8, 1928. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  3. ^ "History of Federated Department Stores, Inc. – FundingUniverse". www.fundinguniverse.com.
  4. ^ a b c d e Traub, Marvin (December 23, 1993). "How did a second tier New York department store called Bloomingdale's —where the city's domes..." NPR. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Bloomingdale's Through the Years". WWD. September 9, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  6. ^ "Bloomingdale Plans Cuts". The New York Times. June 6, 1990. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
  7. ^ "Bloomingdale's to Open First Store in Phoenix". businesswire.com. February 14, 2008. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  8. ^ "Bloomingdale's to Open First Store in Phoenix". Macy's, Inc. February 14, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
  9. ^ Devaney, Robert (January 23, 2012). "The Decline and Fall of Georgetown Park". The Georgetowner. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  10. ^ "First look inside Westfield Valley Fair's new Bloomingdale's". The Mercury News. March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  11. ^ "Bloomingdale's to Open in Dubai in 2010". Macy's, Inc. September 22, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
  12. ^ Lancsak, Angelika. "Bloomingdale's Dubai likely to be only one outside US - CEO - Retail". ArabianBusiness.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  13. ^ a b "Bloomingdale's at Mall of America closing; space to be divided". Twin Cities. January 3, 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Macy's, Inc. Announces Store Openings and Closings". Macy's, Inc. January 4, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  15. ^ Leticia Miranda, "Macy's, Bloomingdale's to stop selling fur," NBC News, October 22, 2019.
  16. ^ Tyko, Kelly. "Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue closing all stores because of coronavirus". USA Today. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  17. ^ "30-Year-Old Branch of Bloomingdale's Will Be Closed Down in New Rochelle". The New York Times. January 7, 1977. p. 25. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  18. ^ "The Standard-Star". Newspapers.com. January 6, 1977. p. 1. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  19. ^ "Bloomingdale's Is Closing Store in Queens, Its First Branch". The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  20. ^ "Bloomingdale's Is Closing Store in Queens, Its First Branch". The New York Times. May 22, 1949. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  21. ^ a b "Bloomingdale's closing store in Eastchester". The Herald Statesman. January 8, 1982. p. 26. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  22. ^ a b "Store closing". Austin American-Statesman. June 6, 1990. p. 23. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  23. ^ "Bloomingdale's at Fashion Show mall slated to close". www.reviewjournal.com. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  24. ^ "Landmark Medinah Temple to be redeveloped". Chicago Tribune. June 14, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  25. ^ "MarketWatch.com". MarketWatch.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2011. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  26. ^ "Glendale Galleria Announces Bloomingdale's Department Store - CHICAGO, Nov. 3, 2011/PRNewswire/" (Press release). Illinois. PR Newswire. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  27. ^ Moriki, Darin (June 30, 2015). "Hawaii's first Bloomingdale's to open in November at Ala Moana Center". Pacific Business News.
  28. ^ "Bye-bye White Flint...Updated...So-long Bloomies: Bloomingdale's at White Flint Mall to Close this Spring - Why this Location?". www.slslaw.com. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  29. ^ "Bloomingdale's Leaving Perimeter". The Atlanta Constitution. January 5, 2012. p. A11.
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