Bloomingdale's
| File:Bloomingdales.png | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1860 (New York City) |
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares. |
| Parent | Federated Department Stores |
| Website | www.bloomingdales.com |
Bloomingdale's is a chain of upscale department stores owned by Federated Department Stores, which is also the owner of Macy's. Bloomingdale's has 36 stores nationwide, with annual sales of $1.9 billion dollars. It competes on an average price level with Nordstrom,and below that of Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.
Bloomingdale's started in 1861 when brothers Joseph and Lyman Bloomingdale started selling hoop-skirts in their Ladies Notions' Shop on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The pair were sons of Gerard Bloomingdale, a salesman who had lived in North Carolina and Kansas, and settled in New York City. The bothers opened their East Side Bazaar in 1872 selling a variety of garments and European fashions. As the store and its succes grew, it moved in 1886 to 59th and [Lexington Avenue]], anticipating and capitalizing on the northern movement of New York's upper and middle classes. By the 1920's the store covered the entire city block.
Its most famous location is still the Manhattan flagship store located on 59th Street and Lexington Avenue. During Queen Elizabeth II's visit to New York City in the 1970's, traffic had to be reversed on Lexington Avenue so the Queen could exit her vehicle on its right side and enter the store by its main entrance.
In 1961 the company started marketing itself with designer shopping bags. To this day Bloomingdale's is especially known for its iconic and prominently labeled "Little", "Medium", and "Big Brown Bag".
Growth strategies
Bloomingdale's has expanded slowly from its New York base, moving into Washington, D.C. and Massachusetts in the 1970s, Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida, and Chicago in the 1980s, and finally establishing a presence in California in 1996. The company has carefully targeted affluent, densely populated areas in which to locate its stores. Over the years as its parent Federated Department Stores has acquired rivals or consolidated divisions, Bloomingdale's has been able to pick up desirable, hard to replicate locations including Abraham & Straus at Roosevelt Field, Stern's at Willowbrook, Bridgewater Commons and Roosevelt Field (the location of Bloomingdale's furniture gallery), The Broadway at Sherman Oaks Fashion Square, Century City Shopping Center, Beverly Center and Fashion Island Newport Beach (the apparel store only), Emporium at Stanford, Macy's Atlanta at Lenox Square and Perimeter Mall and mostly recently the pending conversions of Robinsons-May at South Coast Plaza and Fashion Valley Mall, Filene's at Chestnut Hill and the Hecht's under construction at Chevy Chase. Also in fall 2006 Bloomingdale's will open a new West Coast flagship store in the redeveloped Emporium flagship in San Francisco.
Current locations and confirmed future locations
California
Northern California
- San Francisco - Westfield San Francisco Centre - (West Flagship) - 337,000 sq ft. (opening September 2006)
- San Jose MSA/Palo Alto - Stanford Shopping Center - 187,000 sq ft. (previously Emporium, reopened as Bloomingdale's in 1996)
Southern California
- Los Angeles (Century City) - Westfield Century City - 235,000 sq ft. (previously The Broadway, reopened as Bloomingdale's in 1996)
- Costa Mesa, Orange County - South Coast Plaza - 289,000 sq ft. (expected to open May 2007 on former Robinsons-May site)
- Los Angeles (Fairfax District) - Beverly Center - 163,000 sq ft. (previously The Broadway, reopened as Bloomingdale's in 1997)
- Newport Beach, Orange County - Fashion Island - 172,000 sq ft. (previously The Broadway, reopened as Bloomingdale's in 1996)
- Newport Beach, Orange County - Fashion Island Home Store - 68,000 sq ft. (opened 1996)
- San Diego -Fashion Valley Mall - 218,000 sq ft. (expected to open late 2006 on former Robinsons-May site)
- Los Angeles (Sherman Oaks) -Westfield Fashion Square - 229,000 sq ft. (previously The Broadway, reopened as Bloomingdale's in 1996)
Florida
- Aventura - Aventura Mall - 252,000 sq ft. (opened 1997)
- Boca Raton - Town Center at Boca Raton - 270,000 sq ft. (opened 1986)
- Miami - The Falls - 229,000 sq ft. (opened 1984)
- Orlando - The Mall at Millenia - 235,000 sq ft. (opened 2002)
- Palm Beach Gardens - The Gardens Mall - 235,000 sq ft. (opened 1990)
Georgia
- Atlanta - Lenox Square - 281,000 sq ft. (previously Macy's/Davison's, reopened as Bloomingdale's in 2003)
- Atlanta - Perimeter Mall - 234,000 sq ft. (previously Macy's/Davison's, reopened as Bloomingdale's in 2003)
Illinois
- Chicago - 900 Michigan Avenue Shops - 256,000 sq ft. (opened 1988)
- Chicago - Medinah Temple Home+Furniture (freestanding) - 131,000 sq ft. (opened 2003)
- Oak Brook - Oakbrook Center Home+Furniture - 91,000 sq ft. (previously Saks Fifth Avenue, reopened as Bloomingdale's in 2003)
- Skokie - Westfield Old Orchard - 206,000 sq ft. (opened 1995)
Maryland
- Chevy Chase - Wisconsin Place - 180,000 sq ft. (scheduled to open 2007 replacing Hecht's)
- Kensington - White Flint - 259,000 (opened 1977)
Massachusetts
- Newton - Chestnut Hill Women's (freestanding) - 124,000 sq ft. (opened 1978)
- Newton - The Mall at Chestnut Hill - 186,000 sq ft. (expected to open late 2006 on former Filene's site)
- Newton - The Mall at Chestnut Hill Men's/Home - 130,000 sq ft. (opened 1973)
Minnesota
- Bloomington - Mall of America - 233,000 sq ft. (opened 1992)
Nevada
- Las Vegas - Fashion Show Home+Furniture - 99,000 sq ft. (opened 2002)
New Jersey
- Bridgewater - Bridgewater Commons - 161,000 (opened 2002 originally Stern's)
- Hackensack, Bergen County - The Shops at Riverside - 297,000 sq ft. (opened 1959, being partially rebuilt fall 2006)
- Short Hills - The Mall at Short Hills - 246,000 sq ft. (opened 1967)
- Wayne - Willowbrook - 274,000 sq ft. (opened 2002 origianlly Stern's)
New York
- Garden City, Long Island - Roosevelt Field - 314,000 sq ft. (opened 1995)
- Garden City, Long Island - Roosevelt Field Furniture Gallery - 69,000 sq ft. (opened 2004)
- Huntington Station, Long Island - Walt Whitman Mall - 230,000 sq ft. (opened 1998)
- Manhattan - 59th & Lexington Avenue (flagship) - 935,000 sq ft. (opened 1886, expanded 1894, 1930)
- Mount Pleasant, Westchester County - Westchester Furniture Clearance (freestanding) - 64,000 sq ft. (opened 2004)
- SoHo (freestanding) - 122,000 sq ft. (opened 2004)
- White Plains, Westchester County - White Plains (freestanding) - 300,000 sq ft. (opened 1975)
Pennsylvania
- King of Prussia - The Court at King of Prussia - 248,000 sq ft. (opened 1981)
- Willow Grove - Willow Grove Park - 239,000 sq ft. (opened 1982)
Virginia
- Washington, D.C. MSA/McLean - Tysons Corner Center - 272,000 sq ft. (opened 1976)
Former locations
- Dallas, Texas - Valley View Center (opened 1983, closed 1990, location assumed by J.C. Penney)
- Fresh Meadows, New York, Long Island - (freestanding) (opened 1949, closed 1991)
- Garden City, New York, Long Island - (freestanding) (opened 1972, closed 1995, replaced by Roosevelt Field, location assumed by Sears)
- Jenkintown, Pennsylvania (freestanding) (opened 1973, closed 1982, replaced by Willow Grove Park location)
- Manhasset, New York, Long Island - (freestanding) (opened 1971, closed 1982)
- New Rochelle, New York, Westchester County - (freestanding) (opened 1947, closed 1976)
- Scarsdale, New York, Westchester County - (freestanding) (opened 1972, closed 1982)
- Stamford, Connecticut - (freestanding) (opened 1954, closed 1990)