Department store

A department store is a retail store that offers merchandise from one or a few particular department (s) in deep structure (many items per category ) on a sales area of ​​at least 1000 m.

Most common are department stores with textiles (eg C & A, H & M, SinnLeffers etc. ) and with electrical appliances or electronics.

The department store is a further development of the specialty store to a large retail operation. It offers goods from a department in many designs, all price and quality levels to (narrow and deep range ).

In general, department stores also offer a variety of customer services.

History

The emergence of the department store owed ​​to the price advantage through high discount because of the purchase of large quantities of goods. Therefore, traders sought to prevent by way of law with small shops ( retail) from the beginning the expansion of goods and department stores. With the proliferation of own stores and franchises of the brand manufacturer, shopping malls, discount stores and retail chains the smaller retail companies suffered revenue losses. In the era of the Internet and thereby become possible price comparison and shopping via computer and the sales of department stores tends to decrease.

As the first German department store on the French model applies the former department store Tietz in Elberfeld (now Wuppertal to ), in which the Galeria Kaufhof is housed today.

Demarcation

Colloquially, the terms department store and department store are often used immediately understood. The two types of operation, however, differ in the width of the range design. Department stores such as lead often a food department, department stores do not.

The quality of the goods in the three types of operation can not be distinguished generally valid. Stores typically offer very high quality products with expert advice. Department stores sell more goods for the average claims, but exceptions are also possible here, such as the culture Dussmann in Berlin. Goods and department stores have their assortment upgraded in recent decades by a higher-quality product range (trading up). Also own goods and department store divisions were supplemented by specialty stores third-party.

The precursor of the department store, the passage has been the subject of a historical-philosophical examination of Walter Benjamin ( " The Arcades Project ").

Film

• Wishes come true - The emergence of the department store. Documentary, docu-drama, France, 2011, 86 min, written and directed by Sally Aitken & Christine Le Goff, production: Arte France, Telfrance, Essential Viewing, German Original Air Date: October 22, 2011 in arte, movie information from arte.