Macy's Department Store

Macy's History

Macy’s Department Store is one of the stable retail pillars in the USA. It began life in 1858 when Rowland Hussey Macy opened a ‘dry fancy goods’ store in New York. Its emblem was a rooster. The store was located on 204 – 206 6th Avenue and 14th Street.

In the 1850s the rooster was replaced with a red star, its current emblem. The red star has been attributed to a star on Hussey’s arm, which in turn was a tribute to a guiding star that was prominent when he was lost at sea.
In 1862 Macy’s started the trend for having in-store Santas at Christmas. This was accompanied a short time after in 1864 by the introduction of high quality window displays.

Margaret Getchell became the first retail executive in 1866. She set high standards of service, and led the way in what is now accepted good retail practice.

In 1902 Macy’s moved to 34th Street and Herald Square.  It was a bold development, and the store was the first to introduce escalators. The original 4 wooden escalators are still working today. The store also included 33 elevators in its development.  As expansion continued, the 7th Avenue extension resulted in the store being declared the world’s largest retail store in 1924.

 

The Christmas film ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ was released in 1947. It starred Edmund Gwinn, Maureen O’Hara and Natalie Wood, and was a an appealing yarn based on establishing that the Santa at Macy’s was the one true Santa. This ranks as one of the best perpetual examples of product placement in the media.

In 1974 the Spring Flower Show was re-established.

Macy's Department Store

Macy's is now one of the top department stores in the USA. It has established a reputation for quality and reliability, and is a popular attraction for overseas tourists. This is partly because Macy's is viewed as part of the American establishment.

Macy's Coupons

Macy's department store often have coupons available to highlight special offers and promotions. Before making a trip to Macy's check out their website and other sources to find out if Macy's coupons are available for the products you are interested in.