Department Stores of the World - North America

Here are the Top Department Stores North America.

Click here for USA and Canada

 Mexico

• Saks Fifth Avenue Branch of the United States based company
• El Palacio de Hierro High end department store.
• Dorian's a division of Carso Comercial
• Sanborns a division of Carso Comercial, spread throughout the country.
• Liverpool Biggest Department store chain in Mexico.
• Fábricas de Francia Other department store by Liverpool.
• Sears Roebuck de México - A division of Carso Comercial
• Cimaco
• La Marina
• Gran Chapur
• Paris - Londres This department store is localized only Durango Mexico.

 Panama

• Alli's
• Collin's
• Conway
• Dante
• Do it Center
• Dorian's
• El Machetazo
• El Titan
• Felix B. Maduro
• La Onda
• Poll Mart
• Sacks
• Saray 
• Steven's 
• Via Vai

 Puerto Rico

Currently trading:

• 123
• Capri
• Kmart
• Macy's
• J. C. Penney
• Pitusa
• La Reina
• Sears
• Topeka
• Wal-Mart
• Marshalls

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Department Stores of the World - Canada

Here are the Top Department Stores of Canada

• Army & Navy Stores
• The Bargain! Shop - Discount stores (formerly the Canadian stores of F. W. Woolworth Company).
• Bowring Brothers - St. John's, NL. department store. Also national home decor store chain.
• Canadian Tire - Auto repair garage, hardware, home renovations, sports, garden centre, electronics, auto parts, furniture, food, housewares, towels. Franchised stores with independent owners.
• Costco - USA, warehouse superstore, food, electronics, furniture, clothing, car repair.
• Dollar Giant - Dollar store chain, founded in 2001, head office in Vancouver
• Dollarama - Canada's largest dollar store chain.
• Fields - Discount chain owned by Hudson's Bay Company.
• Giant Tiger / Tigre Géant - Discount stores.
• Hart Stores - Eastern Canada discount chain.[1]

• Holt Renfrew - A high-end department store.
• Korvette - Found in various regions in the province of Quebec.
• LALIBERTÉ - On St-Joseph Street in Quebec City.
• La Maison Ogilvy - High-end department store in Montreal.
• L'Aubainerie - Quebec mid-size discount store similar to         Giant Tiger. Formerly known as Croteau, some selected locations continue to trade under the former name.
• La Maison Simons - Quebec, Montreal, Gatineau, Sherbrooke, Laval
• Liquidation World - Furniture, hardware, home, grocery, health & beauty, clothing liquidation retailer with outlets across Canada.
• London Drugs - Western Canadian department store chain that sells personal care products, snacks, electronics, and computers.
• Mark's Work Wearhouse - Canadian clothing retailer that is now owned by Canadian Tire.

• Riff's - Newfoundland department store chain.
• Rossy - Discount store chain in Quebec and New Brunswick.
• S&R Department Store - Discount store in Kingston. (closed)
• Sears Canada - Formerly Simpsons-Sears.
• Stedmans V&S - Discount stores.
• Taylor's - Quebec department store chain.
• The Bay/La Baie - Department store owned by Hudson's Bay Company.
• The North West Company - Retail, primarily northern and smaller towns.

• Walmart Canada - US-based international discount store.
• Winners - Part of U.S giant TJX Companies
• XS Cargo - Discount retailer chain dealing in clearance items.
• Zellers - Discount department store owned by Hudson's Bay Company.

Department Stores of the World - Africa

 Here are the Top Department Stores of Africa

Morocco

• Marjane
• Aswak Assalam
• Metro

South Africa

• Edgars Stores
• Woolworths
• Stuttafords
• Game
• Checkers Hyper

Zimbabwe

• Edgars Stores

The Store Diary - A Must for Managers

Every store manager or supervisor must have a store diary. All key positions in the store should have his or her own diary. This journal contains all the daily happenings and events in the whole store or in the department where he or she is assigned. Why? This diary will connect the past, the present, and the future of the store. Let me give you an example...

In making sales analysis, the supervisor will need to answer why in a certain period that is his sales compared to the past year. Automatically he would need to look into the days within that period, that's where the diary comes in. That's the Present. Then he would look what were the events the past year that contributed to a bigger sales or lower one compared to present. Maybe he would uncover that there was a wholesale last year leading to bigger sales or that the competitor had a sale event leading to lower sales. That's the Past. Afterward, with the trending he can foresee that by next year this time the set up would be like this or that based on his data from the Past and Present. Now, that's the Future. 

Here are 12 things you should not miss in the store diary:

1. Sales of the day (A separate notebook for this would also do)

2. Customer Traffic (Shoppers vs. Buyers)

3. Wholesale Transactions

4. Store Events

5. Community Events (Holidays, Disaster, etc.)

6. Merchandising Issues

7. Logistic Issues

8. Visual Display Changes

9. New or Revised Policies

10. Projects (Established, Updates, Accomplishments)

11. Customer Concerns

12. Competitors Moves

You may not have all those within a day but any significant happenings should be jot downed in this diary. Surely, this simple notebook would be of great help to any manager as he would tackle down the different challenges of the store.

Store Basics: The Barcode

A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data, which shows certain data on certain products. Originally, barcodes represented data in the widths (lines) and the spacings of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or 1D (1 dimensional) barcodes or symbologies. Now-a-days, barcodes are used for department stores and supermarkets check-out system.

In layman's terms, the barcode serves as an ID of each and every product in the store. This is the link between the selling operations, merchandising, and accounting. The diagram below shows you events that will happen as an item is scanned.


You might be wondering how those lines and numbers work in the barcode. The lines would be the symbols readable by the optical scanner which then converts it to its ID or the SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) which is the term called for those numbers.

Thanks to Scott Blake at barcodeart.com here is a diagram that will show you how the barcodes work.

Left Hand Guard Bars - These bars serve as a starting reference point for the scanning devices.

 

Number System Character - This digit identifies the type of manufacturer or how the barcode will be used. 

For example 0, 6, and 7 are generally used in the retail industry, while 3 is assigned to the health and drug manufacturing industries.

Number System Bars - These bars correspond to the Number System Character.

Manufacturer ID Number - Each company must apply for a Universal Product Identification Number with the Uniform Code Council. The UCC assigns each company a unique six digit identification number for use on all of their products. The number is composed of the Number System Character and a five digit manufacturer's code.

Manufacturer ID Bars - These bars correspond to the Manufacturer's ID Number.

Tall Center Bar - These bars serve as a middle reference point for the scanning devices.

Item Number - Each company is responsible for assigning a unique five digit number to each of their products.

Item Bars - These bars correspond to the Item Number.

Modulo Check Character - This digit is derived from a mathematical formula based on the unique set of numbers in each barcode that helps ensure the accuracy of the data scan.

Modulo Check Bars - These bars correspond to the Modulo Check Character.

Right Hand Guard Bars - These bars serve as an ending reference point for the scanning devices.

Shopping Tips: Avoiding Counter Queues

One of the top reasons why people get stuck in the counters or long queues on pile during store hours is that there's no barcode or unrecognized barcode on an item to be purchased. (Click here to find out more about barcodes) This usually happens in big department stores where barcodes are placed on the items and there's a lot of tendency for it to be misplaced, or got peeled out while other customers were scrambling the items. However, there's not much to worry about this in the supermarket for most grocery items have barcodes printed on their packaging.

So to prevent inconvenience in both parties here are some tips:

For Store Managers:

1. Have a regular inspection on all items in the selling area whether they still have barcodes or not

2. Always initiate pre-scanning of barcodes most especially during sale events

3. Use of high-quality stickers for barcodes is a must

4. Place barcodes according to standards

5. Always set-aside items that have no barcodes like those returned by customers

6. Source out new POS programs where Cashiers have access to the store inventory where she can access then clarify all problems relating to barcodes. (Some department stores already have this system.)

For Customers:
I know this is not your job, but a little check on the items' barcode before proceeding to the counter could save you hassles in the counter. 

There's no harm in being educated sometimes!

The Secret of the Department Stores' Layout

Categorization plays a very important role in a department store. Every section has a reason why it is located in a certain place. The very basic reason for this is accessibility for the customers. But here's the catch, on the side of the store operations, if customers find it convenient and accessible for them it means SALES.

If men buys shoes at the Shoes Department, the nearest department would be Men's Inner were socks are, right? If ladies buy tops and blouses, adjacent to it would of course be jeans! An indirect suggestive selling! This very principle would answer why department stores have a general category per floor.

In most department stores this would be the set-up:

Ground Floor - Men's. Where you can find Men's Apparel, Men's Underwear, Men's Jeans, and Men's Accessories.Why at the ground? Studies show that men don't usually go up the floors to shop. Makes sense right?


Second Floor - Ladies'. Unlike men, even if you put the Ladies' Floor at the 10th floor they would still go there and shop! Here you can find Ladies' Apparel, Jeans, Lingerie, Shoes, and Accessories.

Third Floor - Childrens'. Usually department stores put the Toys Department in the middle of this floor. Where parents have no choice but to pass this alluring department for kids. Together with Toys would be Childrens Wear, Shoes, even Infants, and sometimes School Supplies and Sports.

Fourth Floor - Home. And course the floor for Appliance, House wares, Textiles and Linen, Hardware, Furniture and Home Decorations. Why on top? Mostly customers come here with intentions to buy. So they have no choice but to pass through all other departments where they have little or no intentions to buy. But of course with the captivating visuals of the lower floors, who wouldn't stop and take a peek?

Supermarket - This is usually located in a separate building or on the lower floors. Effectively paired up with food stalls and bakeries that satisfies that churning after a long stroll for the groceries.

So as you can see, right categorizations is the right key for sales.

The Store Lay-out

If you think that what you see when you go shopping is already it, well you're wrong. A department store has key areas carefully planned to contribute to one thing only and that is sales. It's basically a labyrinth if you'll look at it. Here's a standard lay-out of a department store from Visual Dictionary Online.

You have there the receiving area where stocks delivered from suppliers are received (with certain receiving procedures) together with the loading docks for outgoing stocks. If you can see these are designed to be elevated to fit cargo vans for it to load and unload easily.

Adjacent to it is a stock room or warehouse. (A bigger room is indicated in the upper right corner). Basic principle, no stocks shall be delivered straight to the selling area. Stock rooms are not just for keeping of buffer stocks its the place for tagging (putting of price tags) or un-boxing the items.This would also be the place to check any defective or damaged items.

The lobby is the entrance of the department store, some call it too the seasonal area. In principle, the lobby should be visual point that will tell the customers please come in and shop in our store! 

There is also the fitting room, where of people check if apparels fit them.   

Then there's the check-out counter  or simply counter. The last stop of the selling process. These is where the customers pay, their items are checked one by one, and packs it in the shopping bag.

   

And well of course, the majority of the area with no label is called the selling area or sales floor. This is the main area of a department store or shall we say the stage. Key principle here is that, if you have a department store you should maximize every square inch of it for selling. This will answer the question why some department stores have small bodegas, fitting rooms, counters, and even back offices. Remember these areas don't generate income.

Well, there's really more than what you see in a department store. There are still a lot of actions in the back.

The Bottomline Everybody Should Know About a Department Store

Do you want to know what really is a department store all about?

I'm sure you have lots of questions about it (here is a load of them, it might be the same as yours) and I tell you, it all boils down to ONE ANSWER...

Why is the department store organized and arranged like it is? 

What is the basis for the schedule, opening and closing of the store?

Why do they offer excellent customer service?

Why do they have promotions and sale events?

Why is this brand's area bigger than the other one?

Why is this product located in this rack not on that one?

Why do they have events like fashion shows, demos, celebrity visits, concerts?

Why is their script formulated like this?

Why is there a display in this area?

Why is the posters designed like this? located here?

Why do they have stunning visual display?

Why do they have hundreds of mannequins?

Why is this department located here not there?

Why are the items arranged in this order?

Why do their employees dress like this?

Why is the store designed in this way?

Why do they have to greet all the customers coming in?

Why do lights are designed and positioned here not there?

Why do they clean the store a lot?

Why are the racks arranged in this way?

Why are the stocks displayed in this manner?

Why do they hire more employees today than yesterday?

Why do they have policies like this?

I could go on with this questions forever but they all have one same

bottom line....what??? 

SALES!!!

At the end of the day it always settles down to the numbers!!!