Two-Bit Bio #1: Marshall Field

For the very first Two-Bit Bio, I thought we’d start with Marshall Field, founder of the Marshall Field Company, which has been purchased by Macy’s and will be losing its famous identity soon. So, if you live in Chicago, make sure you get your final Marshall Field’s fix before fall arrives. Here we go:

Marshall Field, 1834–1906, Retail Pioneer, "Merchant Prince", Philanthropist

Background

• Born in Conway, Mass in 1834
• Started on the family farm then worked as a store clerk
• Moved to Chicago at age 19 and worked his way up from clerk to partner at a dry goods store
• In 1865, joined with Potter Palmer to form Field, Palmer, and Leiter. He then bought out his partners to form Marshall Field & Company in 1881.

Accomplishments

• The Marshall Field’s flagship store on State Street in Chicago is considered to be one of the world’s first department stores - selling almost everything but groceries, including many imports from Europe
• With his company, he became the wealthiest man in Chicago and in 1905 he was the largest individual taxpayer in the United States (when he died in 1906, his fortune was worth about $150 million)
• He pioneered many modern retailing practices such as free delivery and an easy return policy
• In 1878, he was a charter member of the corporation formed to found the institution which became the Art Institute of Chicago
• 1890 he gave the original tract of land for the University of Chicago
• 1893 he gave $1,000,000 to the fund for the museum at the World’s Columbian Exposition. Its collections and an $8,000,000 donation from Field were the nucleus of the Museum of Natural History

Top Mantras

• Field sought out to transform the shopping experience for women, believing that women should take pleasure in shopping and have a selection of the finest goods. This led to a quote to his employees "give the woman what she wants". In fact, the store became the place to socialize and be seen, especially for women since they did not have social clubs like the gentlemen’s clubs. Soon after the turn of the century, women began visiting the downtown department store with more frequency and longer duration.
• Soon after, he coined the phrase: “Right or wrong, the customer is always right.” This focus on customers is what led to his progressive policies on delivery and returns.
• “I have tried to make all my acts and commercial moves the result of definite consideration and sound judgment. There were never any great ventures or risks. I practiced honest, slow-growing business methods, and tried to back them with energy and good system.”

Fun Facts

• Known as the "Merchant Prince"
• In 1905, the Museum of Natural History was renamed the Field Museum of Natural History
• After Field’s death, Marshall Field & Company built the Merchandise Mart in 1930, the largest commercial building in the world
• Marshall Field’s customer service-oriented philosophy inspired other retailers such as George Draper Dayton, founder of the Dayton Company, which eventually created the Target Corporation

More Reading

• Wikipedia - Marshall Field
• Answers.com - Marshall Field
• Answers.com - Field Museum
• Chicago Urban History - Marshall Field and Company
• Reference for Business - Marshall Field

I always enjoy learning about how certain practices come to be in business. Hopefully you’ve learned something new and useful and pass it on to your customers in the form of new and innovative practices!

- JC

Tags: Marshall Field, retail, biography, retail, customer service

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Other Two-Bit Posts

• Calling in sick
• 30+ Things about Justin Chen You Didn’t Want to Know
• Taking a break to refocus
• Learning the ‘art of bootstrapping’
• Monkey see, monkey do

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