We pay our people more. So how has Von Maur endured for 150 years? While employees do receive holidays off, that seems to be the only real benefit of working for Von Maur over traditional retail stores. Von Maur's first northeast location opened on October 26, 2013. - Reporter, Pittsburgh Business Times. We dont do that. Weve grown quite a bit on a comp basis. In 10 years, we went from zero to 70 stores in 18 states. But he remains proud of the steps his company took to help the families, his employees and the local community heal, recover, and rebuild. A 1970s view of the interior of the Petersen Harned Von Maur department store in downtown Davenport, [+] Iowa. Von Maur Department Store Named Top Department Store by Newsweek's Sears has been very strategic with how they sell their real estate. Its hassle free. People love to come to our stores. By comparison, at Nordstrom, e-commerce accounts for 40 percent of total sales and the goal is to raise it to 50 percent. I pushed myself and continued to hand off some responsibilities as we grew. Von Maur believes that the continuation of a traditional department store would have positioned the company precariously, possibly repeating the failure of other stores who have sought new owners or closed their doors. He believes the customers shopping behavior will dictate just how much e-commerce should represent of the companys total sales in the future. You dont run into a rack or a dump table. Pros. History [ edit] The J.H.C. Pursel and R.H. Harned on the corner of 2nd and Brady Streets. Remember the days where there was Federated and May? CEO Jim von Maur discusses what's behind the department store's longevity in a difficult sector to survive in. 8033. We look for communities that have been overlooked, von Maur added. Jim von Maur, president and CEO of Von Maur, told WWD in 2021 that the . Until April 1989, the retailer operated under the name Petersen Harned Von Maur, or simply Petersens. Its downtown Davenport flagship typified the classic American department store - an aging multi-floored emporium that offered a vast assortment of clothing and home goods, along with a basement Tea Room and budget store. When I talk to the young executive trainees, they will tell me they prefer to go out and shop. Footwear News is a part of Penske Media Corporation. But we never got ahead of ourselves in taking on too much debt, or getting into all the trends that are out there, von Maur added. There was a wide selection of luxury brands all over the place which was nice to see. Its very liberal and easy to make a return.. We are going to see fewer units go out the door, but at higher price points. "If you keep giving the customer what they want, they're going to keep . A piano player, free gift wrap and coat check. In Chicago's suburbs Then I came to understand that people may know more than I do. I got much better at understanding the timing of when to let go of the reins. Make it a great experience. The company is working out what home products make financial sense to offer and a lot of that has to with Von Maurs free shipping service. Its a complement to our stores. But the physical store, thats our bread and butter. We are extremely profitable and we do it without charging interest on our credit card, the CEO added. Spent a lot of time there," said von. The company does have stores in a handful of large cities including Atlanta, Indianapolis, Birmingham, Ala., and Columbus, Ohio. My great-grandfather, my great uncle, my grandfather, my uncle, Jack Arth, the only non-family to be president, my brother Richard, and me. A dozen family members are owners. During a wide-ranging interview from his headquarters office in Davenport, Iowa, a city on the Mississippi River with a population of 101,000, von Maur made the case for operating a privately owned versus a publicly owned company. It hurts the earnings. . Coming off the pandemic, Von Maur opened just one Dry Goods store this year, but next year, 15 to 20 are seen opening. [Our company] defied all of the odds, says von Maur. Last spring, the retailer opened a two-level, 140,000-square-foot department store in Rochester Hills in north Detroit, moving into a former Carson Pirie Scott store. Because we dont do a lot of advertising, word of mouth, as well as the internet, billboards and staging a big grand opening, all help. We have a lot of places where we could open a department store.. They realized they didnt want to be one of those stores that had a blowout sale every weekend. . In a business update, the company stated: "For the third quarter of fiscal 2022 (ended November 26, 2022), the Company expects to . A new store opened at Orland Square Mall last week. The company has kept a clear course and a clear identity, banking heavily on national brands without the kind of heavy private label buildups seen at other department stores and mass chains. They are working long hours and covering a lot of square footage.. Navigating all these new things that are popping up, retailing is not like it used to be. Jun 29, 2022. is aquafresh toothpaste discontinued . Other stores are also celebrating the milestone. We dont have to worry about propping up the stock price by growing too quickly, or getting the topline up. QCBJ Newsmakers: Von Maur: a family department store tradition for the ages By Jennifer DeWitt - January 4, 2023 Jim von Maur poses next to the actual signage from the former Harned & Von Maur store in downtown Davenport. Theres a very residential environment. It hurts the earnings. is von maur going out of business. The card has been around since 1988. That gets frustrating but its getting better over time. Some key brands at Von Maur are Vineyard Vines, Tory Burch, Kendra Scott, Free People, Eileen Fisher and Tommy Bahama. Servios. We are just customer-first. The two-story, 140,000-square foot store at Rosedale Center opened on October 13, 2018, joining the existing store at Eden Prairie Center. One hundred fifty years is a long time. Listen to this article 4 min. They realized they didnt want to be one of those stores that had a blowout sale every weekend. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Major void to be filled at West Towne Mall with von Maur", http://finance.yahoo.com/news/jim-von-maur-von-maur-130200346.html, "Omaha Mall, Scene Of Mass Killing, Reopens", Von Maur department store chain to enter Atlanta market, "Brookfield Square was Von Maur's first choice", "Brookfield 'Corners' project faces delays", "Von Maur deal may prompt closer look at Iowa TIF laws", "Von Maur to replace Bon-Ton at EastView", "Bloomingdale's space to be filled by Von Maur", "Riverchase Galleria renovation expected to be complete in August; Von Maur, Old Navy opening this fall", "Von Maur department store to open at Quail Springs in 2014", "Rosedale Center: What's new at the spiffed-up mall in Roseville", "Woodland Mall 'transformation' to include Von Maur, other stores", "Von Maur bucks retail trend, plans new store at Jordan Creek mall", "Von Maur Department Store Plans to Open First Location in Pennsylvania", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Von_Maur&oldid=1148299017. Upvote 2 Downvote. Before the pandemic we were bringing in a lot of lines from Great Britain. We are just going to always have more full-timers and more people in our store, to the point where it drives my CFO crazy. And I mean zero. Because we dont do a lot of advertising, word of mouth, as well as the internet, billboards and staging a big grand opening, all help. When you walk into a Von Maur you know you are in a Von Maur. I dont know who that would be. Von Maur Reviews | Read Customer Service Reviews of vonmaur.com [22]. Kith and 'Star Wars' Join Forces on 'Return of the Jedi' 40th Anniversary Collection Aug 25, 2021 - Business Von Maur closing Valley West Mall location Linh Ta Photo: Linh Ta/Axios Von Maur will close its doors at Valley West Mall right before it opens its new location at Jordan Creek Town Center next year, the Des Moines Register reports. Nordstrom and Macys would be direct competitors as well but theres also J.C. Penney, Kohls, Walmart, Gap and others. We think in terms of five, 10, 20 years. We are pretty much one of the last ones thats still family-owned. Shouldnt it just be you want to provide a great product, at a great price with great service? Jim von Maur says never in a million years would he have expected that his familys business would have outlasted Younkers, the Des Moines-based retailer that once dominated the regions department store market. All Rights Reserved.FN and Footwear News are registered trademarks of Fairchild Publishing, LLC. Madison was really underserved for the size of the market and the type of customer that is there. What are the biggest advantages and challenges in being a private company? True retail brick and mortar is here to stay, von Maur said. We are not losing money. Goods have been coming in. What makes Von Maur and its leadership stand out? It was around this time that von Maur moved to Peoria, Illinois, where he formed a partnership called Harned, Bergner and Von Maur. When business was amazing in 2005, 2006, 2007, retailers were opening stores everywhere. While markdowns are taken, We dont have any true sales events unless its vendor specific no promotions, von Maur said, explaining, If, for example, Under Armour for Thanksgiving is doing 25 percent off, we go along with it. To get from one end of the mens department to the other, it took a lot. [citation needed]. Dry Goods specializes in womens fashion, accessories and footwear and is steadily expanding. The fact that we are family owned allows us to make smart decisions, von Maur maintained. Our aisles are not merchandised. The retailers most western location is in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where in 2014 it opened in the Quail Springs Mall, also on the site of a former Sears. Former Carson's in Rochester Hills to become Von Maur 2023 Fairchild Publishing, LLC. Asked if the company has a goal for how much of the companys total sales e-commerce should represent in the future, von Maur answered, We are going to let the customer tell us where it should be.. VON MAUR THE MEADOWS - 29 Photos & 19 Reviews - Yelp Were probably not going past the Rockies or anything like that. Just need to hunt . Asked if there could be a cap on the openings, We see no limit there, von Maur replied. During a wide-ranging interview from his headquarters office in Davenport, Iowa, a city on the Mississippi River with a population of 101,000, von Maur made the case for operating a privately owned versus a publicly owned company. When something is selling well we keep it at its original retail and order more. We maintained that philosophy, while other people overbuilt. Von Maur project set to resume at West Towne Mall - Madison But some things remain the same. Its more about blocking and tackling, bricks-and-mortar and service. Some key brands at Von Maur are Vineyard Vines, Tory Burch, Kendra Scott, Eileen Fisher and Tommy Bahama. We have exciting merchandise, he added. For me, it was too big. Founded in 1872, the chain operates over 36 locations across the United States, primarily in the Midwest . The executive started out on the sales floor in 1996, which she said was crucial to climbing up the ladder. On May 7, 1928, Harned & Von Maur merged with the Petersen's store in what is now known as the Redstone Building. They are extremely profitable.. Von Maur has managed to escape decades of department store attrition by avoiding the traps many retailers fell into, like over-expansion, over-promoting to push volume, or taking on too much debt. 357 questions people are asking about von maur - AnswerThePublic Posted in. The lack of competition is encouraging because we are not dealing with a lot of promotional department stores like we used to.. Its in a great mall, which is anchored by Scheels, Dillards, P.F. Now they have to trim back, and we never did. We dont have the pressures of Wall Street to grow faster. These days, its rare when a department store opens, yet Von Maur has been opportunistically seizing vacated store real estate. Other factors have sustained the business. CEOs are coming in and out. Want to read more articles like this one? In 1976, Petersen's opened its first store outside the Quad Cities area at Valley West Mall in West Des Moines, Iowa. We have always been omnichannel., Related Related Weekend off and Holidays/holiday eves off. And one thing that I believe [CEO Jim von Maur] is better at than anyone in the industry is that he allows us as leaders to make decisions. Its a specialty store business and you can crank those out much easier. Today, Von Maur executives received a pay cut and all hourly employees for Von Maur had their hours reduced with no additional compensation due to COVID-19.