DEPARTMENT STORE

retail establishment that sells a wide variety of goods. These usually include women's and girls' ready-to-wear apparel and accessories, men's and boys' ready-to-wear apparel and accessories, yard goods and household textiles, small household wares, furniture, electrical appliances and accessories, and, often, food. These goods are separated into divisions and departments supervised by managers and buyers. There are also departmental divisions of merchandising, advertising, service, accounting, and budgetary control. The Bon March (q.v.) in Paris, which began as a small shop in the early 19th century, is often considered the first department store. The development of department stores was linked to the growth in the 19th century of large population centres, transportation, and the harnessing of electricity for power and lighting. During that century many general merchandise stores grew into department stores by broadening their stocks. In the United States in the 1920s some stores began opening branches in various cities. The first such chains were J.C. Penney and Sears, Roebuck.