Dayton's

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Dayton's
Fate	locations re-branded as Marshall Field's in 2001
Successor	Marshall Field's (2001 - 2005) Macy's (2005 - )
Founded	1902
Defunct	2001
Location	Minneapolis, Minnesota  United States
Industry	Department store
Key people	George Draper Dayton
Parent	Dayton-Hudson Corporation (later Target Corporation)
Subsidiary	Target

The original, flagship Dayton's department store in downtown Minneapolis (now known as Macy's Minneapolis).

Minneapolis-based Dayton's was among the nation's leading department stores for nearly a century. Founded in 1902 by George Draper Dayton (as Goodfellows, and later renamed Dayton Dry Goods), Dayton stores quickly became synonymous with quality merchandise, superior service, fashion leadership, and community involvement. In 1969, the Detroit-based J.L. Hudson Company merged with the Dayton Corporation to form the Dayton-Hudson Corporation, adding 21 Michigan-based stores to the total. In 1990, the department store division of Dayton-Hudson (now Target Corporation) acquired Chicago-based Marshall Field's. Both Dayton's and Hudson's retained their individual store names until 2001 when they were united under the Marshall Field's namplate. Prior to changing its name to Marshall Field's, Dayton's stores numbered 19, serving communities throughout the upper Midwest.

Dayton's was the parent of Target, opening the first Target in 1962 as the discount store version of Dayton's. Target quickly grew to become the majority of the company's business. In 2000, Dayton-Hudson was renamed Target Corporation. In 2004, Target finally divested their department store division to focus on discount retailing. May Company purchased the stores prior to its own acquisition by Federated Department Stores, which rebranded all the Marshall Field's stores as Macy's. Many Minnesotans have resisted the double name change, and continue to refer to "Dayton's" when speaking of the old stores in Rosedale Center and Downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul.

[edit] Timeline

The Dayton Company logo as of 1918.

• 1902: George Dayton opens Goodfellows
• 1903: Name changed to Dayton Dry Goods
• 1910: Name changes once again, to Dayton Company
• 1956: Dayton Company opens Southdale Center, the world's first fully-enclosed two-level shopping center
• 1962: Dayton Company opens first Target store in Roseville, Minnesota
• 1969: Dayton's merged with J. L. Hudson Company, a dominant Michigan retailer with 21 stores. The combined firm became known as the Dayton Hudson Corporation.
• 1978: The company acquires Mervyn's and became the 7th largest retailer in the United States.
• 1984: Dayton-Hudson sells off its John A. Brown Division in Oklahoma, and its Diamond's division in Arizona to Dillard's to focus more on midwest expansion.

Outside Dayton's at Rosedale Center, Roseville, MN

• 1990: Marshall Field's was acquired by the Department Store Division of the Dayton-Hudson Corporation.
• 2000: Dayton-Hudson Corporation changes name to Target Corporation
• 2001: Much to the dismay of local shoppers in Minneapolis and Detroit, Dayton's and Hudson's were renamed with the more nationally known Marshall Field's nameplate. However product lines remained the same.
• 2004: Target and May Department Stores announced the sale of the Marshall Field's department store group, including the 62 stores serving communities in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
• 2005: Marshall Field's stores in Chicago, Minneapolis and Detroit took the Macy's name, ending the run of Dayton's, Hudson's and Marshall Field's as its own unique, upscale midwestern department store community.

[edit] Former Dayton's locations

[edit] Interesting footnotes

The stores received significant media exposure during the first season of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-77), as the opening credits featured the title character standing in front of the original Dayton's; the shot of her tossing her beret in the air was shot in front of the original Donaldson's department store in downtown Minneapolis (as referenced by the "Open Tonight" neon sign in the window of the store; this can be confirmed frame by frame). This moment was ranked by Entertainment Weekly as the second greatest moment in television. A bronze statue was erected on the corner in 2002.

Dayton's was the first department store to introduce the concept of a "mall" to the American shopper, opening Southdale, the nation's first enclosed shopping center, in October, 1956.

Target was introduced by Dayton's in 1962 as its discount store. Target remains and has grown into a large corporation that dominates upper-middle class discount retail.

Little known is that in Dayton's heyday, it competed on par with, or perhaps even above, stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. After changing its name to Marshall Field's, the respected retailer had been marketed as a fashion-forward, exclusive shopping experience for upper- to middle-income families in the Midwest.

[edit] The Macy's factor

The corporation's merger with Federated Department Stores will see a close consolidation of retail brands and markets, and will reduce competition in many Midwestern areas, as well as other markets nationwide that May Department Stores and Macy's in which there is an overlap.

[edit] References