Alexander Turney Stewart, (October 12, 1803- April 10, 1876), was an American entrepreneur turned multi-millionaire who made his fortune in the most extensive and lucrative drygoods business in the world. October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ... 1803 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... April 10 is the 100th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (101st in leap years). ... 1876 is a leap year starting on Saturday. ...

Alexander Stewart was born in Lisburn, a small town near Belfast, Ireland who abandoned his original aspirations of becoming a minister to come to New York in the summer of 1823. He spent a short time teaching before returning to Ireland to receive the money his father had left him, purchase some Belfast linens and laces, and return to New York to open a store. He was a business genius, and by 1848 he built a large marble store on Broadway between Chambers and Reade streets, which was devoted to the wholesale branch of his business, and the largest retail store in the world at that time. Stewart also had branches of his company in all different parts of the world and owned several mills and factories. Stewart had an annual income of an estimated $1,000,000 in 1869. Belfast (Béal Feirste in Irish) is a city in the United Kingdom, and the second-largest city on the island of Ireland. ... 1869 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In March of that year, President Grant appointed him Secretary of the Treasury, but he was prevented from taking the position by a law that excluded all from that office who had an interest in the importation of merchandise.

At the time of his death, Stewart was building at Hempstead Plains, Long Island, the town of Garden City, with the purpose of affording to his employees comfortable and airy housing at a moderate cost. After his death, his wife Cornelia erected several buildings in memoriam, including St. Paul's School (NY) and The Cathedral of the Incarnation, the latter of which also served as a mausoleum to both Stewart and his wife. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Garden City is the name of several places around the world. ... St. ... The Cathedral of the Incarnation is an Episcopalian church in Garden City, New York, part of the Diocese of Long Island. ...

Shortly after his death, Stewart's body was stolen and the remains held for ransom. The ransom was paid, and remains were returned, although never verified as his. A local legend states that the mausoleum holding his remains is rigged with security devices which will cause the bells of the Cathedral to ring if ever disturbed.

1 Stewart's Early Years This article belongs in one or more categories. ...

2 His Road To Success... Unfortunately, historians know little about Stewart’s life between 1818 and 1822 except that he returned to Ireland upon receiving his grandfather’s inheritance of somewhere between $5,000 to $10,000. ...

Success Begins

As Stewart’s business grew, so did his stores. In 1827, he moved to 262 Broadway, a building three stories high and 30 feet deep. In 1830, he moved yet again to a bigger location at 257 Broadway. At 30 feet wide and 80 feet deep, between Murray and Warren Streets, this two-story building has been constructed by John Jacob Astor, the largest real estate owner in New York City. On February 13, 1832, The Morning Courier printed what may have been Stewart’s first advertisement, recognizing the merchant’s policy of one retail price for all. He wanted to set regularity and fairness for which customers could rely on and therefore he could also keep an eye on the market fluctuations in order to establish the fixed price.

Stewart realized the way to conduct a successful business was to seek out an honest profit. He acknowledged he had to “study to put his goods on the market at the lowest price he could afford and which secured a reasonable profit. In this way he limited competition and increased the sales and area of business thus, making possible a great accumulation of capital and assuring the future.” (Elias 25) It was this method which made him stand out from the rest of the retail establishments and conduct his business as a business. Stewart himself said, “I do business to establish a principle. It is the principle of truth. I am in a state of constant warfare to prevent what are called white lies being told in my establishment.” (Elias 17) He refused a reputation which misrepresented the goods he sold. “Each customer was to receive exactly what she intended to purchase. A customer who pays a low price for an inferior article would find it so when she arrived home, whereas that customer who purchases first-quality merchandise will never be disappointed.” (Elias 15-16) He was one of the first merchants to establish the principle of truthfulness in merchandising. This principle of honesty was quite radical for the time and later developed and spread into modern business methods. Stewart’s “one price” policy influenced other department stores to adopt it such as Macy’s in 1858, Lord and Taylor in 1838 and other popular stores in Boston that recognized the policy in 1843 and then again in 1848.

With Stewart’s attention to market fluctuations and keen knowledge to the sensitivities of the market, he chose to reduce prices of high priced items in times of depression such as in the Panic of 1837 and would later raise these prices when the market proved to be more favorable. During the Panic of 1837, Stewart was reported to have sold more than $5,000 a day in his store later accumulating his annual retails sales for 1837 to exceed over $1 million.

Not only did Stewart recognize the prices that people would want, but he knew what his customers wanted in the ways of merchandise. He was aware of the public’s greed and took advantage of that fact he knew customers loved bargains and would buy things that were cheap no matter what it was. He was willing to take the risk of a small loss at the time in order to profit largely in the future. Stewart also realized that he could not carry the same items from year to year, so he carefully took down items from shelves and drawers, mark them down and showcase them in what was known as his famous “cost sales.” In these “cost sales,” which people would flee to, he decided what each item would sell for in account of his customer’s willingness to buy.

Though A.T. Stewart and Company did not emphasize advertising as the main contributor to his success, he chose to market information about individual lines. In the 1830’s, Stewart marketed one of his largest lines of merchandise from France. The line included silk piece goods, Paris-made cloaks, embroidered belts, bags, cravats, embroidered gloves and fans. By 1833, he advertised these lines which took up a complete page of the Courier and Enquirer daily. Along with this line from France, Stewart scoured the European markets looking for fine goods to appeal to the upper class buyers. He included items such as cashmere shawls and fine silks. One of Stewart’s most popular items among customers were imported gloves manufactured by the firm of Alexandre. As the only American retailer for this item, his sales in 1863 amounted to $300,000 for this item alone. He continued to sell the Alexandre items for the rest of his career.

Later Years

Between the years of 1846 and 1848, construction and fine details of one of Stewart’s most famous buildings known as “The Marble Palace” had been finalized. This establishment officially set A.T. Stewart and Company to the top of being one of America’s most successful retailers. The three-story building was located at Broadway and Chambers Street, just across from his first store, and offered imported European women’s clothing. In addition to its merchandise, the second floor offered the first women’s “fashion shows” as full length mirrors enabled women to view themselves from different angles. The design, made with Tuckahoe marble, encompassed an innovative flair consisting of columns, pillars and corniced windows resembling the Palladian style; reminiscent of Thomas Jefferson’s home. This proved to be the first commercial building in the United States to display an extravagant exterior. Inside, not only did Stewart want to display his merchandise, but he wanted the structure to emphasize natural light from its central rotunda and high ceilings. “The Marble Palace” claimed to be one of the first “big stores,” which sold merchandise and was a huge financial success. Opened just over thirty years and multiple buildings later, in 1856 Stewart decided to expand his merchandise to include furs, being one of “the best and most natural skins” as customers were told. In the 1850’s, he also followed other retailers such as Macy’s, Lord and Taylor and B. Altman to the area which was to be called “Ladies Mile,” on Broadway and 6th Avenue between 9th and 23rd Streets.

However, in 1862, Stewart’s “true” department store, referred to as the “Iron Palace” was built. This six-story building with its cast-iron front, glass dome skylight and grand emporium, employed up to 2,000 people. The immense structure resided on Broadway and Ninth Street near Grace Church. The establishment’s nineteen departments included silks, dress goods, carpets and even toys. By 1877, Stewart’s new retail establishment had been moved to Tenth Street and Astor Place. It had expanded to thirty separate departments, carrying a wide variety of items. As noted by The New York Times, “a man may fit up his house there down to the bedding, carpets and upholstery.” (Elias 24)

A.T. Stewart and Company did not go unnoticed throughout the country. Along with his successful retail store in New York City, Stewart also established himself as one of the wealthiest men in the United States by allowing women all over the country to purchase and order items from his wholesale department store. Beginning in 1868, Stewart began receiving letters from women in rural parts of the United States requesting his merchandise. Stewart promptly replied to these letters and orders by sending out the requests and even paying the postage. Once received, women would send back the money needed to pay for their orders. Seeing potential for the mail order business, by 1876, Stewart hired twenty clerks to read, respond and mail out the entailed orders. That year he profited over $500,000 from the mailing business alone. Stewart’s mailing ordering business’ efficiency, convenience and profits gained so much attention from all over the country those other famous businesses such as Sears, Montgomery Ward and Spiegel’s followed in his footsteps.

Death And Influence

Before Stewart died in 1876, he succeeded in creating his own manufacturing facilities. He felt that he wanted to have his own mills in order to supply his wholesale and retail operations. With these mills located in New York and New England, Stewart produced his own woolen fabrics as well as employed thousands of workers. Stewart also served on several New York State Chamber of Commerce Committees between 1862 and 1871. Though he never officially was elected as a New York State officer, he did attend Lincoln’s funeral as a Chamber delegate.

At the time of Stewart’s death, he was one of the richest men in New York just behind an Astor and a Vanderbilt. Worth an estimated $40 million, Stewart unlike New York’s other wealthy men (as listed above) who made their millions through real estate, he had earned his wealth in legitimate trade. Out of the twenty-four clerks who entered A.T. Stewart and Company in 1836, six still continued to work for the company in 1876. To these long-term employees, Stewart showed his gratitude by leaving them more than $250,000 as stated in his will.

In 1896, the Iron Palace was bought by John Wanamaker and reopened as “Wanamaker’s.” The Philadelphian, Wanamaker, had long been an admirer of Stewart and stated that one of his best qualities was his “personal attention to the details of the business... He could have had others to look after the details--they have to be looked after, but few attend to sweeping up, and that’s what Stewart did.” (Elias 24) In 1917, the New York Sun newspaper bought out Stewart’s first store for its main offices. In 1966, the building, though known as the “Sun Building,” was labeled a landmark structure by the City of New York.

Historians and other retail owners have concluded that it was A.T. Stewart’s awareness to details and love for it that differentiated him from his competitors and that which contributed greatly to his success. Today, Sears, K-Mart and Wal-Mart have built upon and refined Stewart’s concepts and ideas of distribution, merchandising, manufacturing and payment methods to become some of the most power department stores in the world, but have greatly owed much of their success to Stewart and his retail empire.

References:

All Biographies: Alexander Turney Stewart. 2005. Webified Concepts, LLC. <Http://www.all-biographies.com/politicians/alexander_turney_stewart.htm>.

Did You Know?: Featuring A Historically Significant Lower Manhattan Attraction. 2005. Company 39, Inc. <http://www.lowermanhattan.info/history/didyouknow/did_you_know_that_62478.asp>.

Elias, Stephen. Alexander T. Stewart: The Forgotten Merchant Prince. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1992.

Hubbard, Elbert. AT Stewart: Little Journeys To The Homes Of Forgotten Business Men. V. 25: No. 4. East Aurora, NY: The Roycrofters, 1909.

Alexander Turney Stewart