The Bon Marché

The Bon Marché
Company type	Subsidiary (former)
Industry	Retail
Founded	1890; 136 years ago
Founder	Edward Nordhoff, Josephine Nordhoff
Defunct	2005
Fate	Rebranded as Macy's
Headquarters	Seattle, Washington, United States
Area served	Northwestern United States (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming)
Products	Apparel, shoes, bedding, home furnishings, jewelry, cosmetics, kitchen items
Parent	Federated Department Stores (from 1992)

The Bon Marché, commonly known as The Bon, was a department store chain originating in the United States, established in 1890 by entrepreneurs Edward and Josephine Nordhoff. Based in Seattle, Washington, the chain primarily catered to working-class households throughout the Northwestern region of the country.

Modeled after the Parisian retailer Le Bon Marché, The Bon Marché distinguished itself with unique marketing strategies, including catchy jingles such as the adaptation of "The Banana Boat Song": "Day-o, One Day Sale... Save 20, 30, 40 percent... Saturday only at the Bon Marche!" During the 1960s, it further enhanced brand visibility by incorporating components from PAMS' "Ani-Magic" jingle collection.

Ownership of the company shifted multiple times: initially acquired by Hahn Department Stores in 1929, then taken over by Allied Stores in 1934. In 1992, Federated Department Stores purchased Allied, bringing The Bon Marché under its corporate umbrella. The brand was renamed Bon–Macy's in 2003 before being fully consolidated and rebranded as Macy's in 2005, marking the end of its standalone identity.

Throughout its operation, The Bon Marché offered a wide assortment of merchandise including apparel, shoes, bedding, home furnishings, jewelry, cosmetics, and kitchen items. By 2004, it maintained roughly 50 outlets spanning Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. This regional presence strengthened its position within the Northwestern retail landscape prior to its absorption into Macy’s nationwide network.

Founding and early development

The Bon Marché was established in 1890 by Edward and Josephine Nordhoff after relocating from Chicago to Seattle. Edward, a German immigrant with retail experience at Paris’s Louvre Department Store (a rival to "Au Bon Marché," now part of LVMH), had also managed a department store in Chicago where he met Josephine.

They rented a modest retail space in Belltown at the intersection of 1st Avenue and Cedar Street, investing their entire savings into stocking merchandise. Josephine managed daily operations such as inventory management, accounting, and customer relations; she even learned the Chinook language to better engage Native American patrons. Amidst the economic downturn of the early 1890s, they maintained customer loyalty by offering modest discounts. As business grew, they relocated in 1896 to a larger L-shaped building at Second Avenue and Pike Street, closer to Seattle’s commercial core.

After Edward succumbed to tuberculosis in 1899, Josephine remarried Frank McDermott in 1901. McDermott joined forces with Josephine and Edward’s brother Rudolph Nordhoff to oversee the company’s operations, fueling rapid growth. Revenue increased dramatically from $338,000 in 1900 to $8 million by 1923. The flagship store underwent two significant expansions in 1902 and again in 1911 at its Second Avenue and Pike Street location.

Allied acquisition and growth

In 1929, The Bon Marché opened a new store at Third Avenue and Pine Street and was sold to Hahn Stores based in Chicago; five years later Allied Stores acquired Hahn but continued operating under The Bon Marché name. In 1937, Allied merged Boise’s C.C. Anderson’s into The Bon Marché brand, extending its reach beyond Washington state. The Boise downtown location remained open for more than seven decades before closing as Macy’s in 2010. Following World War II, The Bon Marché expanded further by becoming an anchor tenant at Northgate Mall in 1949—one of the earliest modern shopping centers.

By 1978, the company added nine additional locations including rebranding Missoula Mercantile in Montana as Bon-Marché; this store later closed as Macy’s in 2010. After Campeau Corporation acquired Allied Stores in 1986, The Bon Marché operated approximately forty stores throughout the Northwest.

The chain also maintained three stores in Utah: Ogden (the largest), Layton Hills Mall, and Logan (the smallest). Due to poor sales performance, Ogden and Logan stores were sold to Lamonts in 1988; Layton Hills Mall location remained until its sale to J.C. Penney in 1993.

Federated Acquisition and Transition to Macy's

Following a change in ownership in 1992, The Bon Marché was incorporated into Federated Department Stores, the parent company of Macy's and Bloomingdale's. In 2001, the company introduced a new store concept with a 65,000-square-foot prototype in Helena, Montana, which featured centralized checkout counters.

In August 2003, Federated undertook a rebranding initiative, renaming The Bon Marché to Bon-Macy's. This move mirrored similar transformations applied to other regional chains such as Burdines and Lazarus. By September 2004, Federated declared that all its regional brands would be unified under the Macy's banner. At that time, Bon-Macy's operated 50 locations across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. By January 2005, every store had transitioned to the Macy's name.

The original flagship store in Seattle still displays the historic Bon Marché sign above its north entrance at the intersection of 4th Avenue and Olive Way.

On February 6, 2008, CEO Terry Lundgren revealed a new localization strategy that involved reducing the workforce by 2,550 employees and shutting down the Macy's Northwest headquarters. Consequently, all former Bon Marché stores were consolidated into Macy's West division to improve operational efficiency.

Brand Identity

Throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s, The Bon Marché gained notable brand recognition through a catchy advertising jingle for its "One Day Sale," which was adapted from Harry Belafonte's "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)." This marketing campaign became deeply ingrained in local popular culture.

External links

History of Federated Department Stores