Innovation on the Shop Floor: a Critical Survey of the Late Nineteenth until Mid-twentieth Century Department store, Chain store and Supermarket.

Abstract

This paper is set up as a survey of the historical development of large-scale retail enterprises and their interiors. Rather than being exhaustive, it is aimed to give a critical and relevant - from an interior designer’s perspective - review of the literature. This survey is innovative in a way that it has a two-angle approach: it examines how various typologies have influenced one another during their development, and the role of innovation on the shop floor in their growth. Three large-scale retail typologies are discussed: the department store, the chain store and the supermarket. While the department store and the supermarket were innovative institutions, the chain store type has had an impact on both a managerial and an exploitation level. The department store and the supermarket are described via one archetype per architectural phase. Also, two innovations are explained: one technical, being the escalator, and one conceptual, being the self-service concept. The escalator enabled the department store to develop, while the introduction of self-service in supermarkets drove their expansion and caused a shift in store design. To visualise the rather complex historical development of the three types, a graphic timeline is developed. We conclude with reflecting on retail’s history and the importance of the innovations on the shop floor while questioning if retail institutions are still innovative and if the conditions favour innovation today.