Dayton Dry Goods Company

Dayton Dry Goods Company was founded in 1902 by George Draper Dayton, a banker who built his wealth by buying farm mortgages in southwest Minnesota and an active member of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in downtown Minneapolis. During the Panic of 1893 which caused a decline in retail estate prices, the Westminster Presbyterian Church burned down, and because its insurance wouldn't cover the cost of a new building, the church was looking for revenue. Its congregation appealed to Dayton to buy the empty corner lot next to the demolished building from the church so it could rebuild. Dayton bought it and eventually constructed a six-story building on that corner lot in downtown Minneapolis.[7][8]

In 1902, Dayton, looking for tenants, convinced Reuben Simon Goodfellow Company to move its nearby Goodfellows department store into his newly erected building. Goodfellow retired and sold his interest in the store to Dayton.[8] The store's name was changed to the Dayton Dry Goods Company in 1903, later being changed to the Dayton Company in 1911. Dayton, who had no prior retail experience yet maintained connections as a banker, held tight control of the company and ran it as a family enterprise. The store was ran on strict Presbyterian guidelines, which forbade the selling of alcohol and any kind of business activity--opening the store, advertising, and business travel--on Sundays. It refused to advertise in newspapers that sponsored liquor ads. In 1918, Dayton, who gave away most of his money to charity, founded the Dayton Foundation with $1 million.[7]

By the 1920s, the Dayton Company was a multi-million dollar business that filled the entire six-story building. In 1923, Dayton's 43-year-old son David died, prompting George to start transferring parts of the business to another son, Nelson Dayton. Right before theWall Street Crash of 1929, the company made its first expansion by acquiring the Minneapolis-based jeweler, J.B. Hudson & Son. Throughout the Great Depression, its jewelry store operated in a net loss but its department store managed to weather the economic crisis. In 1938, George Dayton died and Nelson Dayton assumed the role of president of the Dayton Company, a $14 million business. Throughout his tenure, the strict Presbyterian guidelines and conservative management style of his father were maintained.[7]

Throughout World War II, Nelson Dayton's managers focused on keeping the store stocked, which led to an increase in revenue. Consumer goods were generally rare, so shoppers no longer had to be persuaded to buy whatever merchandise was available. When the War Production Board initiated its scrap metal drives, Dayton donated the electric sign on the department store to the local scrap metal heap. In 1944, it offered its workers retirement benefits, becoming one of the first stores in the United States to do so. This was followed by offering them a comprehensive health insurance policy in

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