In the mid-19th century, the concept of one-stop shopping in the form of the Department Store, Galleria and Arcade arrived. These places were destinations in their own right, offering a shopping environment that respectable people were keen to experience.
The new well-off urban population was attracted in their thousands, not just to shop, but also to socialize, often spending the entire day out in the process. But, if respectable persons were to be encouraged to dwell, shop, and mingle, where were they to answer the inevitable call of nature?
At this time, no real provision was made for women; they trained themselves not to need to use facilities when away from the domestic environment and if they really had to do so, they excused themselves from company and managed as best they could, with non-existent, or at best, primitive amenities. All this was changed with the arrival in London at the turn of the century of Gordon Harry Selfridge.
Harry was determined to build the best store in the world; he already had 30 odd years’ experience in Chicago running Marshall Fields, at that time probably the number one Department Store in the US.
Harry Selfridge positively encouraged customers to spend as long as they wanted in the store, with free entrance, impressive window displays, touchable merchandise, longer opening hours and the widest range of merchandise and store services yet available. But as well as being a great merchant, Selfridge understood that in-store services would also be key to happy customers. So, he invested behind the scenes, not least by providing what were really the first public in-store lavatories for men and women. A long established competitor of Selfridges, Whiteleys in Bayswater, did provide some toilet facilities, but these were private, for customers only and were very rudimentary affairs. Not so at Selfridges, where, by the standards of the day, the facilities were lavish, with enclosed cubicles, wash basins with hot water, easy chairs, mirrors and attendants to help. And importantly, given the stores dictum of ‘spend all day here, and you don’t have to buy anything’, the lavatories were public.
Contribution to Retail History
The public lavatories were an innovation that was hugely welcomed by the public. Important as they were in their own right, the lavatories were also a demonstration of an emerging ‘customer services’ retail ethos – something that has continued to define and differentiate retail brands ever since.