Selfridge’s understanding of hard work began early. At just ten years old, he helped support his family by delivering newspapers. His formal entry into retail came when he joined Marshall Field’s in Chicago, starting as a stock boy. Over 25 years, he rose through the ranks to become a junior partner. During this period, he introduced ideas that would soon become industry standards: attractive window displays designed to spark curiosity, a bargain basement offering affordable goods, and a store environment where women—who were increasingly becoming central to consumer culture—could shop comfortably and safely. These innovations not only increased sales but also transformed shopping into a leisure activity.
His rising success allowed him to pursue entrepreneurial interests, including co-founding a boys’ monthly magazine with his schoolfriend Peter Loomis. The project generated profit largely through advertising, demonstrating Selfridge’s instinct for combining creativity with commercial opportunity.
In 1890, he married Rosalie “Rose” Buckingham, a member of a prominent Chicago family and a skilled property developer. They had five children and shared years of prosperity, but tragedy struck when Rose died during the 1918 influenza pandemic. Selfridge’s mother, who lived with the family and remained a stabilizing presence throughout his career, died six years later in 1924.
A turning point came in 1906, when Selfridge visited London and realized that despite the city’s global prominence, its retail scene lagged behind the grand department stores of Chicago and Paris. Determined to fill this gap, he invested £400,000 to build a revolutionary shopping destination at the then-unfashionable western end of Oxford Street. When Selfridges opened on March 15, 1909, it immediately drew crowds. The store became famous for its imaginative displays, bold advertising, and inclusive philosophy that encouraged browsing purely for pleasure. Public spectacles—such as exhibiting Louis Blériot’s aircraft after his Channel crossing—cemented its reputation as a cultural landmark.
Harry Gordon Selfridge died of bronchial pneumonia on May 8, 1947, at his home in Putney, London, leaving behind a retail legacy that continues to shape shopping experiences today.
Harry Gordon Selfridge and the Making of Modern Retail
