Marshall Field (1834–1906) was an American merchant and businessman. In 1881, he established Marshall Field & Co., which became the world’s largest retail store. As a philanthropist, Field donated to the University of Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Field Museum of Natural History.
Born on a farm near Conway, Massachusetts, Field moved to Chicago at age 22 when it was still a mostly unsettled western outpost. Chicago was on the threshold of becoming the center of the American Midwest and the focal point of rail, land, and water transportation.
Field first worked as a clerk in Cooley, Wadsworth and Company’s dry goods store. In eight years, he made a partner and soon joined other local entrepreneurs to start his dry goods store. Within two years, Field bought out his partners and enlisted his two younger brothers into the business as partners. Marshall Field & Co. survived the Civil War, the 1871 Chicago fire, and the great financial Panic of 1873; it evolved into a giant department store that became world-renowned.
As an early pioneer in the retail industry, Field developed such innovations as displayed price tags, open return policies, on-site eateries, free gift-wrapping, and window displays. He also procured merchandise from around the world to cater to the Midwest’s growing middle class. His maxim, “The customer is always right,” not only summed up his business philosophy but also became a philosophy of the entire retail industry.
When Field died in 1906, his store encompassed some 36 acres over 11 Chicago blocks, the largest establishment of its kind. In 2005, Marshall Field & Co. got acquired by Federated Department Stores (Macy’s.)
Field’s business earned him millions in his lifetime. He was a quiet workaholic and a socially shy Chicago celebrity. He donated a good deal of his wealth to help make Chicago a great educational and cultural center. After his death, Field’s grandson, Marshall III, gave his inheritance to establish the Chicago Sun newspaper.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Marshall Field
I have tried to make all my acts and commercial moves the result of definite consideration and sound judgment. There were never any great ventures or risks. I practiced honest, slow-growing business methods, and tried to back them with energy and good system.
—Marshall Field
Topics: Judgment
Goodwill is the one and only asset that competition cannot undersell or destroy.
—Marshall Field
Topics: Business, Goodwill
Right or wrong, the customer is always right.
—Marshall Field
Topics: Leadership, Leaders
The man who puts $10,000 additional capital into an established business is pretty certain of increased returns; and in the same way, the man who puts additional capital into his brains—information, well directed thought and study of possibilities—will as surely—yes, more surely—get increased returns. There is no capital and no increase in capital safer than that.
—Marshall Field
Topics: Intelligence
Beware of a misfit occupation… . Consider carefully your natural bent, whether for business or a profession.
—Marshall Field
Topics: Occupation
Things to remember: 1) The worth of character; 2) The improvement of talent; 3) The influence of example; 4) The joy of origination; 5) The dignity of simplicity; 6) The success of perseverance.
—Marshall Field
Topics: Example, Simplicity
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
James Cash Penney American Entrepreneur
Sam Walton American Entrepreneur
Walt Disney American Entrepreneur
Lady Bird Johnson First Lady of the United States
Steve Jobs American Entrepreneur
Mary Kay Ash American Entrepreneur
Herb Kelleher American Entrepreneur
Martha Stewart American Businesswoman
Russell Simmons American Music Promoter
Ray Kroc American Entrepreneur