El Palacio de Hierro
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| El Palacio de Hierro | |
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| Type | Department store |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1850 as Las Fabricas de Francia, 1891 as El Palacio de Hierro (Mexico City, Mexico) |
| Headquarters | Mexico City, Mexico |
| Key people | José María Blanco Alonso, CEO |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | clothes, cosmetics, electronics, furniture |
| Slogan | Soy Totalmente Palacio |
| Website | www.elpalaciodehierro.com.mx |
El Palacio de Hierro (El Palacio de Hierro S.A. de C.V.) (English: The Iron Palace) is a chain of department stores in Mexico.
[edit] History
In the 1850s, there was a clothing store in Mexico City named Las Fabricas de Francia (The Factories of France). It was owned by Victor Gassier, a Frenchman. In 1860, Gassier teamed up with fellow Frenchman Alexander Reynaud, forming a business called Gassier & Reynaud.
In 1876, José Tron and José Leautaud bought in, forming the association V. Gassier & Reynaud, Sucs. S. en C. In 1879 the business' formal name was changed to J. Tron y Cía.. However, it continued to trade as "Las Fabricas de Francia".
Tron and Leautaud's endeavor met with considerable success. In 1879, they began planning to build a department store in Mexico City similar to famous stores in Paris (Le Bon Marché), New York City, London (Harrods), and Chicago (Marshall Field's).
In 1888 they bought land to construct their new department store. Construction was to last until 1891.
Tron and Leautaud chose to build a five story building. It was, notably, the first building in Mexico City made of iron and steel. As the first such structure in Mexico, people who passed by often asked "What iron palace are they building?"
In 1891, when construction finished, Tron and Leautaud decided to rename the business to "El Palacio de Hierro", taking advantage of the publicity they had garnered in constructing a building novel to Mexico at the time.
Today, El Palacio De Hierro sells brands such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Ermenegildo Zegna, Salvatore Ferragamo.
El Palacio de Hierro is part of Peñoles Industries an important mining corporation in Mexico.
Today, Palacio has stores in Mexico City, Monterrey, and Puebla.
