El Palacio de Hierro
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| El Palacio de Hierro | |
|---|---|
| Type | Department store |
| Founded | 1850 as Las Fabricas de Francia, 1891 as El Palacio de Hierro |
| Headquarters | Mexico City, Mexico |
| Key people | José María Blanco Alonso, (CEO) |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | clothes, cosmetics, electronics, furniture |
| Website | www.elpalaciodehierro.com.mx |
El Palacio de Hierro (El Palacio de Hierro S.A. de C.V.) (English: The Iron Palace) is an upscale chain of department stores in Mexico.
[edit] History
In the 1850s, a clothing store opened in Mexico City called "Las Fabricas de Francia" (The Factories of France) which was owned by Victor Gassier, a frenchman. In 1860, Gassier teamed up with 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". From here 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 (Macy's), 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 "El Palacio de Hierro", taking advantage of the publicity they earned during the constructing.
Nowadays, El Palacio de Hierro is part of Grupo Bal a diversified conglomerate in Mexico with interests in insurance, mining and retail.
Today, Palacio has stores in Mexico City (10 stores, of which 2 are known as Outlets), Monterrey (1 store), and Puebla (1 store), and one in Guadalajara (under construction). Plans for a new Palacio store in Guatemala City are currently under planning and construction, making this the first Palacio outside Mexico.
