Where are the Managers? Reevaluating large-scale US retail systems and their coordinators

Retail historians have detailed the rise of mass production and consumption at the turn of the twentieth century, along with the accompanying process of standardization. Largely absent from these accounts, however, are the men and women who implemented and managed these developments, connecting local and regional markets to create a national retail economy. Drawing on the example of Simon Kapstein, a district manager for the firm of E.P. Charlton, a later successor to F.W. Woolworth, this article calls for a reevaluation of large-scale retail operations (with an emphasis on chain stores) and the central functions district and store managers played in crafting a modern retailing system.

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