Macy's produced America's first female retail executive in 1866. Here's the story of Margaret Getchell

Margaret Getchell worked for R.H. Macy’s during the Gilded Age.

She had grown up on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts. After her father abandoned her as a young child, she grew up on the island with her mother and two older sisters.

Margaret was one of those children who excelled at anything she tried. She made good grades in school and became known as the island’s poetess—writing poems for school events and loved ones.

One of the events that marked her childhood was an accident in which she and her sister were playing an innocent game of tag. Margaret fell and crashed headfirst into a doorknob, leaving her partially blind in one eye.

Still, she didn’t let her disability stop her. She continued to thrive in school and graduated at the age of 16. Upon graduation, Margaret became a teacher. She taught mathematics on Nantucket before going on to become an instructor at schools in New Jersey and New York.

In the summer of 1860, Margaret decided to undergo surgery to have her injured eye replaced with a glass one. The doctor, knowing she’d been grading papers in dim lighting by candlelight, suggested a career change that would leave less of a strain on her vision.

Macy’s new hire

That prompted her to reach out to a distant cousin named Rowland Hussey Macy. She’d never met him but heard he’d opened a dry goods store in New York. Margaret had no retail or sales experience, but she was proficient in numbers.

Mr. Macy hired her as a cash clerk, but it wasn’t long before Margaret began contributing ideas that went beyond dealing with numbers. She is the one who suggested new departments for toys and books.

And perhaps her most lasting contribution was her recommendation that R.H. Macy’s use a red star as its logo.

Margaret constantly thought up new ideas.

She had a saying: “Be everywhere. Do everything. And never fail to astonish the customer.”

In order to astonish customers, Macy’s employees needed to wow or impress every person who entered the store.

In one instance, Margaret trained two adorable cats wearing baby doll gowns to sit inside a pram, or baby carriage, in the store windows. Customers were amazed to see such an unusual stunt. Training cats to do anything is hard. They have minds of their own. Amazingly, they napped in the carriage as customers watched on.

Margaret’s plan worked brilliantly. The delighted customers purchased many baby dolls and carriages as a result.

Another creative idea Margaret had was to install a soda fountain—made of marble—at Macy’s. She wisely placed it in the back of the store. When thirsty customers came inside for a taste of cherry or maple soda, they’d walk past all sorts of interesting items that they might want to buy. This was precisely what she wanted.

Margaret’s bright plan to stir up sales is used by most stores today. They’ll put important products all the way in the back of the store so customers will end up filling their baskets on their way back and forth.

Before opening a store in New York, Mr. Macy had opened dry goods stores in California and Massachusetts. They were unsuccessful.

Soaring sales

For any business, the first few years are key and will determine if it will thrive or not. With Margaret by his side at his New York location, Rowland saw sales soar within a few years.

Margaret and Rowland made a powerful duo. He noticed this more than ever after Margaret went to visit Nantucket for an alumni reunion to catch up with old pals from her school days. She was gone for two weeks, and the employees felt her absence.

When she returned to New York, Margaret was surprised to hear that a man who worked as a superintendent, or manager, at Macy’s had been fired. Mr. Macy told Margaret that the man was not working as hard as he ought. He had someone better in mind for the role—someone ambitious and clever, and who cared about Macy’s very much.

Margaret was humbled to learn that Rowland had decided to promote her again. She’d be paid more money and take over the fancy title of superintendent. The promotion meant she was the manager in charge of all two hundred employees in the store.

Next to Rowland, Margaret had the highest position in the entire company. That’s when Margaret Getchell, at just twenty-five years old, made history. She was the first woman to ever hold an executive job at a major retail establishment. In those days, companies were run by men, and the bosses didn’t always value their female workers.

That was until Margaret Getchell came along.

“She was a tireless worker with an eagle eye for the faults and mistakes of the employees,” one of Margaret’s coworkers, Cora Crossman, said about her. “Rather severe, I should say, but gracious, too, and very clever. A wonderful woman!”

Cora told a newspaper reporter one time that she always thought “Miss Getchell’s striking ability convinced [Rowland] of women’s value in business.” Cora said that Mr. Macy hired women whenever possible. This simply wasn’t done elsewhere.

A role model for women

Indeed, Margaret struck a balance as a leader and a friend to her coworkers. The young women at Macy’s especially looked up to her as a trusted role model.

She would give them advice on how to advance in their careers. She always wanted what was best for Macy’s. If the other women achieved success, that meant the whole team succeeded.

Indeed, Margaret and Rowland created an environment where women were valued at Macy’s. Cora was in charge of the mail order department, as Macy’s was one of the first stores to deliver products to customers’ homes. Back in those days, this was a new practice.

Then there was a woman named Belle Cushman who was head of the lace department in Margaret’s time. Once Margaret left her post as superintendent, a woman named Marie Bowyer took over.

Margaret wasn’t afraid to roll up her sleeves and do hard work. She was a determined woman who was truly committed to astonishing the customer.

One spectacular item that Macy’s sold in the dolls and toys section was a singing mechanical bird. When the toy suddenly stopped working, one child in the store became so disappointed that Margaret couldn’t bear it.

Margaret’s determination kicked in. “Give it to me,” she said. “I’ll fix it.” She slipped a pin from her hair and rushed to find a screwdriver and pliers. Piece by piece, she took the bird completely apart, like it was Humpty Dumpty. To everyone’s surprise, she put it back together again. Sure enough, the toy bird was back to singing in no time.

Another trait that made Margaret such a gem is that she believed in doing the right thing.

One time, Mr. Macy fired a worker from the store because he thought the employee was stealing. Margaret had a feeling deep in her bones that Mr. Macy had the wrong person, though. She took it upon herself to investigate. It turns out Margaret was right.

Because she followed her instincts, she was able to help clear the name of the employee. She got the young woman her job back. This was one of the many reasons Margaret was respected.

One employee named Mr. Bowyer, who was hired in 1873 to work in the candy department, said Margaret was the smartest business woman he ever knew. Another of Margaret’s peers said she was the “brain of the establishment.”

Margaret was a pioneer. She paved the way for other women to hold positions of power in business.

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