Marshall Field Chicago Case Analysis

After Field's arrival in Chicago he received a job with Cooley, Wadsworth and Company, one of the largest stores in the city during the time. Eventually, he reached one of the top positions in the company as a junior partner. 5 years later, Field and one of his partners at Cooley, Levi Leiter, went into business with one of their competitors Potter Palmer. His first year in Chicago, Field was earning an average yearly salary for the time, $400. He slept in the Cooley store where he worked, to save money. After Leiter, Palmer, and Field joined forces and Field began to develop his own brand, Field was worth more than $250,000.

As Field began to develop his own brand with the help of Leiter and Palmer, he frequently paid in cash and rarely paid in credit for the things he bought. These approaches toward the expenses of the company often relieved Field and his business partners of struggling when times were tough and business was slow. After Palmer had sold his share of the store in 1867, Field had brought his brothers Joseph and Henry into the business which was renamed Field, Leiter and Company. In 1914, a year later, Marshall Field opened a beautiful store in downtown Chicago. However, the building was brought to ashes when the Chicago Fire struck in 1871. Due to the accident,

Due to the store's beauty and one of the best shopping environments in Chicago it attracted tourists. As Marshall Field became wealthier and popular he was considered an important figure in Chicago. Marshall Field was not only a businessman but was a philanthropist as well. He set high standards for his employees , who received lower than the mandatory wage. One new clerk impressed him (John G. Shedd who he promoted and later became the second president of the company after Field's