December 25, 2025
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Has Von Maur Figured Out How Department Stores Should Work?
Recently crowned “America’s Best Department Store” by Newsweek for the fourth year in a row, Von Maur’s apparent success comes despite the chain forgoing much of modern department store retailing, including not offering any private labels and focusing on service and selection rather than price.
“You walk into our store and you are going to feel special, and we make sure you get what you need and that you leave happy,” Jim Von Maur, president and CEO, told WWD in a 2022 interview timed to the chain’s 150th anniversary.
He added of the store experience, “It’s hassle-free. We have exciting merchandise. We make it relaxing, no loud music, hardly any vendor signage. We’re not screaming 40% off. You’re walking into a nice relaxing residential environment. Our aisles are not merchandised. You don’t run into a rack or a dump table. You don’t get people bumping into you. People come to our store to relax and enjoy themselves, rather than just to get in and get out. There is a piano in every store with live music. We employ a lot of piano players.”
The focus on service is exemplified by emphasizing above-average wages, full-time hires, and slow expansion – opening only one or two stores annually in recent years. Von Maur told Fargo Inc., “I’ve seen other stores grow way too quickly, and they didn’t have the personnel or the attention from leadership to ensure the culture was really being transferred to the new location.”
Von Maur Emphasizes Slow Growth Over Rapid Expansion
Being family-owned and privately-held has allowed Von Maur to focus on the long term rather than expand too quickly.
Von Maur recently announced plans to open its first store in New Jersey, a 164,000-square-foot three-level store at Freehold Raceway Mall, set to open in 2027 to represent its 40th store. This comes after entering Pennsylvania in 2024, and North Dakota this year.
Von Maur also stands out for its strong access to trending brands, with the mix currently playing up Vuori, Free People, Varley, and TravisMathew. While the lack of private labels and high in-store curation is part of the appeal, newer brands can also reach consumers in the middle part of the country they can’t reach on the coasts and in urban centers.
Joy Place, VP of merchandising, recently told Modern Retail that customers typically come in frequently to discover new brands and products. She said, “Our stores tend to be out in nice suburban areas.”
Touring a store in Atlanta, RetailWire BrainTrust member Warren Shoulberg — in a recent column for The Robin Report — complemented the location’s “relaxed, almost elegant layout with wide aisles, products displayed on formal fixturing and no signs of merchandise stacked and racked high.”
He added, “You want to say it looks old-fashioned reminding you of department stores of days gone by, but that’s not entirely accurate: it presents an atmosphere where you just want to shop and not get out of the store as fast as possible as is the case with many retailers today.”
BrainTrust
Tom Ryan
Managing Editor, RetailWire
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
What impresses you most about Von Maur’s approach to the department store model?
What can other multi-brand sellers take from Von Maur’s longevity and apparent success?
Poll
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From a technical standpoint, what stands out about Von Maur is its disciplined simplicity. By avoiding private labels, constant promotions, and rapid expansion, they reduce operational and data complexity that often undermines execution at scale. That clarity enables more reliable inventory, better demand forecasting, and a calmer, more consistent store experience. The store becomes a high-signal environment where human service is the primary interface, not layers of promotional tech. Other multi-brand retailers can learn that sustainable success comes from aligning systems, staffing, and culture around a clear experience, then scaling only when that foundation is truly ready.
The whole article reminds me that department stores offered experiential retail long before we were talking about experiential retail. And that was in the absence of any tech or digital gizmos. Because then it was just really well executed retail. Curation. Discovery. Service. Quality. Satisfaction and Loyalty. A longing to go back for the next round of Discovery, not the next round of discounts. Hats off to Von Maur for proving that the well executed department store still has a potentially powerful role in today’s market!
Von Maur isn’t just defining a differentiated department store model—it’s actively executing it. The company recently announced its first store in New Jersey, set to open at Freehold Raceway Mall in 2027, strategically taking advantage of opportunities created by the retreat of legacy mall anchors. At the same time, it continues to invest in its existing footprint with a multi‑million‑dollar renovation program, modernizing stores while preserving its signature calm, curated experience.
I’m a long-time Von Maur customer. They have a deserved reputation for high quality merchandise at fair prices and great customer service. That reputation not only aids, the gift-giver, but also the gift recipient who looks forward to opening every Von Maur box.
The Von Maur store in NJ came up in another discussion forum, and my question was why do they think they can succeed where Nordstrom didn’t?(the space was formerly a N store.) It was pointed out that N. was perhaps overstored, but this would be V’s only store in the area. Which I think points to a big part of their success: they’ve expanded slowly (and in some cases, perhaps, have been able to take advantage of other’s mistakes). Private ownership helps, too…just as long as the leadership is competent and they can obtain sufficient financing. (if either of those changes, it can quickly become a liability) The lack of private brands I don’t really see as any kind of advantage…OTC it strikes me as a holdover from their days of being a very small retailer.
But Nordstrom was not over stored in central to south NJ. Their ring of stores is heavily NYC out to the west around northern NJ.
Maybe Von Maur will have appeal as a contender… a new brand, and a more localized feel. If only store in the state, maybe that location can create it’s own attention. NORD went press crazy on the NYC experience. And in NJ, the over emphasis of “the city” can be annoying. (I grew up in Bergen County, so the NE corner is usually treated as extension of NYC… YET not the 5 star treatment/investment the Flagship stores receive. The exception being Garden State Plaza where Westfield plowed in $$).
Long time customer here. The customer care and attention to detail at Von Maur is a wonderful throwback to the department stores many of us worked at and loved. The secret ingredient here is that Von Maur is family owned. That indie element makes all the difference in the world.
There is no underhand magic here. The reason Von Maur works is because they have a very strict adherence to the basic principles of retail. This includes staying close to their customers and delivering an assortment an experience that they want in an environment that inspires and engages. So many others have played financial games, randomly slashed costs and have lost touch with the ground. Von Maur has not.
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From a technical standpoint, what stands out about Von Maur is its disciplined simplicity. By avoiding private labels, constant promotions, and rapid expansion, they reduce operational and data complexity that often undermines execution at scale. That clarity enables more reliable inventory, better demand forecasting, and a calmer, more consistent store experience. The store becomes a high-signal environment where human service is the primary interface, not layers of promotional tech. Other multi-brand retailers can learn that sustainable success comes from aligning systems, staffing, and culture around a clear experience, then scaling only when that foundation is truly ready.
The whole article reminds me that department stores offered experiential retail long before we were talking about experiential retail. And that was in the absence of any tech or digital gizmos. Because then it was just really well executed retail. Curation. Discovery. Service. Quality. Satisfaction and Loyalty. A longing to go back for the next round of Discovery, not the next round of discounts. Hats off to Von Maur for proving that the well executed department store still has a potentially powerful role in today’s market!
Von Maur isn’t just defining a differentiated department store model—it’s actively executing it. The company recently announced its first store in New Jersey, set to open at Freehold Raceway Mall in 2027, strategically taking advantage of opportunities created by the retreat of legacy mall anchors. At the same time, it continues to invest in its existing footprint with a multi‑million‑dollar renovation program, modernizing stores while preserving its signature calm, curated experience.
I’m a long-time Von Maur customer. They have a deserved reputation for high quality merchandise at fair prices and great customer service. That reputation not only aids, the gift-giver, but also the gift recipient who looks forward to opening every Von Maur box.
The Von Maur store in NJ came up in another discussion forum, and my question was why do they think they can succeed where Nordstrom didn’t?(the space was formerly a N store.) It was pointed out that N. was perhaps overstored, but this would be V’s only store in the area. Which I think points to a big part of their success: they’ve expanded slowly (and in some cases, perhaps, have been able to take advantage of other’s mistakes). Private ownership helps, too…just as long as the leadership is competent and they can obtain sufficient financing. (if either of those changes, it can quickly become a liability) The lack of private brands I don’t really see as any kind of advantage…OTC it strikes me as a holdover from their days of being a very small retailer.
But Nordstrom was not over stored in central to south NJ. Their ring of stores is heavily NYC out to the west around northern NJ.
Maybe Von Maur will have appeal as a contender… a new brand, and a more localized feel. If only store in the state, maybe that location can create it’s own attention. NORD went press crazy on the NYC experience. And in NJ, the over emphasis of “the city” can be annoying. (I grew up in Bergen County, so the NE corner is usually treated as extension of NYC… YET not the 5 star treatment/investment the Flagship stores receive. The exception being Garden State Plaza where Westfield plowed in $$).
Long time customer here. The customer care and attention to detail at Von Maur is a wonderful throwback to the department stores many of us worked at and loved. The secret ingredient here is that Von Maur is family owned. That indie element makes all the difference in the world.
There is no underhand magic here. The reason Von Maur works is because they have a very strict adherence to the basic principles of retail. This includes staying close to their customers and delivering an assortment an experience that they want in an environment that inspires and engages. So many others have played financial games, randomly slashed costs and have lost touch with the ground. Von Maur has not.