Western Auto Hanford, California, store display experiment album, 1940
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Summary
- Creator:
- Western Auto Supply Company
- Abstract:
- Western Auto was an automotive parts and household goods variety store founded in Kansas City, Mo., in 1909 and continued in operation until 2003. The album consists of black-and-white photographs accompanied by written descriptions of merchandising activities at the store. The album documents an experiment conducted by the Hanford, Calif., Western Auto store in which store staff designed new fixtures and display cases to remodel the interior of the store and then to study changes to customer foot traffic patterns. It also includes a description of the process, suggestions on applicability to other stores, and the cost of the project. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
- Extent:
- 1.0 Linear Foot
- Language:
- Materials in English.
- Collection ID:
- RL.12097
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The album consists of black-and-white photographs accompanied by written descriptions of merchandising activities at the store. The album documents an experiment conducted by the Hanford, Calif., Western Auto store in which store staff designed new fixtures and display cases to remodel the interior of the store and then to study changaes to customer foot traffic patterns. It also includes a description of the process, suggestions on applicability to other stores, and the cost of the project.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Western Auto was an automotive parts and household goods variety store founded in Kansas City, Mo., in 1909 and continued in operation until 2003.
Western Auto began as a mail order company founded by George Pepperdine and Don Davis in 1909 in Kansas City. It expanded to brick and mortar stores. Early focus was on automotive parts and accessories but the product lines expanded to include a variety of household goods and appliances. The company was acquired by Benefical Corporation in 1961; by Sears in 1988; and by Advance Auto Parts in 1998. The brand was discontinued in 2003.
- Acquisition information:
- The Western Auto Hanford, California, store display experiment album was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase from Walkabout Books in 2023.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Richard Collier, Apr. 2023;
Accessions described in this collection guide: 2023-0048.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Subjects
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- Restrictions:
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Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
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- Preferred citation:
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[Identification of item], Western Auto Hanford, California, store display experiment album, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
- Permalink:
- https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m16q9s