, on the
National Register of Historic Places and a
Lenape tribesman shaking hands, their "never written, never broken" treaty; it stood for S&C's Quaker-based tradition of fairness and honesty, which included a money-back guarantee on all merchandise In 1969, Strawbridge set his sights on competing with the emerging
Target-grade retailers,
[6] launching the
Clover discount store chain; the first Clover store opened in 1971. Located in
strip centers rather than malls for the most part, Clover grew to have 26 locations, more than the 21 full-service S&C stores. Most Clover stores closed in the winter of 1997.
Store features and branding Some Strawbridge's stores had restaurants inside, like at the
Christiana Mall,
Exton Square Mall,
Plymouth Meeting Mall,
Neshaminy Mall,
Cherry Hill Mall,
Jenkintown store, and the Corinthian Room on the sixth floor of the flagship store. The company also revolutionized retailing with their introduction of
revolving charge account cards. Strawbridge's was well known for its handled shopping bags which kept up with the fashion of each era. It was a paper bag, with navy blue handles with Strawbridge's printed in blue twice and red once on one side of the bag, and vice versa on the other. Once May assumed the company, the Strawbridge & Clothier Seal of Confidence was no longer a prominent marketing image. Late 1970s and 1980s bags were a bright glossy yellow with that era's pseudo calligraphic trademark in a vertical orientation in black along the bag's edge. 1960s bags featured a "modern" script-like trademark with their famous "seal of confidence". Strawbridge's was also known for its friendly employees. In the center of the flagship store was a large bronze statue of a wild boar, a replica of
Pietro Tacca's Il Porcellino. Local legend had it that good luck would follow those who rubbed the boar's nose. The boar consequently had a very shiny nose from all the rubbing.
Repurposing of flagship store In July 2006,
PREIT, owners of
The Gallery at Market East, agreed to purchase the lower floors of the flagship Strawbridge's store. PREIT sought retail tenants for the areas of the building closest to street level and converted some higher floors to office space. The uppermost floors had previously been sold and converted to offices; they are currently owned by American Financial Realty Trust of
Jenkintown. On February 26, 2009, it was announced that the developers of
Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia were looking into locating their new
casino on three floors of the former Strawbridge's flagship store currently owned by PREIT. In April 2012, it was reported by one of the sub-contractors that the building was undergoing additional renovation for both office and residential use. In July 2012,
The Philadelphia Inquirer and
Philadelphia Daily News relocated to the third floor of the building from their former headquarters at
400 North Broad Street. On October 23, 2014, the
Century 21 Department Stores company of New York City opened its first location outside of the greater New York City area on a portion of the street level, and the entire second level of the Strawbridge's building. Century 21 closed in 2020 as a result of the chain filing for bankruptcy and closing all stores. On December 16, 2021, a
Giant Heirloom Market grocery store opened in the ground level of the former Strawbridge's department store at 8th Street. ==See also==