El Palacio de Hierro

El Palacio de Hierro (officially El Palacio de Hierro S.A. de C.V.; English: The Iron Palace) is an upscale chain of department stores in Mexico. Its flagship store in Polanco, Mexico City, reopened in 2016 after an extensive renovation of US$300 million and an expansion of 55,200 square metres (594,000 sq ft). It is the largest department store in Latin America[1] and has been a member of the International Association of Department Stores since 2000.[2]

El Palacio de Hierro
TypeDepartment store
IndustryRetail
Founded1850 as Las Fábricas de Francia, 1888 (1888) as El Palacio de Hierro
HeadquartersMexico City, Mexico
Key people
Juan Carlos Escribano (CEO)

Claudia Fabela (CCO)

Ignacio Reynoso (CCO)
ProductsClothes, cosmetics, electronics, furniture
Websiteelpalaciodehiero.com

History
El Palacio de Hierro Polanco store, Mexico City

In the 1850s, a clothing store opened in Mexico City called "Las Fábricas de Francia" (The Factories of France) which was owned by Victor Gassier, a Frenchman (not to be confused with the currently Fábricas de Francia chain, operated by Liverpool). In 1860, Gassier teamed up with Alexander Reynaud, forming a business called Gassier & Reynaud.

In 1876, José Tron, his brother Henri and José Leautaud bought in, forming the association V. Gassier & Reynaud, Sucs. S. en C. In 1879 the business' formal name was changed to J. Tron y Cía.. However, it continued to trade as "Las Fábricas de Francia". From here Tron and Leautaud's endeavor met with considerable success.

In 1879, they began planning to build a department store in Mexico City similar to upscale stores in Paris (Le Bon Marché), New York City (Saks Fifth Avenue), London (Harrods), and Amsterdam (De Bijenkorf).

Inside of an El Palacio de Hierro store

In 1888 they bought land to construct their store. They hired the Mexican architect Ignacio de la Hidalga for the project and construction was to last until 1891.

Tron and Leautaud chose to build a five-story building. It was, notably the first building in Mexico City made of iron and steel. As the first such structure in Mexico, people who passed by often asked "What iron palace are they building?". In 1891, when construction finished, Tron and Leautaud decided to rename the business "El Palacio de Hierro", taking advantage of the publicity they earned during construction.

Art Nouveau ceiling's stained glass of El Palacio de Hierro, Historic Center store of Mexico City, made in 1920 by Jacques Grüber[3]

On April 15, 1914 a fire destroyed the building. Other buildings were then used. With the end of the Mexican Revolution, construction began on a new building, designed by French architect Paul Dubois, was completed the building in 1921.[4] The Art Nouveau building opened in 1920 with dual stained-glass ceilings by Jacques Grüber[3] (1870-1936) of Nancy, France.

Nowadays, El Palacio de Hierro is part of Grupo BAL a diversified conglomerate in Mexico with interests in insurance, mining and retail

Product lines range from clothing, to houseware, furniture, jewelry, select foods, toys, spa, travel services, and electronics. Especially in the clothing area, it is a high-end retailer, carrying top Mexican domestic brands, as well as hosting many in-store boutiques from exclusive lines such as Emilio Pucci, Tiffany's, Tommy Hilfiger, Cartier, Esprit, Max Mara, BCBG Max Azria, Emporio Armani, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Tory Burch, Salvatore Ferragamo, Prada, Ermenegildo Zegna, Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Versace, Swarovski, Michael Kors, Burberry, Escada, Juicy Couture, Carolina Herrera, Mango, Bvlgari, Bottega Veneta, and Hermès.

  • Postal of 1904 of the former Palacio del Hierro, Historic Center
    Postal of 1904 of the former Palacio del Hierro, Historic Center
  • The former Palacio de Hierro, Historic Center, in a painting of 1908
    The former Palacio de Hierro, Historic Center, in a painting of 1908
  • Palacio de Hierro in Historic Center, photo taken in 1912, just before the fire and subsequent reconstruction.
    Palacio de Hierro in Historic Center, photo taken in 1912, just before the fire and subsequent reconstruction[3]
  • Postal of 1925 of the current Palacio de Hierro, Centro Histórico.
    Postal of 1925 of the current Palacio de Hierro, Centro Histórico[5]

Locations

Greater Mexico City

The modern flagship store is the 4-story, 55,248-square-metre (594,680 sq ft) freestanding store in Polanco which the company gave the nickname "El Palacio de los Palacios", "the Palace of the Palaces").[6] The property originally was a mall, opened in 1997, including a Palacio store, and in 2015 the mall area was incorporated into the Palacio store as part of a total remodeling.[7]

The original store and historic flagship, opened in 1891,[7] is still open along the north side of Venustiano Carranza street in the Historic center of Mexico City, one block south of the Zócalo (main square), between 5 de Febrero and 20 de Noviembre avenues.

There are also full-line Palacio de Hierro stores at:

Elsewhere in Mexico

There are full-line Palacio de Hierro department stores in:

Other formats

Greater Mexico City has, in addition:

Elsewhere:

Store in Polanco Mexico City hosting an exhibition of Uriarte Talavera

References
  1. "El Palacio de Hierro strengthens Mexico City standing, revamps flagship", NPR; November 3, 2015
  2. "El Palacio de Hierro". www.iads.org. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  3. Benjamin A. Bross (2021). Mexico City's Zócalo: A History of a Constructed Spatial Identity. Routledge. ISBN 978-1000527308.
  4. Patrice Elizabeth Olsen (11 September 2008). Artifacts of Revolution: Architecture, Society, and Politics in Mexico City, 1920–1940. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 16. ISBN 978-0742557314.
  5. "El Palacio de Hierro" S.A.: México D.F." Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez virtual library. 1930.
  6. Pruneda, Ayko (November 8, 2015). "El Palacio de los palacios renace en Polanco, ("The palace of palaces is reborn in Polanco")". Forbes (in Spanish). Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  7. "Historia (History)". Palacio de Hierro (in Spanish). Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  8. "Revista Código | Arte, Arquitectura, Diseño, Moda, Estilo". Revistacodigo.com. 2017-06-23. Retrieved 2017-07-15.
  9. ":: Plaza Satélite ::". www.plazasatelite.com.mx. Archived from the original on 2009-07-30.
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