On March 4, 2024 My Edmonds News published an article I wrote concerning William Kingdon Jr. as a logger, entrepreneur and successful merchant.

After conducting further research into his achievements, I discovered he was decades ahead of his competition in his thinking. The following are a few examples of the unique approaches he incorporated into his business model that led to his widespread success.

Background

William Kingdon Jr. had been a successful logger contracting out multiple teams of horses to help transport huge logs out of the woods and down to the waterfront mills. Unfortunately, he was seriously hurt in a logging accident in 1898, which forced him to be laid up for nearly a year. For a short period, he continued to contract out his horses, while looking at other business opportunities to support his growing family of six children.

In 1902 he and his brother-in-law purchased a small grocery store near Edmonds’ wharf. They jointly ran the store until William Kingdon sold his interest to his brother-in-law in 1904. At the same time, Kingdon sold several teams of horses and subsequently acquired a larger grocery store from the Schumacher Brothers, which was situated further uptown, at 4th and Main.

More than a grocery store

William Kingdon Jr. saw the need for — and aspired to have much more than — a grocery store.  His desire was to be a supplier of the widest range of general merchandise to the growing population of Edmonds.

His first expansion was into shoes. Being an ex-logger, he knew that loggers went through several pairs of boots every year. He also realized that the rough, often muddy and pothole-filled streets of Edmonds were tough on shoes. He felt that his clientele needed a wide variety of shoes to wear for work or school, as well as at home and at church. Given that belief, he stocked his newly constructed shelves with multiple lines of shoes ranging from work boots to oxfords. Then he advertised their availability weekly in the Edmonds Tribune-Review and on posters, promotional give-away pieces and calendars.

In 1905, once new shoes were on the shelves, Kingdon promoted them through special sales providing discounts almost immediately.  Realizing he had the largest inventory of shoes in the area, his advertising strategy was to draw people to his store via quality products and special pricing.

Author’s note: This strategy was very similar to what Wallin and Nordstrom were following with their expanding shoe store in Seattle.  There is no evidence that William Kingdon Jr. was aware of Wallin and Nordstrom or their business practices. Transportation in 1905 was limited to horses and wagons over rough roads or via unreliable steamboats. Advertising widely that you had the widest selection and at discounted prices was a strategy that proved successful for Wallin and Nordstrom as solely a supplier of footwear and William Kingdon Jr. as a supplier of general mercantile.

Beyond shoes

William Kingdon next expanded into clothing and apparel. His advertising increased with multiple ads appearing in the weekly newspaper for different product lines.

These ads appeared in the Edmonds Tribune-Review for apparel items. Note, that since the store’s operations still included groceries, Kingdon was willing to barter. Customers could bring in eggs and butter and trade them for hats and pants.

The next addition to the store’s offerings was household furnishings. The store had groceries on one side of the first floor, with shoes, apparel and household furnishings on the other.

Personal histories of Edmonds citizens stated that Kingdon’s name was everywhere. Homes had calendars with his store’s name and various promotional fliers were often seen around Edmonds’ business district.

1906 brings even further expansion 

At the end of 1905, Kingdon realized he had no space to display additional products. His lower floor was filled with merchandise and his family lived on the second story above the store.

Fortunately, the first cement building to be built in Edmonds was being constructed adjacent to his store, east on Main Street. Kingdon negotiated the purchase of the new building and moved his merchandise to the much larger space while relocating his family to a house on 7th and Main, close to the school.

As soon as the purchase agreement was in place, Kingdon began advertising the new location with new inventory items and a daylight salesroom.  He also began asking the public to check out the store and its service using the phrase “Make Us Prove It.”

Expanded Operations

 

Once the move had been completed, William Kingdon for a short period of time used the name Kingdon’s Big Store to emphasize his expanded space and product offerings.

After the inventory from the old store had been situated in the new location, William Kingdon added “bulk” dry goods to his business offerings.  Tea, coffee, flour and sugar could be purchased in larger quantities. His advertising also became more sophisticated than his competitors’ in that it included caricatures at the top of his ads along with emphasizing the wide variety of products he offered.

The next two years brought further success to William Kingdon as he continued to expand his product offerings and test out new sales and services. He was the first merchant to advertise a home-delivery service of products ranging from hay to groceries. Kingdon’s used two teams of horses and wagons to make next-day deliveries to both Edmonds’ residents and families living in more remote locations.

Author’s note: It is not clear as to how far away from his downtown store that Kingdon guaranteed one- or two-day delivery. There are references that he was delivering as far away as Meadowdale after he moved to the larger space.

Kingdon had challenges too. There are several reports throughout this expansion period stating that robbers attempted to break into the Kingdon store. The most successful robbery occurred in late 1907.

Despite these interruptions. in mid-1909 William Kingdon for the first time began advertising his successful operation as Kingdon’s Department Store.

The two advertisements above illustrate Kingdon’s focus not only on a wide variety of products, but on customer service and attending to the customer’s particular needs.

By 1910, Kingdon’s Department Store was offering groceries and shoes and clothing for men, women and children along with home furnishings and a wide variety of dry goods. Hay and grain were also available for home delivery. Kingdon envisioned his store being a one-stop shopping experience and he promoted the store as such.

Sadly, on Feb. 27, 1911, Kingdom was stricken with acute appendicitis and was rushed to Seattle for an emergency surgery. According to medical records he survived the operation but died two days later. He was only 48 years old, and the community was shocked by his death.

The beginning of his obituary in the Edmonds Tribune-Review the following Friday read:

“William Kingdon, one of the most prominent merchants of this city, died Wednesday morning in a hospital in Seattle whither he had been taken while suffering from an aggravated attack of appendicitis, on Monday. He had had several attacks from the same malady extending over a few years, but did not seem to realize the seriousness of the disease that had him in its power.”

After his death, his widow sold the department store. She remarried five years later and ran a hotel with her husband in Everett.

Author’s final note: The initial Kingdon Store on 4th and Main today is the home to Ristorante Machiavelli. HouseWares, located next door, was the long-term location of Kingdon’s Department Store.

This article was researched and written by Byron Wilkes. Thanks go to the Edmonds Historical Museum, Sno-Isle Genealogical Society and Kingdon family members for their assistance.