Careers Business Ownership Publicly Traded U.S. Retail Department Stores List Print © Barbara Farfan for About.com Business Ownership Industries Retail Small Business Restauranting Real Estate Nonprofit Organizations Landlords Import/Export Business Freelancing & Consulting Franchises Food & Beverage Event Planning eBay E-commerce Construction Operations & Success Becoming an Owner By Barbara Farfan Barbara Farfan University of Georgia Barbara Farfan is a retail industry expert with more than 20 years as a business consultant for the retail and publishing industries. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on 11/22/17 Department stores are defined as brick-and-mortar retail stores which sell a variety of merchandise which is organized into distinct departments such as menswear, women's wear, furniture, cosmetics, and so on. In the U.S. retail industry, most of the largest multi-unit department store companies are not privately owned but are publicly traded on the U.S. stock exchange. If you look at a complete list of publicly traded US retail department stores (and their stock exchange symbols) you'll notice that there are a number of retail department store chains which are not included on the list. Retail Stores That Aren't on the List, and Why Walmart, Dollar Tree, Fred's, and Dollar General all carry a variety of merchandise that is organized by category and housed in different departments within their stores. However, these department stores are defined primarily as Discount Stores and therefore are not included in the following list of Publicly Traded Department Stores. Costco, Sam's, and BJ's are also department stores by definition but are primarily warehouse membership stores. Therefore, these retail department stores are also not included in on this Publicly Traded Retail Department Stores list. What Dictates a Chain's HQ Location? It is worth noting that the largest U.S. department store chains are almost all headquartered in different states. This has nothing to do with the retail industry and everything to do with climate and income. Residents in Florida are out shopping for shorts and sandals, which is not the case in Ohio. Residents in Palm Springs are out shopping for designer evening gowns, which is not the case in laidback Arkansas. Given that the consumer preferences in different geographic regions of the U.S. are distinct, the diverse roots of the publicly traded U.S. department stores is a representation of the richly diverse history of the U.S. retailing in general. What follows is a complete list of publicly traded U.S. retail industry department stores and their stock exchange symbols. This list is arranged alphabetically according to the company name. Click the links for more research resources about each department store company. Publicly Traded US Retail Department Stores and Stock Exchange Symbols Belk (Class B) Department StoresStock Exchange Symbol: BLKIBBelk and Other Retail Headquarters in North Carolina Cost Plus, Inc. Department StoresStock Exchange Symbol: CPWMCost Plus and Other Retail Headquarters in CaliforniaDillard's, Inc. Department StoresStock Exchange Symbol: DDSDillard's and Other Retail Headquarters in Arkansas JCPenney Company, Inc. Department StoresStock Exchange Symbol: JCPJCPenney and Other Retail Headquarters in TexasKohl's Corporation Department StoresStock Exchange Symbol: KSSKohl's and Other Retail Headquarters in WisconsinMacy's, Inc. Department StoresStock Exchange Symbol: MMacy's and Other Retail Headquarters in OhioMarks and Spencer Group p.l.c. Department Stores Stock Exchange Symbol: MKS.LMarks and Spencer Group Headquarters in London, UK Nordstrom Department StoresStock Exchange Symbol: JWNNordstrom and Other Retail Headquarters in Washington Ross Stores Department Stores Stock Exchange Symbol: ROSTRoss Stores Headquarters in California Saks Incorporated Department Stores Stock Exchange Symbol: SKSSaks and Other Retail Headquarters in New YorkSears Holdings Corporation Department Stores Stock Exchange Symbol: SHLDSears Holdings and Other Retail Headquarters in IllinoisThe Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. Department Stores Stock Exchange Symbol: BONTBon-Ton and Other Retail Headquarters in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and WisconsinThe TJX Companies, Inc. Department StoresStock Exchange Symbol: TJXTJX and Other Retail Headquarters in Massachusetts