NEWS

Lordstrungs, Inc.

  • 0 Replies
  • 4282 Views

Fizzygoo

  • *
  • Omae
  • ***
  • Posts: 539
« on: <01-20-11/2258:50> »
--- Because my wife used to work for Nordstrom and my now-in-college-daughter is also working there ---

Lordstrungs, Inc.
Posted by Ms. Switch

Founded by Norwegian immigrant Jens N. Lordsterke (Anglicized to James Lordstrung on arrival to the U.S.) and Erik G. Pallman in 1898, Lordstrungs has emerged to become one of the most successful and well known luxury department store chains in the world. The first store, a shoe store called Pallman & Lordstrung, was opened in Seattle and became very successful at outfitting the more successful individuals during the Klondike Gold Rush as well as furnishing sturdy work boots for those setting out to seek their fortune in the north. In 1911 they opened their second store and made modest contributions to the War Effort by supplying boots to American and Canadian troops.

> I’m not ashamed to admit, I spend a lot of my income at Lordstrungs.
> Ms. Switch

> You should be.
> Redblade

> You wouldn’t say that if you had a girlfriend that wore InnerYou
> Ms. Switch

> :)
> WarriorXX

In 1924 Lordstrung and Pallman both retired and sold their shares to their sons, Ethan Lordstrung and Paul Pallman. In 1926 Ethan’s younger brother, Larry, joined the business. In early 1929 Paul died, rumored to be suicide over heavy losses from the stock market crash, leaving the business solely in the hands of the Lordstrung brothers. In 1932 they changed the company name to Lordstrungs.

Due to losses during the Great Depression, Lordstrungs began to focus on higher end luxury shoes, as the lower end goods became too expensive to keep in stock to a shrinking market. By 1952 Lordstrungs had expanded to include stores in Los Angeles, Portland, Salem, San Francisco, and Vancouver. Seven years later they purchased several apparel companies in California and began integrating luxury women’s clothing into their stores and changed the company name to Lordstrung’s Finest in 1960.

The company went public in 1967, though Ethan and Larry still remained in charge with majority share, and in 1970 the company’s name was changed back to Lordstrungs.

In 1973 Ethan retired and his brother Larry followed suit two years later, leaving majority control to their children; Carl, William, and Margaret (Ethan’s children), and Zack and James (Larry’s children). In 1981 William and Zack sold their shares to their siblings which left Carl, Margaret, and James in control.

In 2002 both Carl and James retired, leaving their share of the company in the hands of their children; James, Tyler (Carl’s children), and Larry (James’ son). Margaret retained her share of ownership until 2009 where a bitter feud left Margaret and her heirs out of the company. Margaret died in 2010.

> Fuck me! How much ancient history do we have to listen to?!
> Redblade

> Pay attention, Margaret’s brood is still living and still very much annoyed that they got ousted from the family biz.
> EdibleCAPS

In 2011, the eldest daughters of James and Tyler both gave birth to UGE children. Lisa, James’ daughter, gave birth to an elf they named Julia. Sarah, Tyler’s daughter, gave birth to Ethan, a dwarf. These UGE births would have profound effects, both positive and negative, to Lordstrungs future.

In 2016 Larry Lordstrung died of a heart attack at the age of 59 and his son Zack gained control of his shares of the company. Then in 2021, James gave control of the company to his two children, Lisa and Paul.

Zack did not find running the family business to his liking and his uncle Tyler bought his shares of the company in 2025. Prior to this there had always been descendants of both the original brothers in control of the company but with this purchase the “Larry-line” ended and only the descendants of Ethan, James N. Lordstrung’s eldest son, now hold majority control.

Tyler, the last of the 4th generation of Lordstrungs in control of the company, stepped down in 2031 after having helped the company weather the worst of the Crash. He left his share of the company to his daughter Sarah. The three grandchildren of Carl Lordstrung; Lisa, Paul, and Sarah, managed the company well throughout the 2030s as they remained true to the company’s ideals of excellent quality of customer service coupled with high end luxury footwear and attire.

> All this is missing is the “begats”!
> Enkidu

Julia and Ethan, Lisa and Sarah’s elf and dwarf children, both graduated from Harvard Business School with MBAs in 2035 and joined the company in the third quarter of that year. The initial fanfare that the parents made of their metahuman children joining the family business was met with disastrous, racially-motivated, reactions from customers and stockholders alike. In the first week of the two being hired the company’s stock fell to less than half its value. Over the next year several Lordstrungs department stores were vandalized heavily by anti-metahuman racists which culminated in the August 2036 bombings of the Chicago, Seattle, and two of the New York department stores.

The family quickly removed Julia and Ethan from the spotlight. Shell companies were established for them to work at in order to prove to shareholders and the public alike that Lordstrungs was a high-class human-focused company. The cousins used the shell companies to acquire factories and designers in order to produce styles of clothing that could only be found in Lordstrungs stores. Over the next decade these clothing lines would come to incorporate elven and dwarven tailored clothing; from no meta-friendly styles in 2038 and 2039 to three separate brand names for both dwarves and elves by 2049.

> Julia’s daughter, Jasmine, now oversees some of those shell companies. She even has a fund for deniable assets which she uses to “acquire” cutting edge fashions from other designers.
> Ms. Switch

> They pay you in shoes, don’t they, Ms. Switch.
> EdibleCAPS

> I’ve actually done runs for Jasmine on occasion. She has a 1950’s style picture on her desk of a young girl looking up at her domestic mother beating eggs with a thought bubble that says, “I’m becoming my mother.” It was the only personalized bit in the whole corporate-chrome office.
> Jagerjager

> So?
> Redblade

> So…her mother, Julia, was in charge of operations before Jasmine took over. It means don’t mess with either…a stiletto isn’t just a knife, but they’re both as deadly.
> Ms. Switch

Lordstrungs emerged from the Night of Rage effectively unscathed as the company held to its subtle human-only service. However it was later revealed that the flagship Seattle store provided succor to many downtown metahumans escaping the violence on the street by hiding them in stockrooms and basements.

> To say the least. Talk about two faced!
> Doc Oz

> And how would you have handled the Night of Rage, Doc? Your lively hood to protect, and people to protect…sounds to me like they did a pretty good job.
> Ms. Switch

> What about the Hong Kong store that pretend to “provide succor” to metas only to let human mobs in, cornering them in the back rooms? What was it, 40…50 people dead or injured?
> Doc Oz

> One store.
> Ms. Switch

In 2048 Paul’s two children, Alex and Andrew joined the company and took over their father’s shares in 2050 when he retired. In a bold move, both Lisa and Sarah retired in 2054, handing over their shares to Julia and Ethan. Though there was a noticeable dip in sales for the first month after the transition, within a year the company’s profits were back on track.

> There was more than one stockholder annoyed with the move, but my feeling was they did so to remove the last anti-meta holdouts from the company.
> EdibleCAPS

During Crash 2.0, Andrew died in a plane crash and had no heirs. His will stipulated that his share of the company be split between his brother and the two cousins, with Alex receiving the largest share.

By the end of 2066, Lordstrungs had not only recovered from Crash 2.0 but experienced a major increase in sales due to releasing several commlink accessories targeted towards the teen demographic as well as the unveiling of several “goblin-friendly” lines of apparel and shoes which are primarily sold at their Lordstrungs Closet clearance stores.

In 2068, under the guidance of Ethan Lordstrung, Lordstrungs underwent a company wide renovation that upgraded the department stores to state of the art AR. This complete embracement of AR has been herald as the perfect expansion of Lordstrungs’ already unrivaled customer service.

> The outside of their Seattle flagship store matches the Emerald City AR perfectly, it’s the standard to which the rest of the city sets itself…much like their customer service and other businesses. Inside though, as the same for every Lordstrungs, it’s an off-white clean and streamlined motif with animated interactive models wearing the menu items.
> Ms. Switch

> Mmmm, models.
> Playboy

> “Boy” definitely describes you.
> Ms. Switch

Today Lordstrungs is still at the top of the game when it comes to luxury fashion. They have a worldwide presence but severely limit expansion. There are only 32 Lordstrungs Department Stores in North America, 2 in South America, 5 in Europe, and only one in Asia which is in Hong Kong.

> The Tenochtitlán store is actually located inside one of the largest castillo in the Zócalo district, near Zócalo Square. Needless to say, the security is tight.
> Mayamaiden

> Nothing says corporate drone like a quick shopping spree after morning prayers.
> Redblade

> There’s still a bad vibe in the stockrooms of the Hong Kong store. Employees have reported seeing the ghosts of those murdered during the Night of Rage.
> Doc Oz

Each department store has roughly the same departments. There are the general departments where top brand names can be found; such as Active Wear, Men’s Wear, Children’s Wear, Handbags, Fragrances, Gifts, Jewelry, Lingerie, and Make-up.

Strategically placed between the general departments are the special-focus departments that cater to specific apparel and items; Chrome Peach (teen and 20-something’s designer apparel and shoes), Elegance (top designer apparel such as Vashion Island and Zoe), Insight (up and coming designer apparel), Personal Vistas (women’s business wear), and Studio Shoes (designer shoes).

Every department store also sports a café where employees and customers are encouraged to grab lunch during their shopping experience and the world renowned mBar; a coffee bar that serves only real coffee and has state of the art AR menus that allow you to continue to browse while you sit and relax with your favorite drink and pastries.

The larger, and older, Lordstrungs stores also include the newest departments spawned primarily from the imaginations of Julia and Ethan; InnerYou (lingerie), Civilized Armour (meta-friendly men’s fashion), and Polite Society (holsters, scabbards, and other fashionable weapon’s accessories).
Member of the ITA gaming podcast, including live Shadowrun 5th edition games: On  iTunes and Podbay