Alison Aldburgham's authoritative Shops and Shopping states:

'Though the Bon Marché in Paris has been traditionally given the palm of being the first department store in the world, this may well be because American travellers saw its methods there and adapted them. They would not have visited Kendal, Milne and Faulkner in Manchester or Bainbridge's in Newcastle. These are the first two department stores (the London stores were a little later).'

The story of Bainbridge's begins in 1830, when Emerson Muschamp Bainbridge (born in Eastgate) was apprenticed at 13 to a Newcastle draper called Robert Kidd, who had a wholesale and retail business in Side. After serving his time, Bainbridge spent two years getting experience with Lewis and Allenby of Regent Street. He then returned to Newcastle and in 1841 was trading at 12 Market Street. In due time he introduced innovations in advance of his time, and far in advance of the Bon Marché. By 1845, seven years before the Bon Marché opened, Bainbridge's stock included dress and furnishing fabrics, fashion accessories, furs and family mourning as well as 'sewed muslin dresses' an early form of ready-to-wear garments. The shop already had ten assistants and by 1849 the stock-books show that it had expanded to twenty-three separate sets of takings. From 1841, Bainbridges's had abolished bargaining and labelled all his merchandise with fixed prices. He also encouraged shoppers to walk round with no obligation to purchase. This made turnover so quick that he could afford a smaller mark-up than specialist shops.

In 1852, the year the Bon Marché opened their little piece-goods shop, Bainbridge opened another shop in Market Street, selling men's ready-made clothing and men's mercery. By 1865, Bainbridge's had bought a section of buildings 500 feet long running back from Market Street to Bigg Market, and later built this up to four storeys. In 1883 they entered the manufacturing business, with a factory in Leeds for men's and boys' clothing: four years later they added a boot and shoe factory to supply their own requirements. Factories for women's clothes, knitted stockings and even mattresses came later.
It is clear that many of the supposed innovations in France were common practice in England, including deliveries to customers and bargain sales. Bainbridge's, whose pioneering beginnings ought to be better known, is now the largest John Lewis store outside London.