Siam0703/SQuAD-EN-Passage-to-Question huggingface dataset:
Selfridges was established in 1909 by American-born Harry Gordon Selfridge on Oxford Street. The company's innovative marketing promoted the radical notion of shopping for pleasure rather than necessity and its techniques were adopted by modern department stores the world over. The store was extensively promoted through paid advertising. The shop floors were structured so that goods could be made more accessible to customers. There were elegant restaurants with modest prices, a library, reading and writing rooms, special reception rooms for French, German, American and "Colonial" customers, a First Aid Room, and a Silence Room, with soft lights, deep chairs, and double-glazing, all intended to keep customers in the store as long as possible. Staff members were taught to be on hand to assist customers, but not too aggressively, and to sell the merchandise. Selfridge attracted shoppers with educational and scientific exhibits; – in 1909, Louis Blériot's monoplane was exhibited at Selfridges (Blériot was the first to fly over the English Channel), and the first public demonstration of television by John Logie Baird took place in the department store in 1925.

Questions:
Who founded Selfridges in 1909?
What made Selfridges different from many department stores at the time?
How was the store most often presented to the public?
What sort of customers did Selfridges most often cater to?
The Paris department store had its roots in the magasin de nouveautés, or novelty store; the first, the Tapis Rouge, was created in 1784. They flourished in the early 19th century, with La Belle Jardiniere (1824), Aux Trois Quartiers (1829), and Le Petit Saint Thomas (1830). Balzac described their functioning in his novel César Birotteau. In the 1840s, with the arrival of the railroads in Paris and the increased number of shoppers they brought, they grew in size, and began to have large plate glass display windows, fixed prices and price tags, and advertising in newspapers.

Questions:
What were the origins of the Paris department store?
What year was the first Paris department store founded?
What book described the functionality and operation of a contemporary Paris department/novelty store?
What factors influenced the increase of department stores in Paris?
Where did department stores begin to advertise after the large influx of new shoppers?
A novelty shop called Au Bon Marché had been founded in Paris in 1838 to sell lace, ribbons, sheets, mattresses, buttons, umbrellas and other assorted goods. It originally had four departments, twelve employees, and a floor space of three hundred meters. The entrepreneur Aristide Boucicaut became a partner in 1852, and changed the marketing plan, instituting fixed prices and guarantees that allowed exchanges and refunds, advertising, and a much wider variety of merchandise. The annual income of the store increased from 500,000 francs in 1852 to five million in 1860. In 1869 he built much larger building at 24 rue de Sèvres on the Left Bank, and enlarged the store again in 1872, with help from the engineering firm of Gustave Eiffel, creator of the Eiffel Tower. The income rose from twenty million francs in 1870 to 72 million at the time of the Boucicaut's death in 1877. The floor space had increased from three hundred square meters in 1838 to fifty thousand, and the number of employees had increased from twelve in 1838 to 1788 in 1879. Boucicaut was famous for his marketing innovations; a reading room for husbands while their wives shopped; extensive newspaper advertising; entertainment for children; and six million catalogs sent out to customers. By 1880 half the employees were women; unmarried women employees lived in dormitories on the upper floors.

Questions:
What store was founded in Paris, in 1838, which sold a wide variety of products?
Who became a partner to this store in 1852 and drastically changed operations?
What was the change in profit to Au Bon Marche after these changes?
What engineering company helped the store expand in 1872
What was Boucicaut most widely known for?
The Grands Magasins Dufayel was a huge department store with inexpensive prices built in 1890 in the northern part of Paris, where it reached a very large new customer base in the working class. In a neighborhood with few public spaces, it provided a consumer version of the public square. It educated workers to approach shopping as an exciting social activity not just a routine exercise in obtaining necessities, just as the bourgeoisie did at the famous department stores in the central city. Like the bourgeois stores, it helped transform consumption from a business transaction into a direct relationship between consumer and sought-after goods. Its advertisements promised the opportunity to participate in the newest, most fashionable consumerism at reasonable cost. The latest technology was featured, such as cinemas and exhibits of inventions like X-ray machines (that could be used to fit shoes) and the gramophone.

Questions:
Where was The Grands Magasins Dufayel built?
What were employees taught that made a shopping experience different?
What sort of stores were The Grands Magasins Dufayel compared to?
How were these stores different than most during that time?
Arnold, Constable was the first American department store. It was founded in 1825 by Aaron Arnold (1794?-1876), an emigrant from Great Britain, as a small dry goods store on Pine Street in New York City. In 1857 the store moved into a five-story white marble dry goods palace known as the Marble House. During the Civil War Arnold, Constable was one of the first stores to issue charge bills of credit to its customers each month instead of on a bi-annual basis. Recognized as an emporium for high-quality fashions, the store soon outgrew the Marble House and erected a cast-iron building on Broadway and Nineteenth Street in 1869; this “Palace of Trade” expanded over the years until it was necessary to move into a larger space in 1914. In 1925, Arnold, Constable merged with Stewart & Company and expanded into the suburbs, first with a 1937 store in New Rochelle, New York and later in Hempstead and Manhasset on Long Island, and in New Jersey. Financial problems led to bankruptcy in 1975.

Questions:
What is recognized as the "first" department store in America?
Who founded Arnold, Constable?
Where was the store moved in 1857?
What made Arnold, Constable stand out from other stores during the civil war?
When was the "Palace of Trade" built?
In New York City in 1846, Alexander Turney Stewart established the "Marble Palace" on Broadway, between Chambers and Reade streets. He offered European retail merchandise at fixed prices on a variety of dry goods, and advertised a policy of providing "free entrance" to all potential customers. Though it was clad in white marble to look like a Renaissance palazzo, the building's cast iron construction permitted large plate glass windows that permitted major seasonal displays, especially in the Christmas shopping season. In 1862, Stewart built a new store on a full city block with eight floors and nineteen departments of dress goods and furnishing materials, carpets, glass and china, toys and sports equipment, ranged around a central glass-covered court. His innovations included buying from manufacturers for cash and in large quantities, keeping his markup small and prices low, truthful presentation of merchandise, the one-price policy (so there was no haggling), simple merchandise returns and cash refund policy, selling for cash and not credit, buyers who searched worldwide for quality merchandise, departmentalization, vertical and horizontal integration, volume sales, and free services for customers such as waiting rooms and free delivery of purchases. His innovations were quickly copied by other department stores.

Questions:
Where was the "Marble Palace" built in 1846?
What policy did the Marble Palace introduce?
How many departments did the new store have, built in 1862?
What selling methods did the Marble Palace use?
What customer services did the Marble Palace offer?
In 1877, John Wanamaker opened the United State's first modern department store in a former Pennsylvania Railroad freight terminal in Philadelphia. Wanamakers was the first department store to offer fixed prices marked on every article and also introduced electrical illumination (1878), the telephone (1879), and the use of pneumatic tubes to transport cash and documents (1880) to the department store business. Subsequent department stores founded in Philadelphia included Strawbridge and Clothier, Gimbels, Lit Brothers, and Snellenbergs.

Questions:
Who opened the original "modern" department store in America?
What feature made Wanamakers different from other stores at the time?
How were important documents and money transported throughout the store?
When was electric lighting first installed and used in the store?
In what state was Wanamakers established?
Marshall Field & Company originated in 1852. It was the premier department store on the main shopping street in the Midwest, State Street in Chicago. Upscale shoppers came by train from throughout the region, patronizing nearby hotels. It grew to become a major chain before converting to the Macy's nameplate on 9 September 2006. Marshall Field's Served as a model for other departments stores in that it had exceptional customer service. Field's also brought with it the now famous Frango mints brand that became so closely identified with Marshall Field's and Chicago from the now defunct Frederick & Nelson Department store. Marshall Field's also had the firsts, among many innovations by Marshall Field's. Field's had the first European buying office, which was located in Manchester, England, and the first bridal registry. The company was the first to introduce the concept of the personal shopper, and that service was provided without charge in every Field's store, until the chain's last days under the Marshall Field's name. It was the first store to offer revolving credit and the first department store to use escalators. Marshall Field's book department in the State Street store was legendary; it pioneered the concept of the "book signing." Moreover, every year at Christmas, Marshall Field's downtown store windows were filled with animated displays as part of the downtown shopping district display; the "theme" window displays became famous for their ingenuity and beauty, and visiting the Marshall Field's windows at Christmas became a tradition for Chicagoans and visitors alike, as popular a local practice as visiting the Walnut Room with its equally famous Christmas tree or meeting "under the clock" on State Street.

Questions:
In what year was Marshall Field and company established?
When did Marshall's convert to the Macy's name?
What made Marshall's such a good example for other stores?
Where was Marshall's European buying office located?
What free service did Marshall's provide customers until changing their name to Macy's?
David Jones was started by David Jones, a Welsh merchant who met Hobart businessman Charles Appleton in London. Appleton established a store in Sydney in 1825 and Jones subsequently established a partnership with Appleton, moved to Australia in 1835, and the Sydney store became known as Appleton & Jones. When the partnership was dissolved in 1838, Jones moved his business to premises on the corner of George Street and Barrack Lane, Sydney. David Jones claims to be the oldest department store in the world still trading under its original name.

Questions:
What occupation did David Jones have?
Where did David Jones and Charles Appleton meet?
Where did Appleton begin a store in 1825?
What was the store in Sydney called after Jones moved to Australia?
When did the partnership between Jones and Appleton end?
Although there were a number of department stores in Australia for much of the 20th Century, including chains such as Grace Bros. and Waltons, many disappeared during the 1980s and 1990s. Today Myer and David Jones, located nationally, are practically the national department stores duopoly in Australia. When Russian-born migrant, Sidney Myer, came to Australia in 1899 he formed the Myer retail group with his brother, Elcon Myer. In 1900, they opened the first Myer department store, in Bendigo, Victoria. Since then, the Myer retail group has grown to be Australia's largest retailer. Both, Myer and David Jones, are up-market chains, offering a wide variety of products from mid-range names to luxury brands. Other retail chain stores such as Target (unrelated to the American chain of the same name), Venture (now defunct), Kmart and Big W, also located nationally, are considered to be Australia's discount department stores. Harris Scarfe, though only operating in four states and one territory, is a department store using both the large full-line and small discount department store formats. Most department stores in Australia have their own credit card companies, each having their own benefits while the discount department stores do not have their own credit card rights.

Questions:
What were some of the original Australian department stores?
When did Sydney Myer come to Australia?
Where did the Myer Retail Group open it's first store?
What type of department stores are Myer and David Jones?
What department store brand is now out of business in Australia?
From its origins in the fur trade, the Hudson's Bay Company is the oldest corporation in North America and was the largest department store operator in Canada until the mid-1980s, with locations across the country. It also previously owned Zellers, another major Canadian department store which ceased to exist in March 2013 after selling its lease holdings to Target Canada. Other department stores in Canada are: Canadian Tire, Sears Canada, Ogilvy, Les Ailes de la Mode, Giant Tiger, Co-op, Costco and Holt Renfrew. Grocery giant Superstores carry many non-grocery items akin to a department store. Woolco had 160 stores in Canada when operations ceased (Walmart bought out Woolco in 1994). Today low-price Walmart is by far the most dominant department store retailer in Canada with outlets throughout the country. Historically, department stores were a significant component in Canadian economic life, and chain stores such as Eaton's, Charles Ogilvy Limited, Freiman's, Spencer's, Simpsons, Morgan's, and Woodward's were staples in their respective communities. Department stores in Canada are similar in design and style to department stores in the United States.

Questions:
What business was the Hudson's Bay Company originally involved in?
What department store chain did Hudson's Bay Company own until it dissolved in 2013?
How many stores did Woolco operate before selling their shares to Walmart?
Currently, what department store is most popular in Canada?
Before the 1950s, the department store held an eminent place in both Canada and Australia, during both the Great Depression and World War II. Since then, they have suffered from strong competition from specialist stores. Most recently the competition has intensified with the advent of larger-scale superstores (Jones et al. 1994; Merrilees and Miller 1997). Competition was not the only reason for the department stores' weakening strength; the changing structure of cities also affected them. The compact and centralized 19th century city with its mass transit lines converging on the downtown was a perfect environment for department store growth. But as residents moved out of the downtown areas to the suburbs, the large, downtown department stores became inconvenient and lost business to the newer suburban shopping malls. In 2003, U.S. department store sales were surpassed by big-box store sales for the first time (though some stores may be classified as "big box" by physical layout and "department store" by merchandise).

Questions:
What is one type of competition department stores face?
What types of stores have created even more competition?
What factor lead to a decrease in department store shoppers?
In what year were department store sales beaten by larger stores?
The first department stores Lane Crawford was opened in 1850 by Scots Thomas Ash Lane and Ninian Crawford on Des Voeux Road, Hong Kong Island. At the beginning, the store mainly catered visiting ships' crews as well as British Navy staff and their families. In 1900, the first ethnic-Chinese owned Sincere Department Store was opened by Ma Ying Piu, who returned from Australia and inspired by David Jones. In 1907, another former Hong Kong expatriate in Australia, the Kwok's family, returned to Hong Kong and founded Wing On.

Questions:
What year did Lane Crawford open?
Who established Lane Crawford?
What was the store's original target customer base?
Who opened the first Chinese-owned department store?
In Denmark you find three department store chains: Magasin (1868), Illum (1891), Salling (1906). Magasin is by far the largest with 6 stores all over the country, with the flagship store being Magasin du Nord on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. Illums only store on Amagertorv in Copenhagen has the appearance of a department store with 20% run by Magasin, but has individual shop owners making it a shopping centre. But in people's mind it remains a department store. Salling has two stores in Jutland with one of these being the reason for the closure of a magasin store due to the competition.

Questions:
What are the 3 main department store companies in Denmark?
Currently, what is the largest department store chain in Denmark?
Where is Magasin's "flagship" store located?
How many stores does Salling have in Jutland?
France's major upscale department stores are Galeries Lafayette and Le Printemps, which both have flagship stores on Boulevard Haussmann in Paris and branches around the country. The first department store in France, Le Bon Marché in Paris, was founded in 1852 and is now owned by the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH. La Samaritaine, another upscale department store also owned by LVMH, closed in 2005. Mid-range department stores chains also exist in France such as the BHV (Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville), part of the same group as Galeries Lafayette.

Questions:
What are two main department stores in France?
What year was the first department store open in France?
Who currently owns Le Bon Marche?
What apartment store in Paris was closed in 2005?
What French department store is part of the same group as Galeries Lafayette?
The design and function of department stores in Germany followed the lead of London, Paris and New York. Germany used to have a number of department stores; nowadays only a few of them remain. Next to some smaller, independent department stores these are Karstadt (in 2010 taken over by Nicolas Berggruen, also operating the KaDeWe in Berlin, the Alsterhaus in Hamburg and the Oberpollinger in Munich), GALERIA Kaufhof (part of the Metro AG). Others like Hertie, Wertheim and Horten AG were taken over by others and either fully integrated or later closed.

Questions:
What cities influenced how department stores in Germany operated?
What department store was taken over by Nicolas Berggruen in 2010?
What major department store operates in Berlin?
What store is a part of the Metro AG?
The middle up segment is mainly occupied by Metro Department Store originated from Singapore and Sogo from Japan. 2007 saw the re-opening of Jakarta's Seibu, poised to be the largest and second most upscale department store in Indonesia after Harvey Nichols, which the latter closed in 2010 and yet plans to return. Other international department stores include Debenhams and Marks & Spencer. Galeries Lafayette also joins the Indonesian market in 2013 inside Pacific Place Mall. This department store is targeting middle up market with price range from affordable to luxury, poised to be the largest upscale department store. Galeries Lafayette, Debenhams, Harvey Nichols, Marks & Spencer, Seibu and Sogo are all operated by PT. Mitra Adiperkasa.

Questions:
Where did the Metro Department store originally begin?
When did Seibu, located in Jakarta, re-open?
Where did Galeries Lafayette open in 2013, inside Indonesia?
Who operates the wide range of department stores in these areas?
What store led the Indonesian markets until 2010 when it closed?
Parkson enters by acquiring local brand Centro Department Store in 2011. Centro still operates for middle market while the 'Parkson' brand itself, positioned for middle-up segment, enters in 2014 by opening its first store in Medan, followed by its second store in Jakarta. Lotte, meanwhile, enters the market by inking partnership with Ciputra Group, creating what its called 'Lotte Shopping Avenue' inside the Ciputra World Jakarta complex, as well as acquiring Makro and rebranding it into Lotte Mart.

Questions:
What store did Parkson buy in 2011?
Where did Centro open it's first store of 2014?
Who did Lotte partner with?
Where is the "Lotte Shopping Avenue" located?
What was Makro re-labeled as after it's purchase?
Ireland developed a strong middle class, especially in the major cities, by the mid-nineteenth century. They were active patrons of department stores. Delany's New Mart was opened in 1853 in Dublin, Ireland. Unlike others, Delany's had not evolved gradually from a smaller shop on site. Thus it could claim to be the first purpose-built Department Store in the world. The word department store had not been invented at that time and thus it was called the "Monster House". The store was completely destroyed in the 1916 Easter Rising, but reopened in 1922.

Questions:
When did Ireland begin to see a growth in its middle class?
What department store was founded in 1853?
In what city was Delany's New Mart opened?
What was Delany's originally called?
In what year was the store destroyed?
Mexico has a large number of department stores based in Mexico, of which the most traditional are El Palacio de Hierro (High end and luxury goods) and Liverpool (Upper-middle income), with its middle income sister store Fabricas de Francia. Sanborns owns over 100 middle income level stores throughout the country. Grupo Carso operates Sears Mexico and two high-end Saks 5th Avenue stores. Other large chains are Coppel and Elektra, which offer items for the bargain price seeker. Wal-Mart operates Suburbia for lower income shoppers, along with stores under the brand names of Wal-Mart, Bodega Aurrera, and Superama.

Questions:
What Mexican department store typically caters to high-end goods?
What company is responsible for over 100 stores in the country?
What company operates Sears Mexico?
What chains typically cater to bargain shoppers?
The iconic department stores of New Zealand's three major centres are Smith & Caughey's (founded 1880), in New Zealand's most populous city, Auckland; Kirkcaldie & Stains (founded 1863) in the capital, Wellington; and Ballantynes (founded 1854) in New Zealand's second biggest city, Christchurch. These offer high-end and luxury items. Additionally, Arthur Barnett (1903) operates in Dunedin. H & J Smith is a small chain operating throughout Southland with a large flagship store in Invercargill. Farmers is a mid-range national chain of stores (originally a mail-order firm known as Laidlaw Leeds founded in 1909). Historical department stores include DIC. Discount chains include The Warehouse, Kmart Australia, and the now-defunct DEKA.

Questions:
What sorts of goods do the most popular department stores in New Zealand offer?
What city is Arthur Barnett in?
Where is H & J Smith's flagship store?
Where are H & J Smith stores typically located?
When was Laidlaw Leeds first established?