This episode likely references the Patty Hearst kidnapping in 1974. Patty was an heiress to the Hearst publishing empire taken by the SLA. One of the ransom demands was for the Hearst family to distribute food items to poor families in exchange for the return of their daughter, just as in this story the department store's family is to throw open the doors of their store to the public.
Ralph Manza, who played Eddie Blake (the chauffeur) in this episode, also played the chauffeur (Jay Drury) in the mystery series Banacek (1972).
The $200,000.00 in ransom would be the equivalent of about $950,000.00 in the year 2024.