Federated to retire Famous-Barr, Filene´s nameplates ("very few" jobs lost

[MaineDem]

CINCINNATI — Macy´s will replace locally familiar names including Filene´s in New England and Famous-Barr in the Midwest in some 330 stores across the nation under post-merger plans announced Thursday by Federated Department Stores Inc.

Federated also plans to sell 68 stores, including 27 current Macy´s, next year because they overlap in markets with the company Federated is buying, May Department Stores Co. The stores employ 13,500 people, but Federated spokesman Jim Sluzewski said he expected "very few, if any" layoffs and that most workers would be offered other jobs.

Federated has pledged not to cut any jobs before March 1.

http://news.mainetoday.com/apwire/D8BKKN082-208.shtml

[MaineDem]

1. New England impact of Federated-May deal and Filene´s stores

A look at the impact on Filene´s stores from Federated Department Stores´ takeover of May Department Stores:

_ Filene´s has 47 stores in the six New England states and in New York: 22 in Massachusetts, nine in Connecticut, six in New York, four in New Hampshire, three in Maine, two in Rhode Island and one in Vermont.

_ Most of those stores will convert to the Macy´s´s name sometime in the fall of 2006.

_ Seven stores will be sold: three Connecticut stores in Danbury, Waterford, and Trumbull; two Massachusetts stores in Burlington and Hyannis; one Maine store in Portland; and one New York store in Albany.

More: http://news.mainetoday.com/apwire/D8BKKND8M-208.shtml

[DODI]

4. Glad to hear there won't be many layoffs -- when May bought

Consolidated (Filene's, et al) both my mother and husband lost their jobs. We had all worked in the Downtown Hartford G.Fox -- between our two families we had about 150 years of service with that company. What a sad day it was to see that store go. Many of the buyers, all the adminstrative and support staff lost their jobs too. Lucky for many of them they could get buying jobs at Ames -- then that went under.

[cornermouse]

2. I don't want to shop at Macy's.

I want to shop at Famous-Barr. I'm tired of the drive to get bigger. It usually results in worse service, less diversity in items offered, and more time spent away from home because you have to walk all over the place to get what you want.

I am convinced they have studies that tell them how to set up the store in a way that requires the shopper to go down every single aisle at least once and to both of the corners farthest from the door.

[ladeuxiemevoiture]

3. Rite-Aid does that, and I hate it.

When I need a prescription filled, I just stick to the wall and walk directly to the back to the pharmacy window, and retrace my steps on the way out.

[cornermouse]

5. Its awful, isn't it.

[ladeuxiemevoiture]

6. It's so bad, it's breathtaking.

You're like constantly turning around, thinking, hey, how do I get out of here, getting sucked in, further into the store, no way out. Kind of dangerous, too, seems to me.

[Heddi]

10. Oh! I thought it was just OUR Rite--Aid

God, that store is like a fucking maze.

I feel like B.F. Skinner's rats--which aisle do I have to go down, how many turns and corners must I face before I can reach the bar (the pharmacy) to press the lever and get the pellet (my Rx)???

You walk in, the aisles are diagonal (the long way) on either side, and the "entrance" aisle is only about 4 feet long before it dead-ends to another set of longitudional rows that start at the end of the 'entrance'

To walk the estimated 150 feet from door to pharmacy should NOT take 10 minutes and 7 aisles

[KDLarsen]

27. Actually, there is...

In just about EVERY supermarket I've ever been to, you've always had to go to the far end to get milk, break etc., ie. all the daily stuff. Some are even built up so you have to pass through the fruits & vegetable area first, then the meat & frozen food section, then the dairy products section, then the wine & other alcohol section and finally, while you're waiting in line, the ailes are lined with candy and other stuff that children are begging their parents to buy.

[SemperEadem]

34. I grew up shopping at Famous-Barr in St. Louis

I loved that store--they carried the kinds of clothes I love!

And the FB in Clayton had the killer onion soup!!!

[Zenlitened]

7. Thing is, there are some malls that have both Macy's and Filene's...

... as anchor stores. Natick (Mass.) Mall, for one. So the local impact in some cases is bound to be pretty big.

[MaineDem]

8. The Macy's in Framingham will close

Is there one at Shoppers World and one at the Natick Mall as well? I can't remember.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

11. Natick yes...IIRC

Shoppers World is a Sears-based one, or was when I was there

[bucknaked]

9. May just bought Marshall Fields, too.

Marshall-Fields stores in MN used to be called Dayton's when Target Corp owned it (Target Corp, which used to be called Dayton-Hudson Corp sold the chain to May. So after this, Federated pretty much owns every department store in the Twin Cities area.

[Heddi]

13. Kind of like Radio Ownership

Hey! WE give ya choices---choices to buy your clothes solely from our stores, to buy your furniture from our stores, and to shop in malls and mini-malls filled with our stores. We'll dictate what you like, because you will be forced to like what we sell or else you'll go naked. Oh, by the way, did we mention that we own all the stores in the mall? Whaddya want....competition? expression? get real!

[ladeuxiemevoiture]

16. What's interesting about that is that

Phil Miller (who, last I knew, was running Federated) was once Marshall Field's CEO when they were still a Chicago-based retailer. They had over 400 buyers at their State Street location. It was a really great store. Then Dayton-Hudson bought them out. Laid off all but 10 or so of their buyers in Chicago, reportedly because they wanted to do the buying in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Miller then left for Federated, which was a pity because he was widely credited with having turned around a once-dowdy Marshall Field's. MF then became an upscale mallish store. Nice, but not distinguished. That's the last I knew. So now they are part of Federated. Maybe if Miller is still with Federated, he'll bring back the glamour? Who knows.

[borlis]

18. Federated is in the process of buying Marshall Fields from May

I work for Marshall Field's. Last I heard the deal is not totally complete yet. We were told to expect no changes before 2006. No word yet if they will change the name from Marshall Field's to Macy's, which is the rumor.

[ladeuxiemevoiture]

23. That would be incredibly sad, if they changed the name.

The Marshall Field's name is so much a part of Chicago.

[northzax]

33. they will

next year they're killing the Hects name in DC, 148 years of history there.

I can't feel all that sorry for the Fields.

[Deja Q]

29. Free enterprise = consolidation...

Weath = destitution. Freedom = slavery. Marriage = prostitution. Life = death.

[Heddi]

12. They recently did this in Seattle

Bon Marche became Bon Macy's and now is just Macy's.

Why must everything be, like, the same? Why can there NOT be regional department stores that KNOW what people in that region LIKES and CATER TO THOSE NEEDS??

When I was growing up in Charleston, SC, we had Belks and Kerrison's. Kerrison's was upscale and totally local, but located in many malls throughout the state.

They were sold

Belks was more regional--I know they had belks in NC, SC, GA, maybe Florida. Well, they were bought out by Dillards. Who gives a FUCK about Dillards?

So, when these stores left, (and many other smaller retailers--Nickels, Condon's just the two that come to my mind), so did all of the Charleston-specific clothing that you could buy there. No one, and I mean NO ONE wears fucking WOOL in CHARLESTON in the SUMMER.

But, because Dillards is alot more nationwide than Belks was, all of their clothes were sold in all stores. So people who had 60 degree summers were buying the same thing as people in 110 degree summers.

Why is everything so fucking homogonized these days? Why is it NOT acceptable to be anything less than a mega-super-corp??

[tsuki]

25. They bought out Gayfers down here. Have not been in a Dillard's since.

[LibertyLover]

35. It's the same

here in Maryland. Giant Foods had been a wonderful family-owned grocery chain. Family decided to sell to Aholt, a Dutch company. Giant now sucks. Aholt also owns Stop and Shop and has closed the Giant offices in Landover to run the stores from New England along with Stop and Shop. Instead of known local brands that we knew and wanted, Giant now stocks weird off-brands. Heck, most of the time you can't even find national brands there. Aholt closed the bakery and contracted it out - the quality has gone downhill to the point where I won't buy any bakery goods from them. The meat counter used to be excellent - now I'll only buy my meat at Whole Foods. My husband used to work for Giant but quit just after Aholt took over. I warned him what would happen - most full time workers, which he was, would be fired or their hours were cut back to non full time so they lost their benefits. He got out. Others thought he was being paranoid. Now we see some of his former co-workers occassionally when shopping and they all tell him that he made the right choice.

[cornermouse]

36. Uniformity is cheaper for the seller.

Offering less choices is also cheaper for the seller.

Sometimes its like watching the little whirlpool that develops as the water goes down the drain.

[katty]

38. Robinsons-May closing all over CA-there will be an impact

lots of stores here.

[Justitia]

14. Here in TX, Macy's will replace Foley's in this deal. - eom

[Bridget Burke]

28. Even though Foley's hasn't been "Houston-owned" for years....

It's too bad we'll lose the name.

There are a few Houston malls with both Foley's & Macy's--will they lose an "anchor" store?

Let's hope the downtown Foley's stays open--with whatever name. It's the ONLY major store still open there. Although some retailers will be going in to the parking garage across Main Street--the parking garage that used to be Sakowitz. That was Houston's finest local retail chain, driven to destruction by that idiot, Robert Sakowitz.

Some Houstonians are trying to get Downtown moving again--but bars & restaurants can't do it all. Aggressive retailers could do a lot.

[Justitia]

30. Good question. I live by the Galleria w/both Foley's & Macy's

And there is still a huge, vacant, prime spot retail space left by Lord & Taylor (also bought by Macy's parent company?). Now Foley's will be gone too.

With Foley's and Lord & Taylor gone, that makes 2 gigantic anchor stores gone from the Galleria, which is a prime $$$ spot. I would think Dillard's would want to come out of parking lot exile into one of those spots.

Totally agree about downtown - there is fabulous potential there, lots of really great stuff going on down there, but it desperately needs large scale retail, any kind of retail actually, and grocery stores too.

[loudsue]

15. I'm REALLY glad we're having this dialog.

I am SO ****ING sick and tired of these "department" stores. Totally homogeneous, and they ALL sell the same CRAP!

The SIZES are wrong, because Chinese women ARE NOT BUILT like Western women, and the Chinese women are the ones making our clothes: narrow hips, smaller bones, smaller chests, narrower shoulders.

I have some old clothes I found in storage that I meant to give to goodwill many years ago, and for some reason, I didn't. The size 8 pants fit me fine, even though they're out of style, or are thread-bare. Now, when I go to a store, I'm wearing what is NOW KNOWN as a size 12 or 14. But, it's a size 12 or 14, and they're made in CHINA or India or the Philippines.

At least when we were buying things made in Mexico, we had something in common with those making our clothes...body types, for one. This is NOTHING against Indian or Chinese or Philippine women! It's something against our CORPORATE GIANTS who are DICTATING what we're going to buy, and the fact that NOTHING is made in America BY Americans, FOR Americans.

The GLOBAL CORPORATIONS are also skimping on the fabrics. They are dull as hell, for the most part, and already thread-bare when you buy them. AMERICAN textiles actually had some substance to them, in the past. We'd be better off making our clothes out of SHEETS! At least you know what the damned THREAD COUNT is for the material!

There's nowhere to buy something that has any kind of STYLE to it: you can buy a zillion styles of T-shirts, in a wide array of colors, showing varying amounts of midriff. And THAT is supposed to be "style"?

The clothing companies ALSO have NO CLUE that the baby boomers are a huge portion of our population...that we still have money (sometimes) to buy clothes. And baby boomers tend to be fairly willing to turn loose of our money to look nice, when given a choice. We'd buy good stuff all day long, if it was there to buy.

Instead, there are clothes in a size "large" that a 10-year-old couldn't fit into (I know...I've taken them shopping).

And THAT is what the "mall stores" sell...or try to. Cheap, cheap, cheap merchandise that looks like it's already been in a yard sale a time or two. Macy's used to have some really cool clothes, way back when. But none of the "mall stores" have hardly anything "original" looking, or decent looking, that makes someone "feel good" wearing it.

"Consolidation" is what has happened to clothes, and "globalization" is what has happened to consumers. We just DON'T WANT WHAT THEY'RE SELLING! And the dumb turds haven't figured it out.

Ok. So...I miss the "good old days". The good old days when things were made in America. The good old days when things had SUBSTANCE. The good old days when you could find something that matched your own personal "style".

T-shirts have been the "style" for over 15 years now, and that sucks.

:kick::kick::kick:

[Psephos]

19. Easy solution - buy off eBay. I haven't been in a dept. store in years. nt

[tsuki]

26. I cannot buy from eBay. Makes my head swim.

[ladeuxiemevoiture]

24. I agree. People in the garment industry say you can't tell the difference

where a garment was made because everything about the garment is computerized and whatever, but I'm sorry, I can tell the difference.

[Dulcinea]

37. What I hate

is that no one makes jeans out of real denim anymore. I refuse to buy that cheap, cheesy, low-quality cloth!

[newscott]

17. Hey a 156 year-old name goes by the wayside

Thanks for nothing. Farewell Filene's. Tell Jordan Marsh we said hi.

Let's all go to the McMall.

[GarySeven]

20. They did the same thing in Atlanta with Rich's

It was one of the most famous stores in the South; the first to voluntarily desegregate. During the Depression it helped school teachers and others with special discounts. It was like a family member to everyone in Atlanta, but Federated killed it recently after merging it for a few years with the Macy's name. Unfortunately, Atlanta is a city where very few people are native so its departure went almost without anyone noticing. Those of us who did, and who miss it greatly, are seldom consulted about how we feel about things, since we represent the old Atlanta.

[LouisianaLiberal]

21. In New Orleans

all of the familiar department stores, drug stores, banks, etc. are now gone. When Dillards bought Holmes and Maison Blanche department stores, they said they would retain the established, traditional names that we grew up with. Within a year they changed the names and closed a number of stores. The old line drug store K&B was sold to Rite Aid, and now the 150 year old bank, Hibernia, has been taken over by Capitol One.

Each had its own tradition and most of us who grew up in N.O. had some sort of association with them. Their unique character is gone, never to return. Its a very strange notion that one can feel sentimental about a business, but many here feel the same.

[MaineDem]

22. I hate to shop at Macy's (I still call it Jordan Marsh though)

I was at the store at the Maine Mall on Tuesday to buy some perfume. I stood in front of the counter for what seemed like hours. The clerk was unpacking boxes and looked up at me THREE times. She didn't come near me. My mother was with me and went off to look at jewelry. I finally gave up (I refused to "summon" the clerk) and started to walk out. I went back and asked the clerk if she got a commission selling perfume. She said yes. I told her she just lost a good one.

I really can't stand the Mall stores. I'm lucky living here because I go to LL Beans a lot. I'm a little concerned that nothing of theirs is mad ein the US (except their hunting boots and canvas bags) but the quality and consistency are excellent.

It was Jordan Marsh when I worked there in college and while growing up visiting the Christmas display in the Boston store. It will be interesting to see what happens to the big stores on Washington Street in Boston. Macy's (Jordan Marsh) and Filene's flagship stores are next to each other.

[One_Life_To_Give]

31. Macy's Basement?

Doesn't quite sound right to me.

[MaineDem]

32. Actually "Filene's Basement" was sold off a number of years ago

It's owned separately and isn't part of this change. The Basement will remain. :D

My niece got her wedding gown there during the mad-dash-bridal-gown run a few years ago. Made Pamplona look tame.