Macy's is crowded, poor displays, generally tacky certainly nothing like Macy's in NY!! I will miss Filene's
Filene's is my favorite store so I am sad about it. I remember when I was little my mother would take me to downtown crossing at Christmas and we would look in all the windows, shop at Filene's and the basement in downtown Boston. I will miss the store especially they do sell my favorite make up clinique. I will probably start shopping more at Marshalls and TJ Max for what I want. I really didn't care for Macy stores !
http://money.cnn.com/services/tickerheadlines/for5/200507281150DOWJONESDJONLINE001138_FORTUNE5.htm
Federated To Convert 330 May Stores To Macy's
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Federated Department Stores Inc. (FD) said about two- thirds of the stores being acquired in its pending takeover of May Department Stores Co. (MAY) will be converted to Macy's stores next year.
Cincinnati-based Federated said Thursday that some 330 of the 487 department stores operated by May, St. Louis, will be converted to its Macy's nameplate by fall 2006, bringing the total number of Macy's stores to 730 nationwide.
The regional May chains slated to disappear include Filene's, Famous-Barr, Hecht's, Foley's, Kaufmann's, Robinsons-May, L.S. Ayres, Meier & Frank and Strawbridge's. Federated said it will keep the Lord & Taylor name, currently on 58 stores operated by May. Federated is still studying the Marshall Field's name, which represents 60 stores.
Federated also said it will sell 68 stores next year, including 27 of its own stores. The stores to be sold accounted for about $2 billion in sales last year. The number was in line with most forecasts on Wall Street, which had ranged between 30 and 100 stores.
"Customers have told us they want the fashion and affordable luxury they find in Macy's stores," Federated Chairman and Chief Executive Terry J. Lundgren said in a written statement. "With this expanded geographic coverage, we now will be positioned to nationally advertise the Macy's brand."
Bill Dreher, an analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. in New York, said Federated's takeover will invigorate May's weaker stores, which in recent years have lost customers amid increased competition with specialty-apparel chains, off-the-mall discount stores, and Federated.
"They were not bringing in the right stuff," Dreher said of May's merchandise. "They weren't focused on fashion, they didn't have a good private label, and they were more concerned with securing their margins with vendors."
Dreher doesn't own shares of Federated, but investors should assume that his firm is pursuing investment-banking business with the company.
Federated recently has overhauled its Macy's stores with "distinctive assortments, simplified pricing, an improved shopping experience and enhanced marketing," CEO Lundgren said Thursday.
However, Dan Hess, chief executive of Merchant Forecast, a New York retail consultant, said consumers would have fared better if May had managed to remain independent and overhaul its regional chains under their own names.
"Now, there's less competition for brands and less opportunity for new brands to emerge, and it ends up narrowing the choices customers have," Hess said. "A better scenario would have been if a new team came in and reinvented all of the chains and created a more robust competitor to Federated."
As it looks to divest overlapping locations, Federated likely is seeing interest from a wide range of retailers, according to Deutsche Bank's Dreher. Target Corp.'s (TGT) trendy discount stores are likely the best fit for many of the lower-rent locations, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) might also be interested, Dreher said. Other department stores including J.C. Penney Co. (JCP) and Gottschalks Inc. (GOT) are also seen as potential buyers. A few higher-rent locations may attract Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) and Neiman Marcus Group Inc. (NMGA NMGB), Dreher added.
Federated reiterated that it won't eliminate any jobs before March 2006. All May stores will operate under their existing nameplates through this year's holiday shopping season.
Shareholders of Federated and St. Louis-based May approved the $11 billion takeover earlier this month. Federated expects the merger to close in the third quarter, following completion of regulatory review.
Shares of Federated rose 31 cents, or 0.4% to $76.09, near the high end of its 52-week range between $42.80 on Aug. 31 and $77.25 on Monday.
Kaufmann's will adopt Macy's name in Pittsburgh, PA
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/regional/s_358312.html
Filene's is my favorite store so I am sad about it. I remember when I was little my mother would take me to downtown crossing at Christmas and we would look in all the windows, shop at Filene's and the basement in downtown Boston. I will miss the store especially they do sell my favorite make up clinique. I will probably start shopping more at Marshalls and TJ Max for what I want. I really didn't care for Macy stores !
http://money.cnn.com/services/tickerheadlines/for5/200507281150DOWJONESDJONLINE001138_FORTUNE5.htm
Federated To Convert 330 May Stores To Macy's
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Federated Department Stores Inc. (FD) said about two- thirds of the stores being acquired in its pending takeover of May Department Stores Co. (MAY) will be converted to Macy's stores next year.
Cincinnati-based Federated said Thursday that some 330 of the 487 department stores operated by May, St. Louis, will be converted to its Macy's nameplate by fall 2006, bringing the total number of Macy's stores to 730 nationwide.
The regional May chains slated to disappear include Filene's, Famous-Barr, Hecht's, Foley's, Kaufmann's, Robinsons-May, L.S. Ayres, Meier & Frank and Strawbridge's. Federated said it will keep the Lord & Taylor name, currently on 58 stores operated by May. Federated is still studying the Marshall Field's name, which represents 60 stores.
Federated also said it will sell 68 stores next year, including 27 of its own stores. The stores to be sold accounted for about $2 billion in sales last year. The number was in line with most forecasts on Wall Street, which had ranged between 30 and 100 stores.
"Customers have told us they want the fashion and affordable luxury they find in Macy's stores," Federated Chairman and Chief Executive Terry J. Lundgren said in a written statement. "With this expanded geographic coverage, we now will be positioned to nationally advertise the Macy's brand."
Bill Dreher, an analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. in New York, said Federated's takeover will invigorate May's weaker stores, which in recent years have lost customers amid increased competition with specialty-apparel chains, off-the-mall discount stores, and Federated.
"They were not bringing in the right stuff," Dreher said of May's merchandise. "They weren't focused on fashion, they didn't have a good private label, and they were more concerned with securing their margins with vendors."
Dreher doesn't own shares of Federated, but investors should assume that his firm is pursuing investment-banking business with the company.
Federated recently has overhauled its Macy's stores with "distinctive assortments, simplified pricing, an improved shopping experience and enhanced marketing," CEO Lundgren said Thursday.
However, Dan Hess, chief executive of Merchant Forecast, a New York retail consultant, said consumers would have fared better if May had managed to remain independent and overhaul its regional chains under their own names.
"Now, there's less competition for brands and less opportunity for new brands to emerge, and it ends up narrowing the choices customers have," Hess said. "A better scenario would have been if a new team came in and reinvented all of the chains and created a more robust competitor to Federated."
As it looks to divest overlapping locations, Federated likely is seeing interest from a wide range of retailers, according to Deutsche Bank's Dreher. Target Corp.'s (TGT) trendy discount stores are likely the best fit for many of the lower-rent locations, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) might also be interested, Dreher said. Other department stores including J.C. Penney Co. (JCP) and Gottschalks Inc. (GOT) are also seen as potential buyers. A few higher-rent locations may attract Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) and Neiman Marcus Group Inc. (NMGA NMGB), Dreher added.
Federated reiterated that it won't eliminate any jobs before March 2006. All May stores will operate under their existing nameplates through this year's holiday shopping season.
Shareholders of Federated and St. Louis-based May approved the $11 billion takeover earlier this month. Federated expects the merger to close in the third quarter, following completion of regulatory review.
Shares of Federated rose 31 cents, or 0.4% to $76.09, near the high end of its 52-week range between $42.80 on Aug. 31 and $77.25 on Monday.
Kaufmann's will adopt Macy's name in Pittsburgh, PA
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/regional/s_358312.html