I was thinking the same thing about Marshal Field's. I've only been to chicago a few times but I was really impressed with the throwback amazingness that was MF's (esp around X-mas)and was very disheartend to see it turn to boring suburban macy's. I'm glad the market is working to punish boring yet still expenisve places like macy's and reward retailers like H&M.

Well, they do give us that parade every Thanksgiving...

Something doesn't compute. Here in TX, as far as I'm aware, Macy's is considered slightly more 'upscale' while MF is considered 'thrifty'? I've never heard of macy's referred to as a 'discount department store'.

I like Macys because they have Fossil and Diesel watches that even the fossil or diesel store doesn't have, and they often have Doc Martens on sale for $10 cheaper than any other store in the mall.

GOOD.

I hope the buyers gut each and every Macy's store and turn it into something even crappier--just like it did with Marshall Fields.

The only thing Macys is good for is using their escalators and elevators when traveling through the local mall.

Thats New York City's imperialism for ya...

A little birdie told me that the acquisition was going to be by Sears Holding Company AKA K-Mart, but that may just be a rumor...

I hate Macy's...Every customer service experience I've ever had personally or been told about has always been terrible! I was there one night 10-15 minutes before they were closing with the sole purpose of picking up a shirt and tie I had already decided on the day before and as I walked past the relative area of the register with the shirt in my hands (on my way to pick up the tie) the associate says, "Are you ready yet?" Note: I hadn't been in the store for even a minute yet. I say no and keep walking and he says very loudly, "Oh come on...I've been here all day." To which I reply, quite simply, "I don't care, do your job." He went on to continue complaining about how he'd been at work so long that day and so by the time I walked up to the register, I was so tired of hearing him that I told him if I heard another word about it he was going to get the shirt and tie I was holding in my hand bounced off his face. He was really nice to me after that.

@romannose: Macy released results several months ago that showed most of the old Fields stores flat, while the State Street location was down...big time. With all the protests that were held against stripping the landmark downtown store of its heritage, Macy's probably would have better off leaving just that store as Fields (along with the green bags and Fields labeled credit cards) and making it a destination for Midwest shoppers. Keeping the old brands along with the new Macys brands that weren't in Fields before would have given suburbanites a reason to come into the city to shop; afterall, the reason that the grand old downtown flagship stores have seen sales lagging is because they don't offer anything that the suburban mall stores with better parking do. Make it a destination, and the shoppers will come.

I like Macy's. It's the only place I can afford new designer clothes at clearance prices.

Personally, I hate Marshall Field's. They took away our Dayton's a decade ago, and I have not enjoyed department shopping since. When Marshall Field's was bought by Macy's I was both delighted and disgusted by the replacement of one evil conglomerate with another. I'd be more than happy to see Macy's go under, just to watch them take the brand new Macy's sign off our mall. No matter what goes into that spot next, however, I (and many other Minnesotans) will continue to call it by its true name: Dayton's

i used to work at macy's. hated it! felt like I was working for the devil, brainwashing people into ruining their credit by opening macy's credit cards that have 21% apr. I needed to open at least 2 accounts a day to keep my manager happy (and I was working part time). they would give us 2, 3 dollars at most for each account opened. All of this and I was making just $1.50 more than minimum wage! It's total bullshit. Macy's shouldn't have acquired all those stores and just concentrated on providing "outstanding customer service" AND try to keep its employees happy. They can't provide outstanding customer service if the turnover was high.

I agree- I'm still bitter about them destroying the MF's brand. Also the market niche they're trying to capture seems impossibly small- a discount upscale department store? People will go to H&M, Ross, Filenes, TJM, etc. for discount or they're go to Nordstrom's (one of the few department stores that still overs true customer services) for upscale.

Yeah, this isn't surprising.

Wait, @RDLDR1 "Thats New York City's imperialism for ya..."

Huh? Macys is based in Ohio.

Anyhow, this isn't surprising. They spent a shitload of $ in the 90s and early 2000s in M&A and genericized former local institutions... Abraham & Straus (NY), Jordan Marsh (New England), Burdines, etc. Then they went and did the same thing more recently with the buyout of MDSC (Marshall Fields, Hechts, Filene's, etc.) I think of all of the local-flavored department stores which were a part of FDS/MDSC/Macys, only the Macys, Bloomingdales and Lord & Taylor nameplates survive today.

Not to monday-morning qb the M&A and branding guys, but how could they not have seen a backlash to the destruction of local legends in favor of the generic Macys nameplate? Especially in a time when US department stores are under incredible pressure from high-end malls, specialty boutiques (Abercrombie much?) and of course the Internet.

macys has a fantastic housewares dept., they have great prices on all clad cookware.

Personally, I hate Macy's for taking away Meier & Frank and replacing it with unreasonably expensive shopping experience at their chain stores.

I think I had more luck finding nice (and affordable) clothes at Filene's (here in New England) before Macy's bought them out. Now at the mall nearest to me (between home and the office), the only anchor stores are Sear's (crappy), JCPenney (crappy), and Macy's. :-(

I would not shed a single tear if anything happened to Macy's. I was annoyed that the acquisition of the May Company stores led to the loss of the Filene's (where I live) and Strawbridge (where I used to live) names. I refuse to spend any money at a Macy's store, which isn't hard, because it was never a store I wanted to shop anyway. Would another company be purchasing Macy's? I'm not sure I understand the definition of "being bought out" - is that related to company shares instead?

@bambino: The last time I went to a Macys in Dallas everything was horribly overpriced. If 100 dollars for a pair of pants is a discount, then what do you consider overpriced?

It's great to see this management team with its tail between its legs.

Those of use in Seattle watched helplessly as Macy's (f/k/a/ Federated Department Stores) systematically dismantled what was once a great NW store and tradition, The Bon Marché.

One wonders how long it will be before the current management team simply eliminates all sales positions in a desperate, last minute gasp to mimic Wal-Mart.

@LewisNYC:
Corperate is based in ohio, executive is in NY.

Macy's, discount? Only compared to Nordstrom's. Macy's to me has always been towards the upper end, as was FDS stores Robinsons-May and Foleys.

Then Dillard's, J.C. Penney's, then Sears/Montgomery Wards.

Macy's is horribly overpriced here. Macy's used to be Kaufmann's which was a really good store with lots of clothing clearances and very nice clothing. However all the Kaufmann's stores turned into Macy's now leaving them all horribly overpriced and with a poorer selection of clothing. So yes I hate Macy's, now these stores have nothing but the 100$ pairs of pants in them. In malls where stores like Journey's, Hot Topic, Hollister and Abercrombie rule, no wonder no one shops in them, no one wants any of their overpriced, out of fashion merchandise!

I think that Macy's is overpriced as well. Wasn't there an article a little while ago about them jacking up regular prices and then putting things on "sale"?

I have been looking at the china on our wedding registry (it's open stock) and found that Macy's is selling the dinner plates for $22 each. They go on sale about once a month for $17.

The Lenox website has them listed at $17 regularly priced. WTF is that all about?

I miss the old Filene's, being a New Englander. Macy's just isn't quite as pleasant to shop in. The good news is, I so rarely shop for clothes anyways, that I don't much care either way.

@bambino: Sure you're not thinking Marshall's, as opposed to Marshall Field?

Because Marshall Field's was a pretty upscale, Chicago-area chain, while Marshall's is a national, downscale chain.

And yeah, Macy's can suck it. I didn't shop at MF all that often, but I'll never shop Macy's.

there's nothing like Macy's Hearld Square here in NYC. the place is HUGE and they always have great deals. Everytime I go in there I save at least 15% just by using my Macy's Card.

@pstork: glad to hear that. I was really impressed with MF's and I think your dead on in that in some markets downtown flagship stores can still draw in people from all over. As for talk of Macy's being upscale or not I've noticed (and this is purely anecdotal)that many people in my age group (20's) tend to shop at really high end places ala nordstroms and discount chains (hm, zora) and pay no mind to places that cover the center like Macy's. Of course there is always the upiquitous AA and urban outfitters.

This is the best news I've heard all day. Since it bought out Hecht's, Macy's is the most upscale department store we have in Nashville. And while in other markets it carries designer brands, high-end denim, etc., here we get nothing but martini-printed capri pants and those stiff acrylic sweaters. My friends and I have even considered writing the buyer to say, "Hey, we're not all hicks down here!" They seem to have no clue what they're doing.

Worse, I used to live in Chicago and had a love affair with Marshall Fields. I once bought a t-shirt for my boyfriend, and the saleslady wrapped it in tissue and boxed it up as if it were an expensive watch. My mom had the same experience buying an inexpensive leather bag, which they painstakingly polished for her. Their CS was the best in the business.

This would be quite awesome if they got sold and the new company decided to bring back Fields! :) It's not that I shopped there much, but it's that it was a Chicago institution.

I work for Macy's credit customer service (formerly FACS Group), the call center. It's not a bad place to work at all. Just poor upper managment I would suppose. Bad marketing ideas. The prices aren't bad at all. I think they're reasonable to an extent. Have you ever shopped at Bloomingdales? Now that is overpriced.

We kind of knew something might have been going one once they changed the Federated name to Macy's Inc. It was pretty random and uncalled for.

I just hope I don't lose my job. This place is great. They are extremely flexible with my work schedule while I go to school, they pay more than any other job I could get around here, plus there are ton's of opportunities to move up, which I've definitely been taking advantage of. Some of the people that have been here for 15 years don't seem to think they'll get rid of us, but I guess only time will tell. we did afterall survive bankruptcy, I don't see why we won't survive this.

The thing that bugs me most about Marshall Fields is people fail to realize that if Macy's didn't buy May Co, then there would be no Marshall Fields, period. Yeah thats right...Completely gone. May Co was in a huge slump. So in a way I guess you should be greatful that the stores are still around, but at the same time sad at what they have become.

I'm still trying to comprehend how such an institution of New York is now based in freakin' Ohio.

@quagmire0:

The new company wouldn't bring back fields. In fact they've probably sell most of the buildings. Why are people interested in buying Macy's you might ask? The answer is simple. A LOT of the big city stores sit on extremely valuable real estate, and the profit is greater than turning the retail around.

It's terrible that they bought out Hecht's, which was a fairly decent store. Now here in Maryland, if there was a Hecht's and Macy's, it' just the Macy's and a Boscov's where Hecht's was. Free-standing Hecht's got turned into Macy's. Ether way, the good down-to-home products Hecht's had are nowhere to be found.

@kad9k:
That's is kind of why May Co went out of business. They were bad at managing money. With their credit cards, if a customer said they were supposed to get $xxx.xx off of a purchase, they'd do it no questions asked. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff if I told you.

May Co - Bad money management
Macy's - Bad Marketing/Retail Strategys

@roche: Do you enjoy repeating what I say?

Who would buy out Macy's? What dept store chain is large/rich enough to do that. I always thought that Macy's itself was THE big one that bought out everybody else.

Macy's bought out the Foley's chain in Texas. Foley's was a somewhat upscale department store, and my limited prior experience with Macy's gave me the impression that it was more upscale than Foley's. I haven't been in one of their stores since the brand conversion because I assumed they were selling clothes I generally don't like at prices I can't afford. So while I'm avoiding the stores, their upscale customers are fleeing to avoid the new downscale target audience (that's me!). No wonder they have problems -- they've frightened away ALL their potential customers.

@mccxxiii:

Other department stores aren't interested in buying macy's out. Private Equity firms are interested in buying Macy's. They have TONS of money. They specialize in buying companys and turning them around. The big thing about Macy's is a lot of the Macy's stores in downtown big cities sit on extremely valuable real estage. Macy's has 900 stores. Herald Square alone is worth over $900 million. What they would do is buy Macy's, sell a lot of the real estate, and then work on turning the retail portion around.

@texasannie:
For a while most stores remained unchanged, but that changed. The prices in Macy's really aren't that bad. It depends on what you are looking for.

Die Macy's Die! It's their karmic punishment for eating Marshall Field's.

All you had to do, assholes, was call it "Marshall Field's by Macy's." Macy's makes baby Jesus cry. Because baby Jesus liked Xmas at State Street Field's too.

Try being from Minnesota, where Dayton's used to be one of the nicest places to shop. Dayton's (which was part of Target Corporation) bought out Marshall Field in the early 90s and proceeded to changed the name of all the stores to M. Fields because of their total Minnesota lack of self-respect. But we all got used to it, because Fields was a similar style of store.

Then Target decides a company that only make 5 billion dollars a year isn't worth their effort, so they sell out to the May Company. But all stores retain their Fields name. Less than a year later it is sold to Macy's and they change the name of all the stores. And it has all been downhill in flyover land ever since.

Now a name change is not that big of deal but Macy's immediately start cutting the rewards program for those of us who spent a certain amount of money there per year. What is the first thing to go? Why the 6 oz. free cup of coffee and cokes. God knows how much that saved them in dollars and contributed to their bottom line! A six oz cup of coffee? A Diet Coke? What a joke.

The best thing of the rewards program was a one day 15% discount valid on virutally everything. Coach, Kate Spade, cosmetics. It was a great. But they had to change it so that essentially anything you really wanted to buy was not eligible for the 15% discount, let along cosmetics.

Don't charge department store prices and pretend that you are providing some high end shopping experience when you so clearly are not. Lower than a year ago in sales are you Macy's? Gee, I wonder why.

If Nordstrom wasn't at that God-awful Mall of America I'd shop there more often, because they do have more than five people working there at a time and at least pretend like you are getting what you are paying for.

@Eyebrows McGee:
Macy's used to do that with Burdines, Bon, Lazarus, etc. It just got too confusing for customers, so a universal name was definitely the right choice.

I wouldn't be sorry to see them go. They bought out Filene's. And Jordan Marsh. And everyone else, but I only care-care about the local stores. I would like to see some regional influence in B&M stores. Now that anything is available anywhere on the internet, it's more important than ever that I have a reason to shop locally, and Macy's wasn't giving it to me, or anyone. They did have good sales on Fiestaware, I'll give them that. Housewares are all I've bought from them in a decade or so.

I hate macys for a similar reason that you do Meg: they absorbed Burdines, a reasonably priced Florida institution. Man I miss those stores.

For a long time we had burdines/macys chimeras, with the fittings and goofy palm trees of a burdines but the overpriced crap of a macys. They've slowly been redoing them, unfortunately for the worse.

I still shop at macys occasionally, but only when there are sales.

I WILL NOT shop at the Macy's in Chicago. That used to be THE Marshall Fields flagship store. Gorgeous and beautiful with excellent customer service and nice high end products. I don't mind that Macy's bought them, but I hate that they bought it to destroy it and remake it as a Macy's.

At least here in Michigan we had Hudsons, which I loved, which became Marshall Fields, which was ok and now it's Macy's, which I hate. Sad.

I'll never quite forgive them for killing Kaufmann's. I know it's lame and silly, but I wish they wouldn't have made the name change.

Their mid-range women's clothing is nowhere near as high-quality as the May Co. stuff. I used to be able to buy really well-made, natural-fiber, work-appropriate clothes at a reasonable price. Now, there's a whole lot of icky fabric and visibly poor stitching. (The decent stuff is mostly on the "designer" floor. I refuse to pay $120 for a nice but unremarkable skirt.)

So, personally, I'm shifting more towards other clothing sources.

That said, it's still a good place to kill an afternoon, but it's not the fun adventure that Downtown department store shopping used to be.

Wow, such vitriol for macy*s.

I'm surprised only because I've had excellent experiences with them for over 11 years here in L.A. except for a short period a couple of years ago before they improved their Customer Service training.

That said, we pretty much only buy things on clearance there which result in amazing deals.

LEWISNYC way upthread is spot on: "...how could they not have seen a backlash to the destruction of local legends in favor of the generic Macys nameplate?" The near-universal tide of resentment here is, I think, representative of how the general public feels about having their local traditions cavalierly scrapped. (And yeah, I'm another Minnesotan who's still bitter about Dayton's.)

That said, I really have a hard time seeing much future for the old-style department store as a business model anyway. Between WalMart and the other discounters on one hand, the more specialized chains you find at every mall on the other, and the internet on the third, why would I want to go to a place like Macy's, where it takes half an hour to wander all over women's clothing trying to find all the places they might have stashed any of the seventeen varieties of overpriced white blouses (for example)?