You may have been under the impression that Kohl’s, a department store where suggested retail prices are largely imaginary because most of the store is at least 30% off, already was a discount store. Even then, they’re about to experiment with an even more discounted store, joining stores like Nordstrom, Saks, and now Macy’s in opening their own downscale outlet store. [More]
department stores
Macy’s To Launch Quartet Of “Off-Price” (AKA Discount) Stores This Fall
By 5.5.15
Earlier this year, Macy’s said it was going to dip its toes into the waters of discount retailing by creating some sort of off-price offshoot of its department store chain. Today, the retailer confirmed some details about the first four locations for the store it has dubbed Macy’s Backstage. [More]
Macy’s Decides To Grow By Targeting Bargain-Hunters
By 2.26.15
How does a department store company grow when department stores, as a category, are not doing so well? They have to go where customers are, and in general where customers are headed is “downmarket.” Looking at the success that its competitors have had with stores aimed at “aspirational shoppers” with thinner wallets, Macy’s is expanding into the discount brand-name model that you can find at chains like Nordstrom Rack and Off Fifth. [More]
Macy’s Tries Again To Win Back Trademarks From Man Who Resurrected Astro Pops And Hydrox
By 2.26.15
When Macy’s Inc. swallowed up a slew of department stores across the land — from Marshall Field’s to Filene’s, Abraham & Straus to Jordan Marsh — it rebranded many of them, turning the formerly regional chains into Macy’s stores. But in a new lawsuit brought by the company that echoes a suit from 2011 that was slated to come to trial soon, Macy’s says the California company behind the resurrection of Hydrox and Astro Pops is infringing on trademarks it held for many of those recognizable brand names. [More]
Hungry Shoppers Also Buy More Non-Food Stuff
By 2.20.15
It’s a long-held belief that shopping while hungry leads to a larger than normal grocery bill. A new study claims that you might want also want to avoid hitting the department store on an empty stomach. [More]
Dillard’s Pulls Sign From Girls’ Department Asking Santa For A “Fat Bank Account” & “Slim Body”
By 11.11.14
Complaining about getting a fat body and a slim bank account for Christmas instead of vice versa sounds like something one might see in a Cathy cartoon ([sweat marks!] “Bikini season, ugh!” [sweat marks!] etc.) But for some reason, a Dillard’s department store decided to display that joke on a decorative sign posted in the Girls section of the stores, asking Santa to please bring a “fat bank account” and slim body. [More]
Who Do Sears And JCPenney Closures Really Hurt? Malls
By 5.13.14
Back in 1959, Sears started the Homart Development Company. What did Homart develop? Malls! It built and ran malls across the country, malls that were home to Sears stores. Today, Sears is no longer in the mall business, and in many towns, Sears has left the mall as well. That’s terrible news for other mall tenants and for the mall business as a whole. [More]
Scammers Distract Cashiers, Install Skimmers On Nordstrom Cash Registers
By 10.17.13
Keyloggers are devices that plug in between a keyboard and computer, and they have perfectly legitimate uses. For example, let’s say that you suspect one of your employees is writing “Sherlock” fan fiction instead of doing data entry: you can see what they’re actually typing and find out. The keyloggers found at a Nordstrom store in Florida were put to a use that isn’t legitimate at all: stealing credit card numbers. [More]
Dead Woman Found In Dillard’s Dressing Room, Store Closes Down
By 8.12.13
When a dead newborn turned up in the rest room of a Kohl’s department store in Kentucky last week, some shoppers were horrified to learn that they were browsing sales right near a possible homicide investigation. Maybe the management of other chains paid attention: a 57-year-old died in the dressing room of a North Carolina Dillard’s store, and management shut the whole store down. [More]
Macy’s Consumer Protection Department Still Protects Everyone From Shopping At Macy’s
By 6.21.13
As we’ve reported since 2012, the consumer protection department at Macy’s has a novel approach to consumer protection. In trying to prevent fraudulent purchases from going through, they seem to just go ahead and stop some customers from making purchases online entirely. [More]
JCPenney Problems Highlight What Happens When A Brand Becomes Just Another Name
By 11.13.12
JCPenney has lost a ton of money since the beginning of the year, when it announced a drastic “no sales” policy and attempted to rebrand itself as “jcp.” But can you really “re-brand” a store that hasn’t had an identity since my mom dragged me there to buy back-to-school clothes in fifth grade? [More]
Macy's Actually Has No Idea What Your Credit Card Number Is
By 5.14.12
From what we’re hearing at Consumerist HQ, it’s easy to picture what goes on at Macy’s credit card headquarters. When a check arrives, someone throws it in the air, and then it’s applied to whatever completely random bill it lands on. That might help explain what happened to Joe, or not. He doesn’t even know what his account number is supposed to be in the first place, and no one in the credit card department does, either. [More]
After Last Department Store Leaves, Town Decides To Start Its Own
By 11.14.11
After the last department store in town went bankrupt in 2002, the townsfolk of Saranac Lake, NY, faced the daunting prospect of having to drive 50 miles away just to purchase underwear. Rather than give up or give into complaining, they pulled themselves up by their mud boots and decided to build their own store, and it just opened. [More]
JCPenney Removes "Too Pretty To Do Homework" Sweatshirt
By 8.31.11
After a jcpenney sweatshirt that said, “I’m too pretty to do my homework so my brother has to do it for me,” caused an uproar among bloggers, the retailer has removed the garment from their website and issued an apology. [More]
JCPenney Sweatshirt Says "I'm Too Pretty To Do Homework"
By 8.31.11
JCPenney is selling this hot pile of a sweatshirt that says, “I’m too pretty to do my homework so my brother has to do it for me.” UPDATE: The shirt has now been removed from their website. [More]
Dillard's Fired Guy For Eating Two Hotdogs
By 7.11.11
A court has ruled that a Dillard’s department store that fired a dock worker after he ate two leftover hotdogs from a company picnic was unjustified in doing so and must pay him unemployment benefits, the Evansville Courier & Press reports. [More]
Jehovah's Witness's Suit Over Being Fired For Refusing To Wear Santa Hat Reaches $55,000 Settlement
By 4.1.11
A woman who says the Belk department store fired her after she refused to wear a Santa hat during Christmas has won a in a $55,000 suit against the company, reports the News & Observer. The worker was a Jehovah’s Witness, and said her religious beliefs prevented her from wearing such a cap. However, she had no problem with fulfilling her job, which was to wrap presents. For Belk to have won, they would have had to have proved that letting her not wear the cap would cause them “undue hardship.” Apparently, they were not able to meet this requirement. [More]
Producers Plan Movie About Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
By 3.10.11
Ever watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and think “Wow, this needs to be a movie?” No? Well, that’s because you’re not a Hollywood producer with the vision to find cinematic potential in giant Snoopy floats, shivering crowds and inane, scripted banter between bleary-eyed hosts. [More]
