Macy's
Encyclopedia
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department store
s. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States . It also has eSpot ZoomShops kiosks in over 300 store locations selling consumer electronics.
Famed equally for its niche in popular culture and the diversity of its merchandise, the chain competes with Belk
, Bon-Ton
, Dillard's
, Nordstrom
, Neiman Marcus
and Saks Fifth Avenue
.
It has produced the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
in New York City since 1924, and sponsored the City's annual Fourth of July
fireworks display since 1976.
Despite being advertised as the largest in the world, its flagship has been superseded by that of Shinsegae
in Centum City, South Korea. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, its area of 509810 square metres (609,727.7 sq yd) is almost twice that of Macy's.
, who between 1843 and 1855 opened four retail dry goods
stores, including the original Macy's store in downtown Haverhill, Massachusetts
, established in 1851 to serve the mill industry employees of the area. They all failed, but he learned from his mistakes. Macy moved to New York City in 1858 and established a new store named "R.H Macy Dry Goods" on Sixth Avenue
between 13th and 14th Streets
, which was far north of where other dry goods stores were at the time. On the company's first day of business on October 28, 1858 sales totaled US$11.08, equal to $ today. From the very beginning, Macy's logo has included a star in one form or another, which comes from a tattoo that Macy got as a teenager when he worked on a Nantucket whaling ship.
As the business grew, Macy's expanded into neighboring buildings, opening more and more departments, and used publicity devices such as a store Santa Claus
, themed exhibits, and illuminated window displays to draw in customers. It also offered a money back guarantee, although it only accepted cash into the 1950s. The store also produced its own made-to-measure clothing for both men and women, assembled in an on-site factory. The store later moved to 18th Street and Broadway
, on the "Ladies' Mile
", the elite shopping district of the time, where it remained for nearly forty years.
In 1875, Macy took on two partners, Robert M. Valentine (1850–1879), a nephew; and Abiel T. La Forge (1842–1878) of Wisconsin
, who was the husband of a cousin. Macy died just two years later in 1877 from Bright's disease
, The following year La Forge died, and Valentine died in 1879. Ownership of the company was passed down through the Macy family until 1895, when the company, now called "R. H. Macy & Co.", was acquired by Isidor Straus
and his brother Nathan Straus
, who had previously held a license to sell china and other goods in the Macy's store.
In 1902, the flagship store moved uptown to Herald Square
at 34th Street
and Broadway, so far north of the other main dry goods emporia that it had to offer a steam wagonette to transport customers from 14th Street to 34th Street. Although the Herald Square store initially consisted of just one building, it expanded through new construction, eventually occupying almost the entire block bounded by Seventh Avenue
on the west, Broadway on the east, 34th Street on the south and 35th Street on the north, with the exception of a small pre-existing building on the corner of 35th Street and Seventh Avenue and another on the corner of 34th Street and Broadway. This latter 5-story building was purchased by Robert H. Smith in 1900 for $375,000 – an incredible sum at the time – with the idea of getting in the way of Macy's becoming the largest store in the world: it is largely supposed that Smith, who was a neighbor of the Macy's store on 14th Street, was acting on behalf of Siegel-Cooper, which had built what they thought was the world's largest store on Sixth Avenue in 1896. Macy's ignored the tactic, and simply built around the building, which now carries Macy's "shopping bag" sign by lease arrangement.
The original Broadway store, designed by architects De Lemos & Cordes and built in 1901–02 by the Fuller Company. It has a Palladian
facade, but has been updated in many details. Other additions to the west were added in 1924 and 1928, and the Seventh Avenue building in 1931, all designed by architect Robert D. Kohn
, the newer buildings becoming increasingly Art Deco
in style.
The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places
as a National Historic Landmark
in 1978. The store has several wooden escalators still in operation.
in Elmhurst
, Queens
, New York. This resulted in an architecturally unique round department store on 90 percent of the lot, with a small privately owned house on the corner. Macy's no longer fully occupies this building, which now contains the Queens Place Mall
, with Macy's Furniture Gallery as a tenant; instead it moved its full outlet to the nearby Queens Center
.
Acquisitions were also made outside of the New York City region. Department stores in Toledo
(Lasalle & Koch 1924), Atlanta (Davison-Paxon-Stokes
1929), Newark
(L. Bamberger & Co.
) 1929, San Francisco (O'Connor Moffat & Company
1945), and Kansas City
(John Taylor Dry Goods Co. 1947) were purchased during this time. O'Connor Moffat was renamed Macy's San Francisco
in 1947, later becoming Macy's California, and John Taylor was renamed Macy's Missouri-Kansas in 1949. Stores in Toledo retained the Lasalle's name until 1984, becoming part of Macy's Midwest. These stores were sold to Elder-Beermen in 1986.http://www.kclibrary.org/localhistory/media.cfm?mediaID=99271
Macy's New York began opening stores outside of its historic New York City–Long Island trade area in 1983 with a location at Aventura Mall
in Aventura, Florida
(a suburb of Miami), followed by several locations in Plantation, Florida
(now relocated from the Fashion Mall to the Broward Mall since the Burdine's acquisition), Houston, New Orleans, and Dallas. Davison's in Atlanta was renamed Macy's Atlanta in early 1985 with the consolidation of an early incarnation of Macy's Midwest
(former Taylor and LaSalle's stores in Kansas City
and Toledo, respectively), but late in 1985, Macy's turned around and sold the former Midwest locations. Bamberger's
, which had aggressively expanded throughout New Jersey
, into the Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan area
in the 1960s and 1970s as well as into Nanuet, New York(southern Rockland County), and into the Baltimore
Metropolitan area in the early 1980s, was renamed Macy's New Jersey in 1986.
. As part of its settlement with Campeau, Macy's purchased Federated's California-based, fashion-oriented Bullock's
and its high-end Bullocks Wilshire
and I. Magnin
divisions. It followed with a reorganization of its divisions into Macy's Northeast (former Macy's New York and Macy's New Jersey), Macy's South/Bullock's (Macy's Atlanta stores plus Macy's New York's operations in Texas, Florida and Louisiana), and Macy's California, the latter including a semi-autonomous I. Magnin/Bullocks Wilshire organization. The Bullocks Wilshire stores were renamed I. Magnin in 1989.
Subsequently, R. H. Macy & Co., Inc., filed for bankruptcy on January 27, 1992, after which point its banks brought in a new management team, which shut several underperforming stores, jettisoned two-thirds of the luxury I. Magnin chain, and reduced Macy's to two divisions; Macy's East
and Macy's West
.
on December 19, 1994. Following the merger the reorganized Macy’s moved its headquarters to Cincinnati, Ohio under the name Federated Department Stores. Federated promptly shut down the remainder of the I. Magnin chain, converting several to Macy's or Bullock's and selling four in Carmel
, Beverly Hills
, San Diego and Phoenix
to Saks Fifth Avenue
. Federated also merged its Abraham & Straus
/Jordan Marsh
division with the new "Macy's East" organization based in New York, renaming the Abraham & Straus
stores in metropolitan New York with the Macy's nameplate in 1995, and then erasing the Jordan Marsh
moniker in New England
in early 1996.
Federated followed that by leading a bid in mid-1995 to acquire the bankrupt Woodward & Lothrop
/John Wanamaker
organization in the mid-Atlantic region, a bid it lost to rival group led by long-time rival and future acquisition target The May Department Stores Company. Instead Federated soon agreed to purchase Broadway Stores, Inc. (owner of The Broadway
, Emporium and Weinstock's
stores in California, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico), from its majority shareholder, Sam Zell, thereby gaining a leading position in Southern California and a dominant one in the Northern California marketplace. In early 1996 Federated dissolved Broadway Stores, incorporating the majority of its locations into Macy's West
, rebadging them as Macy's and using the opportunity to retire the Bullock's name. Several of the redundant Broadway locations were used to establish Bloomingdale's
on the West Coast
, while many other were sold to Sears.
In 2001 Federated dissolved its Stern's
division in the New York metropolitan area, with the bulk of the stores being absorbed into Macy's East
. Additionally, in July 2001 it acquired the Liberty House
chain with department and specialty stores in Hawaii and Guam, consolidating it with Macy's West.
In early 2003 Federated closed the majority of its historic Davison's
franchise in Atlanta (operating as Macy's since 1985), rebranding its other Atlanta division Rich's
with the unwieldy name, Rich's–Macy's. The downtown location—formerly the Davison's flagship store at 180 Peachtree Street
– was shuttered at this time as well. The original Macy's Lenox Square
and Perimeter Mall
locations were extensively remodeled and opened in October 2003 as the first Bloomingdale's
stores in Atlanta. The company rapidly followed suit in May 2003 with similar rebranding announcements for its other nameplates, Burdines
in Florida, Goldsmith's
in Memphis
, Lazarus
in the lower Midwest, and The Bon Marché
in the Pacific Northwest.
On March 6, 2005, the Bon-Macy's
, Burdines-Macy's
, Goldsmith's-Macy's
, Lazarus-Macy's
, and Rich's-Macy's
stores were renamed as simply "Macy's", the first two as the new Macy's West
and Macy's Florida divisions respectively and the later three as part of the Macy's Central division. As of July 2005, Macy's had 424 stores throughout the U.S.
On February 28, 2005, Federated agreed to terms of a deal to acquire The May Department Stores Company for $11 billion in stock, creating the nation's second largest department store chain with $30 billion in annual sales and more than 1,000 stores.
On July 28, 2005, Federated announced, based on the success of converting its own regional brands to the Macy's name, its plans to similarly convert 330 regional department stores owned by the May Company (as May Department Stores was generally referred to) to the Macy's nameplate. This included May's Marshall Field's
(purchased by the May Company from Target
just 8 months prior to Federated's purchase of the May Company), Kaufmann's
, Famous-Barr
, Filene's
, Foley's
, Hecht's
, The Jones Store
, L. S. Ayres, Meier & Frank
, Robinsons-May
, and Strawbridge & Clothier chains, pending approval of the merger by federal regulators.
The conversion of the May brands was met with negative reaction in many of the regions surrounding those department stores because they were widely considered to be beloved local institutions. The strongest reactions occurred with the loss of Filene's, Marshall Field's, and Kaufmann's, which were all well known for their flagship downtown stores and local traditions. For example, Kaufmann's operated the Kaufmann's Celebrate the Season Parade
which was traditionally broadcast live throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on television. Many customers publicly vowed to never again shop at the May stores that were converted and to permanently switch their loyalty to other major department store chains beyond Federated's control. Prominent film critic Roger Ebert
voiced the grief of many Chicagoans at the loss of Field's when he wrote in his column on September 21, 2005:
Where existing Federated stores were in close proximity to former May Company stores, some redundant stores were closed or sold off to other retailers. In a number of malls where a May Company store and a Macy's store had traditionally coexisted in the same mall, Federated occasionally instituted a pattern which Macy's West had successfully pioneered in the 1990s with earlier acquisitions (specifically, Broadway Stores and Liberty House's former U.S. mainland stores). This involved converting one store to a Macy's Men and Home store, which primarily carried men's apparel, luggage, and housewares, and the other to a Macy's Women store which primarily carried women's apparel, children's apparel, and cosmetics. Having two stores configured like this allows Macy's to offer broader inventories of all products without having to incur the expense of building a single flagship-size store. At some malls, like Fashion Show Mall
, the dual-store system proved to be unsuccessful, so Macy's closed one of the stores and converted the other back to a general Macy's store.
On January 12, 2006, Federated announced its plans to divest May Company's Lord & Taylor
division by the end of 2006 after concluding that chain did not fit with their strategic focus for building the Macy's and Bloomingdale's national brands. On June 22, 2006, Macy's announced that NDRC Equity Partners, LLC would purchase Lord & Taylor for US$1.2 billion, and completed the sale in October 2006.
hit song, "Dancing in the Street", in its advertising. Also, the company took props
from its annual Thanksgiving Day parade
to various re-labeled stores throughout the nation, in what the company marketed as its "Parade on Parade."
Macy's significantly increased its use of television advertising and product placement in 2006 and 2007, using branding spots that featured the new Macy's star logo. During the February 11, 2007, episode of the popular ABC
television series Desperate Housewives
, a Macy's (under the fictional name McMay's) location in the fictional city of Fairview was featured, a rare instance of product placement
promoting a department store chain in a scripted series. Nearly two years earlier, one of the first national commercials for Macy's had aired during Desperate Housewives, shortly after the conversion of Rich's, Lazarus, Goldsmith's, The Bon Marché and Burdines.
On February 27, 2007, Federated Department Stores
announced plans to change its corporate name from Federated Department Stores, Inc., to Macy's Group, Inc. By March 28, the company further announced plans to convert its stock ticker symbol from "FD" to "M", and revised its earlier proposed name change, instead opting to change to Macy's, Inc. The change in corporate names was approved by shareholders on May 18, 2007, and took effect on June 1, 2007. The company will continue to operate stores under both the Macy's and Bloomingdale's nameplates.
s. The commercial aired around when the annual Primetime Emmy Awards aired live on ABC
on September 2008. The commercial has aired on different channels also throughout the whole September, October, and November months.
to test more than 100 stores within retail giant Macy’s. Terry Lundgren, CEO of Federated, raved about the ability to provide consumers with a convenient means to purchase iPods and other consumer electronics. “This is exciting because it brings most-wanted merchandise into stores in a unique new way.... How cool is that?”. Today Macy’s has turned over their entire Electronics section, in every store, to over 400 eSpot ZoomShops.
and Guam
. As of January 2011, the only states without a Macy's store were Alaska
, Arkansas
, Iowa
, Mississippi
and Nebraska
.
On February 6, 2008, Macy's Inc. announced consolidation of its Macy's store locations into four primary geographic divisions. From that date, three of the divisions each had approximately 250 locations each as a result of the reorganization, while its Florida-based division remained unaffected, as did its Bloomingdale's division.
In conjunction with these geographic divisions, the New York-based Macy's Home Store division was responsible for buying, planning and marketing home-related merchandise sold in all Macy's stores.
All store divisions nationwide were also served by two administrative divisions, prior to February 2009:
mall in San Juan
.
Mexico also has a big department store in Mexico City and was buitlt in 2005
that it produces for exclusive sale within its stores. These brands, which are advertised in store with "Only at Macy's" signage account for 20% of the company's sales. The merchandise in each brand is designed to appeal to different demographics and customers. Bar III, the most recent addition to the company's portfolio, was launched in Spring 2011. Some of Macy's private brands are sold internationally in non-competing department stores .
Macy's private brands include:
s are made using petroleum, and it takes more than 1000 years to break them down in landfills. Because Macy’s uses approximately 43 million shopping bags each year, this can drastically alter the environment. Because of this, many Macy’s stores now sell reusable cotton tote bag
s. In addition to the company’s bag transition, Macy’s is also replacing their synthetic, nonbiodegradable packing peanuts that accounts for 3.1 Mcuft of in-box material per year with loosefill material created from corn and potato starch
. This new material will break down within 9 minutes with water in the landfills.
Eliot Spitzer
launched an investigation of the private policing system Macy's has used to deal with suspected shoplifters. The investigation was prompted by a civil rights lawsuit and an article in The New York Times
, which reported on many of Macy's tactics, including private jails and interrogations. Spitzer's investigation found many of Macy's actions, from ethnic profiling to handcuffing detainees, to be unlawful. Macy's settled the civil rights complaint for US$600,000, claiming to have put the illegal tactics to an end while maintaining the security system itself.
The Macy's East downtown Boston
store (formerly the Jordan Marsh
flagship) touched off a local public relations firestorm with the June 6, 2006, removal of two mannequin
s and the Web address of the AIDS Action Committee from a window display promoting Boston's annual gay pride
celebration. The removal was apparently in response to pressure from MassResistance, a local group opposed to same-sex marriage
, whose members complained the mannequins were "homosexual". The removal of the mannequins was widely condemned by residents and officials, including Boston mayor Thomas Menino
, who was quoted as saying:
Macy's response to the debacle was to publish an apology by the Macy's East chairman, Ron Klein, in In Newsweekly, a Boston-area weekly with a large gay readership. Klein's description of the incident as "an internal breakdown in communication," further stated it was regrettable some would doubt Macy's commitment to diversity as a result. The Web address was later restored—the mannequins, however never made a reappearance.
Macy's Boston was also a target of Animal Rights protesters, who held signs and handed out pamphlets throughout the 1990s regarding Macy's participation in the fur trade industry. Macy's West had at the time stopped carrying their line of fur coats and apparel, and although the demonstrations have since quieted, Macy's East continues to sell fur coats and apparel, as does a portion of Macy's South stores.
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
s. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States . It also has eSpot ZoomShops kiosks in over 300 store locations selling consumer electronics.
Famed equally for its niche in popular culture and the diversity of its merchandise, the chain competes with Belk
Belk
Belk is a department store chain founded in 1888 in Monroe, North Carolina, today part of the Charlotte metropolitan area. After the founding of the first Belk store, the company grew in size and influence throughout the South via the chain in the USA, with its stores primarily located in the...
, Bon-Ton
The Bon-Ton
The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. is a regional department store company based in York, Pennsylvania, chiefly operating 275 stores, including 11 furniture galleries, in 23 states throughout the northern United States. Stores carrying its namesake nameplate serve the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions of...
, Dillard's
Dillard's
Dillard's, Inc. is a department store chain in the United States, with 330 stores in 29 states. Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Dillard's locations are concentrated in Texas and Florida; with a major presence in other states including Arizona, Iowa, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri,...
, Nordstrom
Nordstrom
Nordstrom, Inc. is an upscale department store chain in the United States, founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin. Initially a shoe retailer, the company today also sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and in some locations, home furnishings...
, Neiman Marcus
Neiman Marcus
Neiman Marcus, formerly Neiman-Marcus, is a luxury specialty retail department store operated by the Neiman Marcus Group in the United States. The company is headquartered in the One Marcus Square building in Downtown Dallas, Texas, and competes with other department stores such as Saks Fifth...
and Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...
.
It has produced the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, often shortened to Macy's Day Parade, is an annual parade presented by Macy's. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States along with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit, and four years younger than...
in New York City since 1924, and sponsored the City's annual Fourth of July
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
fireworks display since 1976.
Despite being advertised as the largest in the world, its flagship has been superseded by that of Shinsegae
Shinsegae
Shinsegae is a South Korean department store franchise, along with several other businesses, headquartering in Seoul, South Korea. The name of Shinsegae literally means "New World" in Korean...
in Centum City, South Korea. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, its area of 509810 square metres (609,727.7 sq yd) is almost twice that of Macy's.
Founding and early history
Macy's was founded by Rowland Hussey MacyRowland Hussey Macy
__notoc__Rowland Hussey Macy, Sr. was an American businessman who founded the department store chain R.H. Macy and Company.-Life and career:...
, who between 1843 and 1855 opened four retail dry goods
Dry goods
Dry goods are products such as textiles, ready-to-wear clothing, and sundries. In U.S. retailing, a dry goods store carries consumer goods that are distinct from those carried by hardware stores and grocery stores, though "dry goods" as a term for textiles has been dated back to 1742 in England or...
stores, including the original Macy's store in downtown Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.Located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community that would evolve into an important industrial center, beginning with sawmills and gristmills run by water power. In the...
, established in 1851 to serve the mill industry employees of the area. They all failed, but he learned from his mistakes. Macy moved to New York City in 1858 and established a new store named "R.H Macy Dry Goods" on Sixth Avenue
Sixth Avenue (Manhattan)
Sixth Avenue – officially Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown"...
between 13th and 14th Streets
14th Street (Manhattan)
14th Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street rivals the size of some of the well-known avenues of the city and is an important business location....
, which was far north of where other dry goods stores were at the time. On the company's first day of business on October 28, 1858 sales totaled US$11.08, equal to $ today. From the very beginning, Macy's logo has included a star in one form or another, which comes from a tattoo that Macy got as a teenager when he worked on a Nantucket whaling ship.
As the business grew, Macy's expanded into neighboring buildings, opening more and more departments, and used publicity devices such as a store Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
, themed exhibits, and illuminated window displays to draw in customers. It also offered a money back guarantee, although it only accepted cash into the 1950s. The store also produced its own made-to-measure clothing for both men and women, assembled in an on-site factory. The store later moved to 18th Street and Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
, on the "Ladies' Mile
Ladies' Mile Historic District
The Ladies' Mile Historic District was designated in May 1989, by the New York City Landmark Preservation Commission to preserve an irregular district of 440 buildings on 28 blocks and parts of blocks in Manhattan, from roughly 18th Street to 24th Street and from Park Avenue South to west of the...
", the elite shopping district of the time, where it remained for nearly forty years.
In 1875, Macy took on two partners, Robert M. Valentine (1850–1879), a nephew; and Abiel T. La Forge (1842–1878) of Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, who was the husband of a cousin. Macy died just two years later in 1877 from Bright's disease
Bright's disease
Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. The term is no longer used, as diseases are now classified according to their more fully understood causes....
, The following year La Forge died, and Valentine died in 1879. Ownership of the company was passed down through the Macy family until 1895, when the company, now called "R. H. Macy & Co.", was acquired by Isidor Straus
Isidor Straus
Isidor Straus —a German Jewish American—was co-owner of the Macy's department store with his brother Nathan. He also served briefly as a member of the United States House of Representatives...
and his brother Nathan Straus
Nathan Straus
Nathan Straus was an American merchant and philanthropist who co-owned two of New York City's biggest department stores – R.H...
, who had previously held a license to sell china and other goods in the Macy's store.
In 1902, the flagship store moved uptown to Herald Square
Herald Square
Herald Square is formed by the intersection of Broadway, Sixth Avenue and 34th Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Named for the New York Herald, a now-defunct newspaper formerly headquartered there, it also gives its name to the surrounding area...
at 34th Street
34th Street (Manhattan)
34th Street is a major cross-town street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, connecting the Lincoln Tunnel and Queens-Midtown Tunnel. Like many of New York City's major crosstown streets, it has its own bus routes and four subway stops serving the trains at Eighth Avenue, the trains at...
and Broadway, so far north of the other main dry goods emporia that it had to offer a steam wagonette to transport customers from 14th Street to 34th Street. Although the Herald Square store initially consisted of just one building, it expanded through new construction, eventually occupying almost the entire block bounded by Seventh Avenue
Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)
Seventh Avenue, known as Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard north of Central Park, is a thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is southbound below Central Park and a two-way street north of the park....
on the west, Broadway on the east, 34th Street on the south and 35th Street on the north, with the exception of a small pre-existing building on the corner of 35th Street and Seventh Avenue and another on the corner of 34th Street and Broadway. This latter 5-story building was purchased by Robert H. Smith in 1900 for $375,000 – an incredible sum at the time – with the idea of getting in the way of Macy's becoming the largest store in the world: it is largely supposed that Smith, who was a neighbor of the Macy's store on 14th Street, was acting on behalf of Siegel-Cooper, which had built what they thought was the world's largest store on Sixth Avenue in 1896. Macy's ignored the tactic, and simply built around the building, which now carries Macy's "shopping bag" sign by lease arrangement.
The original Broadway store, designed by architects De Lemos & Cordes and built in 1901–02 by the Fuller Company. It has a Palladian
Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
facade, but has been updated in many details. Other additions to the west were added in 1924 and 1928, and the Seventh Avenue building in 1931, all designed by architect Robert D. Kohn
Robert D. Kohn
Robert D. Kohn was an American architect most active in New York City.- Life :Kohn was born in Manhattan, attended Columbia University, and spent four years at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, from 1891 through 1895. After brief stints for other architects, he established an independent...
, the newer buildings becoming increasingly Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
in style.
The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1978. The store has several wooden escalators still in operation.
Expansion
The problem of pre-existing buildings also presented itself when Macy's built a store on Queens BoulevardQueens Boulevard
Queens Boulevard is a major thoroughfare in the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Queens connecting communities from Midtown Manhattan to Jamaica...
in Elmhurst
Elmhurst, Queens
Elmhurst is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Roosevelt Avenue on the north; Corona to the northeast; Junction Boulevard on the east; Rego Park to the southeast; the Long Island Expressway on the south; Middle Village to the south and southwest; and Maspeth...
, Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, New York. This resulted in an architecturally unique round department store on 90 percent of the lot, with a small privately owned house on the corner. Macy's no longer fully occupies this building, which now contains the Queens Place Mall
Queens Place Mall
Queens Place Mall is an urban shopping mall in New York City, New York, USA. Just northwest of the larger Queens Center, it is located on Queens Boulevard in the neighborhood of Elmhurst, Queens. The building was constructed in 1965 as Macy's and was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.It was...
, with Macy's Furniture Gallery as a tenant; instead it moved its full outlet to the nearby Queens Center
Queens Center
Queens Center is an urban shopping mall in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens, New York City, United States. It is located at the intersection of Queens Boulevard and Woodhaven Boulevard, adjacent to the Woodhaven Boulevard station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. It...
.
Acquisitions were also made outside of the New York City region. Department stores in Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
(Lasalle & Koch 1924), Atlanta (Davison-Paxon-Stokes
Davison's
Davison's of Atlanta was the major competition to Rich's, once itself an Atlanta shopping institution. The chain took the Macy's name in 1986.-Founding:...
1929), Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
(L. Bamberger & Co.
Bamberger's
Bamberger's was a department store chain with locations primarily in New Jersey, but also Delaware, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania. The chain was headquartered in Newark, New Jersey.-History:Founded in 1893 by Louis Bamberger as L...
) 1929, San Francisco (O'Connor Moffat & Company
Macy's West
Macy's West was a longtime division of Macy's, Inc. , representing one of the New York-based department store chain's earliest notable acquisitions and westward expansions...
1945), and Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
(John Taylor Dry Goods Co. 1947) were purchased during this time. O'Connor Moffat was renamed Macy's San Francisco
Macy's West
Macy's West was a longtime division of Macy's, Inc. , representing one of the New York-based department store chain's earliest notable acquisitions and westward expansions...
in 1947, later becoming Macy's California, and John Taylor was renamed Macy's Missouri-Kansas in 1949. Stores in Toledo retained the Lasalle's name until 1984, becoming part of Macy's Midwest. These stores were sold to Elder-Beermen in 1986.http://www.kclibrary.org/localhistory/media.cfm?mediaID=99271
Macy's New York began opening stores outside of its historic New York City–Long Island trade area in 1983 with a location at Aventura Mall
Aventura Mall
The Aventura Mall is an upscale super-regional shopping mall in Aventura, Florida, a northern suburb of Miami. It is the largest conventional shopping mall in Florida, having a gross leasable area of , and is the fifth largest shopping center in the United States. The mall has three floors of...
in Aventura, Florida
Aventura, Florida
Aventura is a planned, suburban city located in northeastern Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name is from the Spanish word for "adventure", and was named "Aventura" after one of the developers of the original group of condominiums in the area remarked to the others, "What an adventure this is...
(a suburb of Miami), followed by several locations in Plantation, Florida
Plantation, Florida
Plantation is the name of the following places in the U.S. state of Florida:*Plantation, Florida, a city in Broward County; the largest of the places named "Plantation" in Florida*Plantation, Sarasota County, Florida, a census-designated place...
(now relocated from the Fashion Mall to the Broward Mall since the Burdine's acquisition), Houston, New Orleans, and Dallas. Davison's in Atlanta was renamed Macy's Atlanta in early 1985 with the consolidation of an early incarnation of Macy's Midwest
Macy's Midwest
Macy's Midwest, St. Louis, Missouri, is a former division of Macy's, Inc. It had operations in New York, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It was created February 1, 2006 from a reorganization of the Famous-Barr division acquired August 30, 2005...
(former Taylor and LaSalle's stores in Kansas City
Kansas City Metropolitan Area
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area is a fifteen-county metropolitan area that is anchored by Kansas City, Missouri and is bisected by the border between the states of Missouri and Kansas. As of the 2010 Census, the metropolitan area has a population of 2,035,334. The metropolitan area is the...
and Toledo, respectively), but late in 1985, Macy's turned around and sold the former Midwest locations. Bamberger's
Bamberger's
Bamberger's was a department store chain with locations primarily in New Jersey, but also Delaware, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania. The chain was headquartered in Newark, New Jersey.-History:Founded in 1893 by Louis Bamberger as L...
, which had aggressively expanded throughout New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, into the Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan area
Delaware Valley
The Delaware Valley is a term used to refer to the valley where the Delaware River flows, along with the surrounding communities. This includes the metropolitan area centered on the city of Philadelphia. Such educational institutions as Delaware Valley Regional High School in Alexandria Township...
in the 1960s and 1970s as well as into Nanuet, New York(southern Rockland County), and into the Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
Metropolitan area in the early 1980s, was renamed Macy's New Jersey in 1986.
Management buyout
In 1986 Edward Finkelstein, Chairman & CEO of R. H. Macy & Co., Inc., led a leveraged buy-out of the company and subsequently engaged in a takeover battle for Federated Department Stores, Inc., in 1988 that he lost to Canada's Campeau CorporationCampeau Corporation
Campeau Corporation was a Canadian real estate development and investment company founded by entrepreneur Robert Campeau. It was infamous from its ultimately unsuccessful acquisitions of American department store holding companies Allied Stores in 1986 and Federated Department Stores in 1988...
. As part of its settlement with Campeau, Macy's purchased Federated's California-based, fashion-oriented Bullock's
Bullock's
Bullock's was a department store based in Los Angeles, California. The company operated full-line department stores all across California, with some stores in Arizona and Nevada. Bullock's also operated the more upscale Bullocks Wilshire in parts of Southern California.- History :Bullock's was...
and its high-end Bullocks Wilshire
Bullocks Wilshire
Bullocks Wilshire, located at 3050 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, is a 230,000-square foot Art Deco building.-Design:...
and I. Magnin
I. Magnin
I. Magnin & Company was a San Francisco, California-based high fashion and specialty goods luxury department store. Over the course of its existence, it expanded across the West into Southern California and the adjoining states of Arizona, Oregon, and Washington...
divisions. It followed with a reorganization of its divisions into Macy's Northeast (former Macy's New York and Macy's New Jersey), Macy's South/Bullock's (Macy's Atlanta stores plus Macy's New York's operations in Texas, Florida and Louisiana), and Macy's California, the latter including a semi-autonomous I. Magnin/Bullocks Wilshire organization. The Bullocks Wilshire stores were renamed I. Magnin in 1989.
Subsequently, R. H. Macy & Co., Inc., filed for bankruptcy on January 27, 1992, after which point its banks brought in a new management team, which shut several underperforming stores, jettisoned two-thirds of the luxury I. Magnin chain, and reduced Macy's to two divisions; Macy's East
Macy's East
Macy's East, New York, New York is a division of Macy's, Inc.. It is the operating successor to the original R.H. Macy & Co., Inc. and operates the Macy's department stores in the northeast U.S. and Puerto Rico. Over the years it has been known as Macy's New York and Macy's Northeast...
and Macy's West
Macy's West
Macy's West was a longtime division of Macy's, Inc. , representing one of the New York-based department store chain's earliest notable acquisitions and westward expansions...
.
Federated Department Stores merger
At the start of 1994, Federated began pursuing a merger with Macy's. After a long and difficult courtship, R. H. Macy & Co. finally merged with Federated Department StoresFederated Department Stores
Macy's, Inc. is a department store holding company and owner of Macy's and Bloomingdale's department stores. Macy's Inc.'s stores specialize mostly in retail clothing, jewelery, watches, dinnerware, and furniture....
on December 19, 1994. Following the merger the reorganized Macy’s moved its headquarters to Cincinnati, Ohio under the name Federated Department Stores. Federated promptly shut down the remainder of the I. Magnin chain, converting several to Macy's or Bullock's and selling four in Carmel
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Carmel-by-the-Sea, often called simply Carmel, is a small city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated in 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, the town is known for its natural scenery and rich artistic history...
, Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
, San Diego and Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
to Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...
. Federated also merged its Abraham & Straus
Abraham & Straus
Abraham & Straus was a major New York City department store, based in Brooklyn. Founded in 1865, in 1929 it became part of Federated Department Stores, which eliminated the A&S brand shortly after its 1994 acquisition of R.H. Macy & Company...
/Jordan Marsh
Jordan Marsh
Jordan Marsh & Company was a department store in Boston, Massachusetts, which grew to be a major regional chain in the New England area of the United States. In 1996, the last of the Jordan Marsh stores were converted to Macy's. The store was formerly part of Allied Stores and then Federated...
division with the new "Macy's East" organization based in New York, renaming the Abraham & Straus
Abraham & Straus
Abraham & Straus was a major New York City department store, based in Brooklyn. Founded in 1865, in 1929 it became part of Federated Department Stores, which eliminated the A&S brand shortly after its 1994 acquisition of R.H. Macy & Company...
stores in metropolitan New York with the Macy's nameplate in 1995, and then erasing the Jordan Marsh
Jordan Marsh
Jordan Marsh & Company was a department store in Boston, Massachusetts, which grew to be a major regional chain in the New England area of the United States. In 1996, the last of the Jordan Marsh stores were converted to Macy's. The store was formerly part of Allied Stores and then Federated...
moniker in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
in early 1996.
Federated followed that by leading a bid in mid-1995 to acquire the bankrupt Woodward & Lothrop
Woodward & Lothrop
Woodward & Lothrop was a department store chain headquartered in Washington, D.C. Woodward & Lothrop was Washington, D.C.'s first department store, opening in 1887. Woodies, as it was often nicknamed, maintained stores in the Mid-Atlantic United States...
/John Wanamaker
Wanamaker's
Wanamaker's department store was the first department store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the first department stores in the United States. At its zenith in the early 20th century, there were two major Wanamaker department stores, one in Philadelphia and one in New York City at Broadway...
organization in the mid-Atlantic region, a bid it lost to rival group led by long-time rival and future acquisition target The May Department Stores Company. Instead Federated soon agreed to purchase Broadway Stores, Inc. (owner of The Broadway
The Broadway
The Broadway was a mid-level department store chain headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States of America. Founded in 1896 by English born Arthur Letts, Sr., who later went on to develop Holmby Hills, The Broadway became one of the dominant retailers in Southern California and the...
, Emporium and Weinstock's
Weinstock's
Weinstock's was an American department store headquartered in Sacramento, California. The store was purchased by The Broadway in 1992, and later purchased by Federated Department Stores in 1995. Shortly after the purchase, most of the Weinstock's stores were converted to Macy's, while the...
stores in California, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico), from its majority shareholder, Sam Zell, thereby gaining a leading position in Southern California and a dominant one in the Northern California marketplace. In early 1996 Federated dissolved Broadway Stores, incorporating the majority of its locations into Macy's West
Macy's West
Macy's West was a longtime division of Macy's, Inc. , representing one of the New York-based department store chain's earliest notable acquisitions and westward expansions...
, rebadging them as Macy's and using the opportunity to retire the Bullock's name. Several of the redundant Broadway locations were used to establish Bloomingdale's
Bloomingdale's
Bloomingdale's is an American department store owned by Macy's, Inc. .Bloomingdale's started in 1861 when brothers Joseph and Lyman G. Bloomingdale started selling hoop-skirts in their Ladies Notions' Shop on Manhattan's Lower East Side...
on the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
, while many other were sold to Sears.
In 2001 Federated dissolved its Stern's
Stern's
Stern's was a regional department store chain serving the U.S. states of New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The chain was in business for more than 130 years, prior to its 2001 integration into Macy's and Bloomingdale's...
division in the New York metropolitan area, with the bulk of the stores being absorbed into Macy's East
Macy's East
Macy's East, New York, New York is a division of Macy's, Inc.. It is the operating successor to the original R.H. Macy & Co., Inc. and operates the Macy's department stores in the northeast U.S. and Puerto Rico. Over the years it has been known as Macy's New York and Macy's Northeast...
. Additionally, in July 2001 it acquired the Liberty House
Liberty House
Liberty House, headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, was a department store and specialty store chain with locations throughout the Hawaiian Islands and on Guam, as well as several locations on the mainland U.S.-History:...
chain with department and specialty stores in Hawaii and Guam, consolidating it with Macy's West.
In early 2003 Federated closed the majority of its historic Davison's
Davison's
Davison's of Atlanta was the major competition to Rich's, once itself an Atlanta shopping institution. The chain took the Macy's name in 1986.-Founding:...
franchise in Atlanta (operating as Macy's since 1985), rebranding its other Atlanta division Rich's
Rich's
Rich's was a department store retail chain, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated in the southern U.S. from 1867 until March 6, 2005 when the nameplate was eliminated and replaced by Macy's...
with the unwieldy name, Rich's–Macy's. The downtown location—formerly the Davison's flagship store at 180 Peachtree Street
Davison's
Davison's of Atlanta was the major competition to Rich's, once itself an Atlanta shopping institution. The chain took the Macy's name in 1986.-Founding:...
– was shuttered at this time as well. The original Macy's Lenox Square
Lenox Square
Lenox Square is an upscale enclosed super regional shopping mall located in the Buckhead District of Atlanta, Georgia. Lenox Square comprises more than of retail space, with 250 stores on four levels, including a large food court. The mall is home to three anchor stores: Macy's, Bloomingdale's,...
and Perimeter Mall
Perimeter Mall
Perimeter Mall is a super-regional shopping mall in Dunwoody, Georgia, just north of Atlanta, near the highway interchange of Interstate 285 and Georgia 400....
locations were extensively remodeled and opened in October 2003 as the first Bloomingdale's
Bloomingdale's
Bloomingdale's is an American department store owned by Macy's, Inc. .Bloomingdale's started in 1861 when brothers Joseph and Lyman G. Bloomingdale started selling hoop-skirts in their Ladies Notions' Shop on Manhattan's Lower East Side...
stores in Atlanta. The company rapidly followed suit in May 2003 with similar rebranding announcements for its other nameplates, Burdines
Burdines
Burdines was a leading department store chain in the state of Florida. The first Burdines store was opened in Bartow, Florida in 1896., Burdines became part of Federated Department Stores, Inc in 1956...
in Florida, Goldsmith's
Goldsmith's
Goldsmith's was a department store founded in Memphis, Tennessee in 1870 by German immigrant brothers Jacob and Isaac Goldsmith. With a $500 investment, they opened a dry goods store on a muddy lane called Beale Street. It grew into a chain largely located in the Memphis metropolitan area, until...
in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Lazarus
Lazarus (department store)
F&R Lazarus & Company — commonly known as Lazarus — was a regional department store retail chain operating primarily in the U.S. Midwest, and based in Columbus, Ohio...
in the lower Midwest, and The Bon Marché
The Bon Marché
The Bon Marché, whose name means "the good deal" or "the good market", was the name chosen for a department store launched in Seattle, Washington, United States, in 1890 by Edward Nordhoff. The name comes from Le Bon Marché, a noted Paris retailer and one of the world's first department stores,...
in the Pacific Northwest.
On March 6, 2005, the Bon-Macy's
The Bon Marché
The Bon Marché, whose name means "the good deal" or "the good market", was the name chosen for a department store launched in Seattle, Washington, United States, in 1890 by Edward Nordhoff. The name comes from Le Bon Marché, a noted Paris retailer and one of the world's first department stores,...
, Burdines-Macy's
Burdines
Burdines was a leading department store chain in the state of Florida. The first Burdines store was opened in Bartow, Florida in 1896., Burdines became part of Federated Department Stores, Inc in 1956...
, Goldsmith's-Macy's
Goldsmith's
Goldsmith's was a department store founded in Memphis, Tennessee in 1870 by German immigrant brothers Jacob and Isaac Goldsmith. With a $500 investment, they opened a dry goods store on a muddy lane called Beale Street. It grew into a chain largely located in the Memphis metropolitan area, until...
, Lazarus-Macy's
Lazarus (department store)
F&R Lazarus & Company — commonly known as Lazarus — was a regional department store retail chain operating primarily in the U.S. Midwest, and based in Columbus, Ohio...
, and Rich's-Macy's
Rich's
Rich's was a department store retail chain, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated in the southern U.S. from 1867 until March 6, 2005 when the nameplate was eliminated and replaced by Macy's...
stores were renamed as simply "Macy's", the first two as the new Macy's West
Macy's West
Macy's West was a longtime division of Macy's, Inc. , representing one of the New York-based department store chain's earliest notable acquisitions and westward expansions...
and Macy's Florida divisions respectively and the later three as part of the Macy's Central division. As of July 2005, Macy's had 424 stores throughout the U.S.
Merger with May Department Stores
On July 28, 2005, Federated announced, based on the success of converting its own regional brands to the Macy's name, its plans to similarly convert 330 regional department stores owned by the May Company (as May Department Stores was generally referred to) to the Macy's nameplate. This included May's Marshall Field's
Marshall Field's
Marshall Field & Company was a department store in Chicago, Illinois that grew to become a major chain before being acquired by Macy's Inc...
(purchased by the May Company from Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
just 8 months prior to Federated's purchase of the May Company), Kaufmann's
Kaufmann's
Kaufmann's was a department store that originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was owned in the early 20th century by Edgar J. Kaufmann, patron of 'Fallingwater' and the Kaufmann's Desert House. In the post-war years the store became a regional chain in the eastern United States, and was last...
, Famous-Barr
Famous-Barr
The Famous-Barr Co. , St. Louis, Missouri, was a division of Macy's, Inc. . It was formerly the hometown division of The May Department Stores Company, which was acquired by Federated on August 30, 2005. On February 1, 2006, it was subsumed into the newly created Macy's Midwest division.The...
, Filene's
Filene's
Filene's was a Boston-based department store owned by Federated Department Stores , and May Department Stores . It operated throughout New England and in New York.-Early years:...
, Foley's
Foley's
Foley’s was a chain of department stores owned by May Department Stores and headquartered in Downtown Houston, Texas. As of August 30, 2005, the division was dissolved and operation of the stores was assumed by Federated's Macy's West and Macy's South divisions. Foley's operated stores in Texas,...
, Hecht's
Hecht's
Hecht's, also known as Hecht Brothers, Hecht Bros. and the Hecht Company, was a large chain of department stores located mainly in the mid-Atlantic and southern region of the United States....
, The Jones Store
The Jones Store
The Jones Store Company was an American chain of department stores located in the Kansas City area formerly operated by Mercantile Stores Company and the St. Louis, Missouri-based May Co.-History:...
, L. S. Ayres, Meier & Frank
Meier & Frank
Meier & Frank was a chain of department stores founded in Portland, Oregon, and later bought out by the May Department Stores Company. Meier & Frank operated in the Pacific Northwest from 1857 to 2006.-History:Summary...
, Robinsons-May
Robinsons-May
Robinsons-May was a chain of department stores operating in Southern California, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada, previously with headquarters in North Hollywood, California...
, and Strawbridge & Clothier chains, pending approval of the merger by federal regulators.
The conversion of the May brands was met with negative reaction in many of the regions surrounding those department stores because they were widely considered to be beloved local institutions. The strongest reactions occurred with the loss of Filene's, Marshall Field's, and Kaufmann's, which were all well known for their flagship downtown stores and local traditions. For example, Kaufmann's operated the Kaufmann's Celebrate the Season Parade
Celebrate the Season Parade
My Macy's Holiday Parade, formerly the Celebrate the Season Parade, is one of the traditional parades held each year in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Sponsored by Macy's, it is held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving Day; that is, the last Saturday in November...
which was traditionally broadcast live throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on television. Many customers publicly vowed to never again shop at the May stores that were converted and to permanently switch their loyalty to other major department store chains beyond Federated's control. Prominent film critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
voiced the grief of many Chicagoans at the loss of Field's when he wrote in his column on September 21, 2005:
Where existing Federated stores were in close proximity to former May Company stores, some redundant stores were closed or sold off to other retailers. In a number of malls where a May Company store and a Macy's store had traditionally coexisted in the same mall, Federated occasionally instituted a pattern which Macy's West had successfully pioneered in the 1990s with earlier acquisitions (specifically, Broadway Stores and Liberty House's former U.S. mainland stores). This involved converting one store to a Macy's Men and Home store, which primarily carried men's apparel, luggage, and housewares, and the other to a Macy's Women store which primarily carried women's apparel, children's apparel, and cosmetics. Having two stores configured like this allows Macy's to offer broader inventories of all products without having to incur the expense of building a single flagship-size store. At some malls, like Fashion Show Mall
Fashion Show Mall
Fashion Show Mall is a shopping mall located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. Fashion Show Mall is owned by the General Growth Properties Inc. With of space, this is one of the largest enclosed malls in the world...
, the dual-store system proved to be unsuccessful, so Macy's closed one of the stores and converted the other back to a general Macy's store.
On January 12, 2006, Federated announced its plans to divest May Company's Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor, colloquially known as L&T, or LT, based in New York City, is the oldest upscale, specialty-retail department store chain in the United States. Concentrated in the eastern U.S., the retailer operated independently for nearly a century prior to joining American Dry Goods...
division by the end of 2006 after concluding that chain did not fit with their strategic focus for building the Macy's and Bloomingdale's national brands. On June 22, 2006, Macy's announced that NDRC Equity Partners, LLC would purchase Lord & Taylor for US$1.2 billion, and completed the sale in October 2006.
Macy's becomes a national brand
On February 21, 2006, Macy's appointed a new chief marketing officer, Anne MacDonald, to oversee the transformation of Macy's into a "national department store". By September 9, 2006, and after renaming the former May Company locations, Macy's operated approximately 850 stores in the United States. To promote its largest and most recent expansion, Macy's used a version of the Martha and the VandellasMartha and the Vandellas
Martha and the Vandellas were among the most successful groups of the Motown roster during the period 1963–1967...
hit song, "Dancing in the Street", in its advertising. Also, the company took props
Theatrical property
A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is an object used on stage by actors to further the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The difference between a set...
from its annual Thanksgiving Day parade
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, often shortened to Macy's Day Parade, is an annual parade presented by Macy's. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States along with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit, and four years younger than...
to various re-labeled stores throughout the nation, in what the company marketed as its "Parade on Parade."
Macy's significantly increased its use of television advertising and product placement in 2006 and 2007, using branding spots that featured the new Macy's star logo. During the February 11, 2007, episode of the popular ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television series Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
, a Macy's (under the fictional name McMay's) location in the fictional city of Fairview was featured, a rare instance of product placement
Product placement
Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the...
promoting a department store chain in a scripted series. Nearly two years earlier, one of the first national commercials for Macy's had aired during Desperate Housewives, shortly after the conversion of Rich's, Lazarus, Goldsmith's, The Bon Marché and Burdines.
On February 27, 2007, Federated Department Stores
Federated Department Stores
Macy's, Inc. is a department store holding company and owner of Macy's and Bloomingdale's department stores. Macy's Inc.'s stores specialize mostly in retail clothing, jewelery, watches, dinnerware, and furniture....
announced plans to change its corporate name from Federated Department Stores, Inc., to Macy's Group, Inc. By March 28, the company further announced plans to convert its stock ticker symbol from "FD" to "M", and revised its earlier proposed name change, instead opting to change to Macy's, Inc. The change in corporate names was approved by shareholders on May 18, 2007, and took effect on June 1, 2007. The company will continue to operate stores under both the Macy's and Bloomingdale's nameplates.
Macy's turns 150
In 2008, Macy's celebrated its 150th birthday. The store launched a commercial including old Macy's commercials, and actors and actresses mentioning Macy's on shows. It also featured clips of past Macy's Thanksgiving Day ParadeMacy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, often shortened to Macy's Day Parade, is an annual parade presented by Macy's. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States along with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit, and four years younger than...
s. The commercial aired around when the annual Primetime Emmy Awards aired live on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
on September 2008. The commercial has aired on different channels also throughout the whole September, October, and November months.
Lifestyle Center Stores
In March 2009, Macy's opened a one-level, 120000 square feet (11,148.4 m²) concept store in Gilbert, Arizona, a Phoenix suburb, that was designed to better fit open air lifestyle malls. Additional stores with the new format have opened in Fairview, Texas; Lee’s Summit, Missouri; and Nampa, Idaho. The stores are designed to be compact and meet current demands for more convenient shopping similar to Kohl’s and newer J. C. Penney stores. Lifestyle stores feature Starbucks Coffee Cafés with wireless web and fitting rooms designed to feel like lounges with sofas and Plasma TVs. Ceilings in the center areas are higher to be reminiscent of older department stores. The format was the culmination of 18 months of research to create stores for the "My Macy's" initiative that allows stores to be merchandised differently in markets across the country to meet local demands.eSpot ZoomShops
In October 2006, Federated Department Stores entered into an agreement with Zoom SystemsZoom Systems
ZoomSystems specializes in the design, technology, software development, and operation of Automated Retail stores. ZoomSystems technology and services support automated, self-service retail stores called ZoomShops located in airports, malls, military bases and retailers.ZoomSystems service...
to test more than 100 stores within retail giant Macy’s. Terry Lundgren, CEO of Federated, raved about the ability to provide consumers with a convenient means to purchase iPods and other consumer electronics. “This is exciting because it brings most-wanted merchandise into stores in a unique new way.... How cool is that?”. Today Macy’s has turned over their entire Electronics section, in every store, to over 400 eSpot ZoomShops.
Store divisions
Prior to the merger of Federated and May, Macy's had been organized into five divisions. Incorporation of properties from six former regional May Company divisions began in February 2006, when existing Macy's stores and properties yet to be converted were then organized into seven divisions with store locations in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto RicoPuerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
. As of January 2011, the only states without a Macy's store were Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
and Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
.
On February 6, 2008, Macy's Inc. announced consolidation of its Macy's store locations into four primary geographic divisions. From that date, three of the divisions each had approximately 250 locations each as a result of the reorganization, while its Florida-based division remained unaffected, as did its Bloomingdale's division.
- Macy's East, was headquartered in New York City, with locations ranging from the eastern to north-central United States. Prior to the consolidation of May Company properties into the division in February 2006, the division contained 216 stores/29,100 employees in ConnecticutConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, DelawareDelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, MaineMaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, MarylandMarylandMaryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, New York, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Rhode IslandRhode IslandThe state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, VermontVermontVermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, portions of VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, and the city of Washington, D.C.. In addition to Macy's, this division formerly operated Filene's stores in New England, the majority of Kaufmann's stores in upstate New York, and Strawbridge's and Hecht's stores in the mid-Atlantic region. After announced divestitures/store closures were completed by late 2006, this division contained 185 locations until consolidation with Macy's North.
- Macy's North, headquartered in Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
from February 2006 until February 2008, was consolidated into Macy's East. Prior to its consolidation, the division included 65 stores in IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, IndianaIndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, MichiganMichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, North DakotaNorth DakotaNorth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, and WisconsinWisconsinWisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. Formerly, most locations had operated as Marshall Field's, which in turn included many former Dayton's and Hudson's locations. Additionally, the former L. S. Ayres location in Merrillville, Indiana, and Macy's at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, were included in the Macy's North division. The division's successor, in effect, was a corporate region within Macy's East, with regional offices moved from Minneapolis to Chicago.- Macy's Central, which was headquartered in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, was the second incarnation of the division name within what is currently Macy's Inc., with stores throughout the midwestern and southeastern United States. The current Macy's Central consolidates the following locations:
- Macy's Central, which was headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia
- Macy's South, which was also headquartered in Atlanta, operated from February 2006 until February 2008. The Federated/Macy's Inc. division itself was a consolidation of May Company properties with the first incarnation of Macy's Central – a renaming of Federated's RLG division, which had included Rich'sRich'sRich's was a department store retail chain, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated in the southern U.S. from 1867 until March 6, 2005 when the nameplate was eliminated and replaced by Macy's...
, LazarusLazarus (department store)F&R Lazarus & Company — commonly known as Lazarus — was a regional department store retail chain operating primarily in the U.S. Midwest, and based in Columbus, Ohio...
, and Goldsmith'sGoldsmith'sGoldsmith's was a department store founded in Memphis, Tennessee in 1870 by German immigrant brothers Jacob and Isaac Goldsmith. With a $500 investment, they opened a dry goods store on a muddy lane called Beale Street. It grew into a chain largely located in the Memphis metropolitan area, until...
. As of March 2007, the division contained 136 stores/22,500 employees in AlabamaAlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, KentuckyKentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, North CarolinaNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, OklahomaOklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, TennesseeTennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, Texas & VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Macy's South as operated by Federated/Macy's Inc. was created by consolidating former Rich's and Goldsmith's locations with several stores from the Foley'sFoley'sFoley’s was a chain of department stores owned by May Department Stores and headquartered in Downtown Houston, Texas. As of August 30, 2005, the division was dissolved and operation of the stores was assumed by Federated's Macy's West and Macy's South divisions. Foley's operated stores in Texas,...
chain. (Lazarus stores were transferred to Macy's Midwest.)
- From 1988 to 1992, R. H. Macy & Co., Inc.'s Macy's South division was also headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with stores in Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Texas operating as Macy's, while stores in California, Arizona and Nevada operated as Bullock'sBullock'sBullock's was a department store based in Los Angeles, California. The company operated full-line department stores all across California, with some stores in Arizona and Nevada. Bullock's also operated the more upscale Bullocks Wilshire in parts of Southern California.- History :Bullock's was...
. The former South division was formed following Macy's acquisition of Bullock's, incorporating Macy's Atlanta (the former Davison'sDavison'sDavison's of Atlanta was the major competition to Rich's, once itself an Atlanta shopping institution. The chain took the Macy's name in 1986.-Founding:...
stores renamed in 1985) with the Florida, Louisiana and Texas locations of Macy's New York and Bullock's. It was dissolved in 1992 and its stores consolidated into Macy's East and Macy's West. - Macy's Midwest, headquartered in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, from February 2006 until February 2008, was consolidated with Macy's South to form the more recent Macy's Central division. Prior to its consolidation, this Macy's Midwest division included 95 stores throughout the midwestern United States. There was a prior division of R. H. Macy & Co., Inc. named Macy's Midwest that was headquartered in Kansas CityKansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
formed from a consolidation of two Macy's divisions, LaSalle's and Macy's Missouri-Kansas, in 1981. It was merged with Davison'sDavison'sDavison's of Atlanta was the major competition to Rich's, once itself an Atlanta shopping institution. The chain took the Macy's name in 1986.-Founding:...
to form Macy's Atlanta on February 1, 1985. Its former LaSalle's stores were sold to Elder-BeermanElder-BeermanElder-Beerman is a U.S. chain of department stores founded in 1883 and owned by The Bon-Ton. The chain is based primarily in the United States' Midwest region...
later that year and its former Kansas and Missouri stores were sold to Dillard'sDillard'sDillard's, Inc. is a department store chain in the United States, with 330 stores in 29 states. Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Dillard's locations are concentrated in Texas and Florida; with a major presence in other states including Arizona, Iowa, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri,...
in 1986. Macy's Midwest incorporated several historic department store franchises owned by the former Federated Department Stores, Inc. and by May Company. The franchises represented by Macy's Midwest include The F&R Lazarus & Co.Lazarus (department store)F&R Lazarus & Company — commonly known as Lazarus — was a regional department store retail chain operating primarily in the U.S. Midwest, and based in Columbus, Ohio...
, Shillito'sJohn Shillito CompanyJohn Shillito & Co. was Cincinnati's first department store. It was founded by John Shillito and William McLaughlin in 1832 as "McLaughlin & Shillito", but their partnership soon broke up. In 1857, Shillito, now operating on his own, built a store on Fourth Street, designed by James W. McLaughlin...
, Rike Kumler Co.Rike Kumler Co.The Rike Kumler Co. was an American department store in Dayton, Ohio. In 1959, Rike's became part of the Federated Department Stores conglomerate. In 1982, Federated merged Rike's with its Cincinnati unit, Shillito's, in order to form Shillito Rike's...
, William H. Block Co., Horne'sHorne'sThe Joseph Horne Company, often referred to simply as Joseph Horne's or Horne's, was an iconic, regional department store chain based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The store was one of the oldest in the country being founded on February 22, 1849 but due to its regional presence in the country, it...
, Famous-BarrFamous-BarrThe Famous-Barr Co. , St. Louis, Missouri, was a division of Macy's, Inc. . It was formerly the hometown division of The May Department Stores Company, which was acquired by Federated on August 30, 2005. On February 1, 2006, it was subsumed into the newly created Macy's Midwest division.The...
, L. S. Ayres, The Jones StoreThe Jones StoreThe Jones Store Company was an American chain of department stores located in the Kansas City area formerly operated by Mercantile Stores Company and the St. Louis, Missouri-based May Co.-History:...
, Kaufmann'sKaufmann'sKaufmann's was a department store that originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was owned in the early 20th century by Edgar J. Kaufmann, patron of 'Fallingwater' and the Kaufmann's Desert House. In the post-war years the store became a regional chain in the eastern United States, and was last...
, May Company OhioMay Company OhioThe May Company Ohio is a defunct chain of department stores that was based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States.-History:In 1899, David May, the founder of May Department Stores, acquired E. R. Hull & Dutton Co. of Cleveland on Ontario Street, renaming it May Company, Cleveland...
, O'Neil'sO'Neil'sO'Neil's was a regional department store chain based in Akron, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1877, the store grew to several locations throughout northeastern Ohio. Owned by May Department Stores, in 1989 it was merged with May's Ohio division, May Company Ohio, which was subsequently merged into...
and StroussStroussStrouss was a department store serving the U.S. states of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Originally known as Strouss-Hirshberg Co., it was long the leading department store in the greater Youngstown, Ohio and the Mahoning/Shenango Valleys...
. St. Louis will remain as a regional headquarters location for a corporate region within Macy's Central. Another corporate regional headquarters within the division will be based in Cincinnati. In 2009 Macy's announced that they would downsize the former Famous-BarrFamous-BarrThe Famous-Barr Co. , St. Louis, Missouri, was a division of Macy's, Inc. . It was formerly the hometown division of The May Department Stores Company, which was acquired by Federated on August 30, 2005. On February 1, 2006, it was subsumed into the newly created Macy's Midwest division.The...
flagship store in Downtown St. LouisDowntown St. LouisDowntown St. Louis is the central business district of St. Louis, Missouri, the hub of tourism and entertainment, and the anchor of the St. Louis metropolitan area. The downtown is bounded by Cole Street to the north, the river front to the east, Chouteau Avenue to the south, and Jefferson Avenue...
from seven stories to three.- Macy's West, was headquartered in San Francisco, with locations throughout the western United States, building on the foundation of store locations that first operated as O'Connor, Moffat & Company in San Francisco's Union Square and other sites. Prior to the February 2006 inclusion of May Company properties, the division included 232 stores/31,100 employees throughout ArizonaArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, California, ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, Hawaii, NevadaNevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, Texas and GuamGuamGuam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
. In addition to Macy's stores, the division operated former Foley's locations in Colorado, New Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, as well as Robinson's-May stores. After announced divestitures/store closures were completed by late 2006, this division operated approximately 190 stores, until consolidation with Macy's Northwest.
- Macy's West, was headquartered in San Francisco, with locations throughout the western United States, building on the foundation of store locations that first operated as O'Connor, Moffat & Company in San Francisco's Union Square and other sites. Prior to the February 2006 inclusion of May Company properties, the division included 232 stores/31,100 employees throughout Arizona
- Macy's Northwest, headquartered in Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, WashingtonSeattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
from February 2006 until February 2008, was consolidated into Macy's West. Many of the locations were formerly locations of The Bon Marché, and the division included 71 stores/7,200 employees prior to the February 2006 inclusion of May Company properties. Store locations in the division were located throughout IdahoIdahoIdaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, MontanaMontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, OregonOregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, UtahUtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, Washington, and WyomingWyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. In addition to former Bon Marché stores, the division added stores formerly operating as Meier & FrankMeier & FrankMeier & Frank was a chain of department stores founded in Portland, Oregon, and later bought out by the May Department Stores Company. Meier & Frank operated in the Pacific Northwest from 1857 to 2006.-History:Summary...
, which in turn had included former ZCMI locations. Seattle will remain as a regional headquarters location for a corporate region within Macy's West.
- Macy's Florida, which was headquartered in Miami, FloridaMiami, FloridaMiami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, included 61 stores/9,800 employees in Florida and Puerto RicoPuerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. The majority of the stores were formerly BurdinesBurdinesBurdines was a leading department store chain in the state of Florida. The first Burdines store was opened in Bartow, Florida in 1896., Burdines became part of Federated Department Stores, Inc in 1956...
; the San Juan, Puerto Rico, store was transferred from Macy's East in August 2007.
In conjunction with these geographic divisions, the New York-based Macy's Home Store division was responsible for buying, planning and marketing home-related merchandise sold in all Macy's stores.
All store divisions nationwide were also served by two administrative divisions, prior to February 2009:
- Macy's Corporate Marketing headquartered in New York, responsible for overall activity on initiatives implemented to support the company's focus on Marketing.
- Macy's Merchandising Group, headquartered in New York, responsible for conceptualizing, designing, sourcing, and marketing private label and private branded goods sold at Macy's and managing core vendor relationships in the domestic branded market.
In Puerto Rico
Macy's in Puerto Rico opened its doors in 2000, the first Macy's outside of the continental United States. It is located in the Plaza Las AméricasPlaza Las Américas
Plaza Las Américas is a shopping mall in Hato Rey, San Juan, Puerto Rico, located at the intersection of Routes 18 and 22. It is near the Roberto Clemente Coliseum, the Hiram Bithorn Stadium, and the WKAQ-TV's studios. "Plaza", as it is known to many Puerto Ricans, was the first indoor mall built...
mall in San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
.
Mexico also has a big department store in Mexico City and was buitlt in 2005
Private brands
Macy's has a large portfolio of private brandsPrivate brand
Private branding is when a large distribution channel member , buys from a manufacturer in bulk and puts its own name on the product. This strategy is, with some exceptions, generally only practical when the retailer does very high levels of volume...
that it produces for exclusive sale within its stores. These brands, which are advertised in store with "Only at Macy's" signage account for 20% of the company's sales. The merchandise in each brand is designed to appeal to different demographics and customers. Bar III, the most recent addition to the company's portfolio, was launched in Spring 2011. Some of Macy's private brands are sold internationally in non-competing department stores .
Macy's private brands include:
- Alfani (women's): wear-to-work clothes, sportswear, intimates, jewelry, shoes, and accessories
- Alfani (men's): sportswear, tailored clothing, shoes, and accessories
- American Rag: denim and separates
- Bar III: contemporary women's and men's clothing
- Charter Club: women's ready-to-wear, home goods
- Club Room: business casual menswear, sportswear, tailored clothing, furnishings, shoes, and accessories
- Epic Threads: urban and edgy clothing designed for tweens
- First Impressions: clothing for newborns and infants
- Giani Bernini: handbags, small leather goods, shoes, and jewelry
- Hotel Collection: luxury linens and mattresses
- I.N.C. International Concepts: fashion-forward modern clothing for women and men
- Jenni by Jennifer Moore: women's intimates, pajamas, loungewear, and lingerie; children's pajamas and loungewear branded as So Jenni
- JM Collection: work-to-weekend women's clothing
- Style & Co.: women's sportswear, shoes, jewelry, handbags, accessories, and bedding
- Tasso Elba: European-inspired menswear characterized by luxury fabrics including sportswear, tailored clothing, furnishings, shoes, and accessories
- Tools of the Trade: cookware and cutlery
Environmental record
A few of the effects of the textile industry are water deficit, pollution, fossil fuel and raw material consumption. In addition today’s mechanical textile plants use large amounts of energy, while also producing a throw-away mindset due to trends founded upon fast fashion and cheap clothing. Despite the common consequences related to the textile industry, Macy’s has begun to evaluate their environmental effects to lessen their negative impact by promoting important environmental causes. One way Macy’s recently supported the environment was during Earth Week and National Park Week 2008 by raising money with their “Turn over a New Leaf” project. This campaign helps to promote environmental awareness relating to shopping bags and their detrimental effect on the environment. Most plastic shopping bagPlastic shopping bag
Plastic shopping bags, carrier bags or plastic grocery bags are a type of shopping bag made from various kinds of plastic, and are common worldwide. These bags are sometimes called single-use bags, referring to carrying items from a store to a home...
s are made using petroleum, and it takes more than 1000 years to break them down in landfills. Because Macy’s uses approximately 43 million shopping bags each year, this can drastically alter the environment. Because of this, many Macy’s stores now sell reusable cotton tote bag
Tote bag
A tote bag is large and open bag, with a handle centered atop each side. In the classic cloth version, arched straps form both handles. Straps' ends run down both sides, ending under the second fabric layer there, which shields the lower surfaces...
s. In addition to the company’s bag transition, Macy’s is also replacing their synthetic, nonbiodegradable packing peanuts that accounts for 3.1 Mcuft of in-box material per year with loosefill material created from corn and potato starch
Starch
Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store...
. This new material will break down within 9 minutes with water in the landfills.
Controversy
In July 2003, then-New York State Attorney GeneralNew York State Attorney General
The New York State Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of New York. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of New York.The current Attorney General is Eric Schneiderman...
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
launched an investigation of the private policing system Macy's has used to deal with suspected shoplifters. The investigation was prompted by a civil rights lawsuit and an article in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, which reported on many of Macy's tactics, including private jails and interrogations. Spitzer's investigation found many of Macy's actions, from ethnic profiling to handcuffing detainees, to be unlawful. Macy's settled the civil rights complaint for US$600,000, claiming to have put the illegal tactics to an end while maintaining the security system itself.
The Macy's East downtown Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
store (formerly the Jordan Marsh
Jordan Marsh
Jordan Marsh & Company was a department store in Boston, Massachusetts, which grew to be a major regional chain in the New England area of the United States. In 1996, the last of the Jordan Marsh stores were converted to Macy's. The store was formerly part of Allied Stores and then Federated...
flagship) touched off a local public relations firestorm with the June 6, 2006, removal of two mannequin
Mannequin
A mannequin is an often articulated doll used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, and others especially to display or fit clothing...
s and the Web address of the AIDS Action Committee from a window display promoting Boston's annual gay pride
Gay pride
LGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity...
celebration. The removal was apparently in response to pressure from MassResistance, a local group opposed to same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
, whose members complained the mannequins were "homosexual". The removal of the mannequins was widely condemned by residents and officials, including Boston mayor Thomas Menino
Thomas Menino
Thomas Michael "Tom" Menino is the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, United States and the city's first Italian-American mayor...
, who was quoted as saying:
Macy's response to the debacle was to publish an apology by the Macy's East chairman, Ron Klein, in In Newsweekly, a Boston-area weekly with a large gay readership. Klein's description of the incident as "an internal breakdown in communication," further stated it was regrettable some would doubt Macy's commitment to diversity as a result. The Web address was later restored—the mannequins, however never made a reappearance.
Macy's Boston was also a target of Animal Rights protesters, who held signs and handed out pamphlets throughout the 1990s regarding Macy's participation in the fur trade industry. Macy's West had at the time stopped carrying their line of fur coats and apparel, and although the demonstrations have since quieted, Macy's East continues to sell fur coats and apparel, as does a portion of Macy's South stores.
In popular culture
- The phrase "Does Macy's tell Gimbels?" was a phrase once used in the U.S. as a put-off to inquiring people, the implication being that a company does not give information out to its competitors. Gimbels was the other large department a block away on 33rd Street from Macy's. It has since folded.
- The classic Christmas film Miracle on 34th StreetMiracle on 34th StreetMiracle on 34th Street is a 1947 Christmas film written by George Seaton from a story by Valentine Davies, directed by George Seaton and starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn...
(1947) is set in Macy's 34th Street flagship store. Subsequent remakes of the film for television (1955, 1959, and 1973) are also set in Macy's. However, a 1994 remake of the film was set in the fictional "Cole's" department store after Macy's refused to have its name used in the remake of the original film. - A less sentimental view of Macy's department store Santas can be found in the essay "SantaLand DiariesSantaLand Diaries"SantaLand Diaries" is an essay by David Sedaris. It is a true and humorous account of Sedaris' stint working as a Christmas elf in "SantaLand" at Macy's department store....
" by David SedarisDavid SedarisDavid Sedaris is a Grammy Award-nominated American humorist, writer, comedian, bestselling author, and radio contributor....
, which is frequently played on National Public Radio around Christmas, and has also been adapted for the stage. - Isidor StrausIsidor StrausIsidor Straus —a German Jewish American—was co-owner of the Macy's department store with his brother Nathan. He also served briefly as a member of the United States House of Representatives...
, the longtime co-owner of Macy's, was one of the most well-known casualties on the infamous sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Although Straus and his wife IdaIda StrausIda Straus, born Rosalie Ida Blun was an American homemaker and wife of the co-owner of the Macy's department store. She and her husband Isidor died on board the RMS Titanic.-Early life:...
had a chance to get on one of the lifeboats, Isidor refused, saying that he wouldn't go ahead of the younger men, and Ida, not wanting to leave her husband behind, stayed with him on the ship. The moment was immortalized in the 1958 film A Night to Remember, and was later used in both the 1997 filmTitanic (1997 film)Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
and the Broadway musicalTitanic (musical)Titanic is a musical with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone that opened on Broadway in 1997. It won five Tony Awards including the award for Best Musical...
. - In the Latin American literary classic Empire of Dreams by Giannina BraschiGiannina BraschiGiannina Braschi is a Puerto Rican writer. She is credited with writing the first Spanglish novel YO-YO BOING! and the poetry trilogy Empire of Dreams , which chronicles the Latin American immigrant's experiences in the United States...
the heroine Mariquita Samper is a makeup artist who works at Macy's on 34th Street. - The U.S. version of the music video "Heard 'Em Say" by Kanye WestKanye WestKanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
and Adam LevineAdam LevineAdam Noah Levine is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the front man and guitarist for the pop rock band Maroon 5. He is also a coach on the American talent show The Voice.-Early life:...
(lead singer of Maroon 5Maroon 5Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. While they were in high school, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bass guitarist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara's Flowers and released one album...
) was filmed inside Macy's Herald Square. The video features West and homeless children playing inside a closed Macy's at night, when Levine, as a store manager, lets them in. - The pop punkPop punkPop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
band, Green DayGreen DayGreen Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
has a song called "Macy's Day Parade" on their album, WarningWarning (Green Day album)Warning is the sixth studio album by American punk rock band Green Day. It was released on October 3, 2000 through Reprise Records. Building upon its predecessor, Nimrod , the album eschewed the band's trademark punk rock sound and incorporated acoustic and pop rock elements...
. - In the song "Tangerine," reference is made to the girl's clothes having labels that read "Macy's Mezzanine."
- In the 1976 musical drama Bugsy MaloneBugsy MaloneBugsy Malone is a 1976 musical film, very loosely based on events in New York City in the Prohibition era, specifically the exploits of gangsters like Al Capone and Bugs Moran, as dramatized in cinema...
, Bugsy, talking about his boxing past says, "This jaw has more glass in it than Macys." - A female child named Patty in Christmas Eve on Sesame StreetChristmas Eve on Sesame StreetChristmas Eve on Sesame Street is a Sesame Street Christmas special first broadcast on PBS on December 3, 1978.-Plot:The opening features the inhabitants of Sesame Street enjoying an ice skating party. Big Bird has trouble skating, but a child gives him a hand, and he ends up skating very well...
proposes that Macy's would know more about Santa Claus than anybody excluding the man himself.