Another One Bites the Dust

This morning Federated Department Stores announced that Marshall Field's, one of the most venerable and respected names in American department store retailing, will soon be history. All 62 Marshall Field's stores will be converted into Macy's units in the fall of 2006.

Link to article on the Chicago Tribune Web Site (text follows below)

Field's is one of 12 department store chains formerly owned by May Department Stores, a national retailing conglomerate that was recently acquired by Federated. All but one of these chains (Lord & Taylor) will be rebranded as Macy's in the coming year.

I happen to be somewhat obsessed with retailing, especially the shopping malls that are home to most department stores, so I've posted extensively about the Federated-May merger and its ramifications for shopping malls and cities across the country. I've also posted about the controversy over dumping the Field's name. Please click these links if you'd like to find out more abut this story:

Saving Marshall Field's
(posted 7/27/2005) -- A report on the Keep it Field's Web Site, a "grass-roots" effort to pressure Federated to keep the Marshall Field's name.

Macy's: Coming Soon to a Mall Near You
(posted 7/31/2005) -- A report on Federated's announcement to drop 10 of May's regional department store nameplates in favor of its Macy's brand. At that time, Federated had not made a decision about the Field's name.

Remembering Robinsons-May
(posted 7/31/2005) -- A detailed history of the Robinsons-May chain, the regional nameplate that May Department Stores operated in Southern California, Nevada, and Arizona.

Whither Marshall Field's? The Debate Rages On
(posted 8/8/2005) -- I share a post and e-mail from blogger Michael Meckler concerning his ideas for the future of Marshall Field's as well as my response to it.

Meckler on Federated
(posted 8/9/2005) -- I share Michael Meckler's response to my response.

Steven's Two Cents
(posted 8/9/2005) -- I share blogger (and fellow retail and mall enthusiast) Steven Swain's response to the thoughts of both Michael Meckler and myself.

Big Changes in Store for Southern California's Malls
(posted 9/3/2005) -- I speculate on the changes that will occur at the 24 malls in the greater Los Angeles and San Diego areas in which Federated will be closing stores as a result of Macy's absorbtion of Robinsons-May.

These posts may also be of interest:

My Pilgrimage to Woodfield
(posted 8/6/2005) -- I share my trip to Woodfield, the largest mall in greater Chicago, including photos of its Field's store.

My Pilgrimage to King of Prussia
(posted 8/7/2005) -- I share my trip to King of Prussia, a large mall in greater Philadelphia that will experience some changes as a result of the Federated-May merger.

Salute to Chicago
(posted 8/20/2005) -- I share my trip to the Windy City, including photos of Field's flagship State Street store as well as its Water Tower Place store.

I had anticipated that Federated would decide to drop the Marshall Field's moniker, but even I'm surprised at how quickly the decision was made. While I'm something of a retail nostalgist, I realize that consolidating Field's with Macy's makes a lot of sense from a business standpoint. I happen to think operating a "national" department store brand is a wise strategy, as it will allow Federated to better compete with Sears, JCPenney, Wal-Mart, Target, and Kohl's by using national advertising. It wouldn't have been cost-effective for Federated to continue spending money to advertise Field's in its local markets while promoting Macy's on a national scale.

The impending demise of Marshall Field's is a big blow to Chicago's civic pride. Marshall Field's is Chicago to many people. Alas, no city is immune from losing the storied merchants its citizens patronized for generations -- the retail business has changed. Whether you live in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, or Columbus, your "hometown" department store is no more.

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No miracle on State Street: Marshall Field's to Change to Macy's

Daley says return of Frango production to Chicago possible

Tribune staff reports

Published September 20, 2005, 3:15 PM CDT

Marshall Field & Co., a name long venerated in the history of Chicago retailing, will disappear in the fall of 2006, to be replaced by Macy's.

All 62 Field's in Illinois and seven other states will be converted to Macy's, according to today's announcement by Federated Department Stores Inc., Field's new owner.

"The business has to grow, and that just hasn't been happening," Terry J. Lundgren, Federated's chairman, president and chief executive, said as he explained the decision to turn Field's into Macy's.

"Clearly this is an emotional day, and it's an emotional decision, and for people who live in Chicago, we have total and complete respect for this brand name of Marshall Field. But you have to grow the business today," Lundgren told CLTV after meeting today with the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board.

The decision to drop the Field's name was made after Federated "carefully researched customer preferences and studied alternatives," Lundgren said in a news release released by Federated this morning.

Lundgren promised Field's traditions and its "outstanding record of community and charitable giving" would continue.

"From a shopping standpoint, customers will have the best of both worlds in major markets like Chicago, Minneapolis and Detroit," Lundgren said. "They will continue to benefit from regional buying that remains attuned to local preferences and lifestyles plus enjoy the distinctive merchandise and shopping experience that's part of the Macy's brand."

The stores will be operated under a Minneapolis-based division, Macy's North, the Cincinnati-based Federated said.

Among the first people in Chicago to learn of the name change was Mayor Richard Daley. The mayor has had several conversations with Lundgren recently before being personally informed by the Federated chairman of the decision this morning, said Daley spokeswoman Jacquelyn Heard.

Daley "was not very thrilled" to hear the news, Heard said. But the promise of no layoffs and the possibility of bringing Frango mint production back to Chicago from Pennsylvania, where it was outsourced in 1999, were "a huge part of (becoming) amenable" to the change in nameplates, she said.

Speaking to reporters later in the morning, Daley took a philosophical view of the loss of the Field's name.

"Things change in life," he said. "If you are not willing to accept change, you stay in the past."

The mayor called Federated a "very good corporate citizen." Regarding the State Street store, Federated plans to "reinforce that store," making it even more a "destination" than Field's has been.

Federated, parent of Macy's and Bloomingdale's, doubled its size Aug. 30 by completing its $11 billion acquisition of Field's owner, May Department Stores Co.

The acquisition gave rise to immediate misgivings among Chicagoans familiar with Federated's history of changing the names of regional department store chains it acquired to Macy's.

Most other May chains, including Famous-Barr, with seven Illinois stores, are to be renamed Macy's by fall 2006. One exception is Lord & Taylor, which Federated has ruled out changing.

The deal between Federated and May marked the second time in less than two years that Field's has changed hands. In July 2004, May bought Field's from Minneapolis-based Target Corp., which dumped its department store holdings to focus on its more vigorous discount chain.

The Federated-May deal created a $28 billion retailer with about 950 department stores.

Despite changing the name to Macy's, Field's may remain a fixture on State Street for some time to come. Two days after Federated closed its acquisition of May, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks formally recommended that the City Council bestow landmark status to the retailer's flagship store at State and Washington Streets.

If approved by the City Council, the landmark designation would give the city legal power to restrict building changes, including tinkering with the large nameplates on its exterior.

Preservationists and politicians have said changing the State Street store from Field's to Macy's would strip away a piece of the city's identity. Many also hoped a landmark designation would preserve the name of the State Street shopping icon.

"It's like changing the name of the Eiffel Tower, honestly," Preservation Chicago president Jonathan Fine said earlier this month. "I don't think Chicagoans will ever accept it as a Macy's. To us, that's somebody who sponsors a parade in New York."

Tribune staff reporter Gary Washburn contributed to this story.