The End of Robinsons-May
The Robinsons-May department store chain, representing more than a century of retailing history in Los Angeles, is nearing its end. The few stores that survive the current series of "going out of business sales" will be converted to the Macy's moniker this fall.The experience of Southern Californians is not unique. More than a dozen local department store names are being eradicated nationwide as part of Federated Department Stores' acquisition of May Department Stores, executed last year. The nature of retailing has changed; Federated has gambled that a "national brand" will help it compete against mass-merchandise titans like JCPenney, Kohl's, and Wal-Mart.
A few weeks ago Chizi and I visited a "going out of business" sale at the Robinsons-May store in the Westfield Santa Anita mall. It was only a couple days before the store closed forever, and the shopping environment was strange indeed:
Note: These manequins were on sale for $5 apiece.
As strange as it was to see the Robinsons-May store at Westfield Santa Anita reduced to such a bargain-hunting frenzy, it was downright bizarre to see the once-prestigious Robinsons-May store in Beverly Hills become "the world's largest garage sale" (cash only).
Prompted by a post at Curbed LA, Chizi and I made a pilgrimage to the shuttered Robinsons-May in Beverly Hills on Saturday to experience the "garage sale." We traveled through the 240,000-square-foot store, listening to pleasant Musak while viewing selling floors devoid of merchandise:
I was desperate to get a souvenir of some kind. After all, the Beverly Hills store (opened in 1952) was the first branch of J.W. Robinson's, one of Los Angeles' most upscale and exclusive department stores. I wanted to leave the "garage sale" with some piece of Robinsons-May's history.
In the end, I left with a framed "Robinsons-May Presidents' Club" poster for $5. Chizi thinks I could've bought it for less money, but I'm happy with it all the same. Here's a photo:
I'm proud to say that I own something with the Robinsons-May name on it; I have a little piece of Los Angeles retailing history, a history that I hope will not be soon forgotten.
Note: Please forgive the poor quality of many of the photos in this post, as they were taken with a cameraphone.
Previously on P.U.:
Remembering Robinsons-May (7/31/2005)
Macy's: Coming Soon to a Mall Near You (7/31/2005)
Big Changes in Store for Southern California's Malls (9/3/2005)
Pink Slips Galore (9/22/2005)
As the Merger Churns (10/27/2005)
End of an Era (11/07/2005)
posted by Mitch Glaser @ 8:50 PM
8 comments
8 Comments:
See, now you are a permanent member of the prestigious President's Club! ;)
I agree, it was very weird walking around the empty Robinsons-May store. What made perusing the Beverly Hills store a little creepy was the musty, old smell permeating through certain sections.
Growing up in SoCal, I frequented both Robinsons & May Co. back in the day, so walking through these empty stores in the last few weeks was weird & sad...and marked the end of an era in my shopping world as well.
A couple weeks ago the Santa Anita Robinsons had yellow police tape all around as they were still moving out its merchandise. That's a weird experience. It looked like an enormous crime scene.
Mitch-
Thanks for the photos. Sad to see them go. Makes me wish the internet and blogging were around back before Bullocks, Buffums, and The Broadway closed or were Macy-fied.
Always appreciate your insight.
-Ed
Thank you for the R-M Beverly Hills pictures. Although I've lived here in SoCal for over 20 years, I never managed to visit the place.
I like the photos. Very LiveMalls.
Okay, I just skimmed.
But my friend and I were just recently joking about how we would describe ourselves as mannequins: armless, expressionless, perfectly-breasted, bland (34/42/34 -duh..!)...what an hilarious piece of eternal history grabbing a mannequin at said auction would have invoked.........
or, you know, not....
whoops. 24, not 42.
It's certainly sad indeed. I will hate to see Marshall Field's get the kibosh in a few months, though at least no Marshall Field's stores in the Twin Cities will be closing, since Macy's has no "competitors" in our malls.
I remember when Mervyn's closed here. I visited the closing of the Rosedale Center Mervyn's store, and it was so weird walking through the store. It was emptying out quickly when I visited, already the entire third floor was nearly devoid of everything and the other floors were selling out quick. It's so STRANGE to see how big those places actually are with no merchandise in them.
I am moving into downtown St Paul soon, and was walking around. Marshall Field's is strong as ever, and a couple years ago they renovated the old Donaldson's building into an office building (and did a great job with it too!). There's an old former Woolworth's that looks like it has been there forever. I've been trying to find out more information about this former department store but have been unsuccessful.
Hopefully the Santa Anita Robinsons can find an anchor to replace that location. At Rosedale they completely knocked down the old Mervyn's and are building what they call the "Plaza at Rosedale" which is turning the mall into a hybrid power-shopping center, and a lifestyle center. Whatever it is, I'm sure it will be successful, because it's the 2nd busiest mall in Minnesota (first of course is Mall of America).
Post a Comment
<< Home