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The Macy's brand

gladhands

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Growing up in New York, Macy's meant Herald Square, and a damned fine department store. Nowadays, Macy's on 34th is still a decent dept store, but the brand as a whole is ****. What on earth was federated thinking when they re-branded every ****** department store in the country as a Macy's? Macy's is now synonymous with crap.

Why would they move into markets like Chicago, and change the name and lower the standards of beloved institutions like Marshall Fields? Wouldn't it have been easier to manage locally branded stores with strong consumer bases, and just call all new stores Macy's?
 

lee_44106

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You are a very, VERY small minority of people who sees clothing as a hobby, spent an inordinate amount of time discussing details that an average person could not care less about.

You may think Macy's sucks, you may think the Macy's housebrand Alfani sucks ass, but 99% others like it, enjoy it, and find them affordable.

Don't expect Macy's to cater to you or any other SF'er. They'll go bankrupt that way.


And speaking of which, how many of you yapping "Big Timers" shop exclusively at the likes of Bergdorf Goodman or Neimans or Saks? Or are you just a wannabe that can only afford to troll the B&S for cheap goods at 90% off retail?
 

gladhands

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Easy there, Trigger. I'm a self-professed small-timer.

This isn't about Macy's maintaining 34th street standards nationwide. It's about the preservation of the brand. If that Hecht's or Sterns was doing brisk business, there was no reason to slap a Macy's sign on the front other than cheapening the Macy's brand.
 

ljrcustom

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^
Well Stated.

-LR
 

lee_44106

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Originally Posted by gladhands
Easy there, Trigger. I'm a self-professed small-timer.

This isn't about Macy's maintaining 34th street standards nationwide. It's about the preservation of the brand. If that Hecht's or Sterns was doing brisk business, there was no reason to slap a Macy's sign on the front other than cheapening the Macy's brand.


Originally Posted by ljrcustom
^
Well Stated.

-LR



Have the two of you considered that it just MAY be more cost effective to run ONE brand instead of 50?

That customers can identify with a nationally know brand (Macy's)?

Business 101.
 

Master Squirrel

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First off, Macy's here is beginning to get the reputation of an expensive TJ Marshalls. (And seen as a interloper in our proud retail tradition.) They are doing less business than the Marshall Fields and have begun to rent Skyway level space in their Downtown Store. (Huge deal --Thomas Pink -- who also make it a point to state that they are NOT part of Macys.) Nordstroms and local merchants are filling in the gap left behind. That's good for business.
 

PreppyBoy

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I have no idea if Macy's still offers their brand Charter Club however, I must say the quality was very good 15 years ago.

Cheers!
 

gladhands

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^^^That's clearly what Federated thought, and they've faced resentment in many markets, coupled with the weakening of that known, national brand. If I were traveling, I might have walked into a local department store I was unfamiliar with, but I typically avoid Macy's because I expect so little from them now.

Business 101 is an elementary overview. Business in a vacuum. In real life it hurt Macy's.
 

bananananana

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^^ That.

One positive now may be that Macys is relinquishing more control to individual stores on merchandising and marketing, so you may see some of the larger market Macys go a bit more upscale. I haven't seen any differences in the SF Macys, but I'm not sure if they're one of the stores in that program.
 

gladhands

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Originally Posted by Master Squirrel
Nordstroms and local merchants are filling in the gap left behind. That's good for business.

In my mind, Nordstrom now occupies the space formerly held by Macy's, whereas Macy's is now J.C. Penny with a PRL section.
 

intent

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Originally Posted by lee_44106
Have the two of you considered that it just MAY be more cost effective to run ONE brand instead of 50?

That customers can identify with a nationally know brand (Macy's)?

Business 101.

Maintaining 50 brands may be tough, but not 5 or so. TJ Maxx can do it, Best Buy can do it in Canada, and the GAP does it well. Hell, LVMH manages about 60 brands and they're all seen as exclusive.
 

gladhands

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I can't really say what they've done with Bloomie's because I was too poor to shop there as a child. Today, I think I'd place it slightly above Nordstrom's, but comfortably below Saks or Neiman Marcus.
 

JLibourel

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I haven't even set foot in a Macy's in quite a while. I have gotten the impression that the quality of their goods has declined in recent years. I bought some made-in-Hong Kong white dress shirts bearing their "Club Room" label about 11 years ago, and they still seem pretty decent to me.

Some of my negative impression of Macy's may have been formed by visits to their store in Santa Ana Mainplace, not the most upscale shopping area around. I have the sense their men's store in South Coast Plaza is a distinct cut above--still, I never see anything I want to buy there.

Macy's vs. JAB would be good time-wasting thread.
 

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