As a little boy in the sixties, my parents shopped quite often at the downtown Foley, the main store. Then, in the seventies when I was in college I worked at a hospital two blocks from that store. I still remember where all the goods were on the various nine floors! Good memories, and yeah, the May gang ruined Foley's.
Biggest mistake Macy's made was renaming regional stores. People felt connected to the regional brands. I still love Macy's, but I like our regional brand better, Sanger Harris.
I agree with this perspective. PA, OH, and upstate NY shoppers wanted Kaufmann's; Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain state shoppers wanted Lazarus and Bon Marché. These shoppers DID NOT want Macy's, which reminded them of "uppity" New York City.
Liberty House in Hawaii as well. I never thought of Macy's sounding uppity New York City despite that location being it's flagship location. Now Bloomingdales on the other hand, sounds and looks like what I think an "uppity" New York City department store interior looks like. For some reason our aforementioned renamed regional store feels more inviting to shop in than the recently built Bloomingdales, I guess since mainly just the name changed, but not really the interior. I feel like it was more trouble than it was probably worth for them to make the Ala Moana one look like an actual Macy's they took out the original in store bakery though. Ironically, the downtown location got turned into a Walmart.
I worked for a May Department Store from 1999 to 2006. Strawbridge & Clothier, a Philadelphia based company which was bought by May Company in mid 90’s and turned into strawbridge’s *above the Mason Dixon line, and Hecht’s in other locations. I miss strawbridges so much. It was a great job when I was in High School and College. I was so sad when Federated bought May Dept Stores in 2005…we eventually merged with Macys in our mall. I left shortly after. Working for Macys was HORRIBLE in comparison.
Oh wow! You are probably the first one here in the comments I've seen that worked for Strawbridge & Clothier. I heard Macy's was horrible when it took control of the regional stores.
You can thank federated department stores for that. Once they bought macys out of bankruptcy, they decided to convert all of the stores that fell under their portfolio into the Macys name plate. You'll think they would have known better using a bankrupt company to rename very profitable stores to.
Macy's buying all of these local chains with unique offerings & loyal followings and converting them solely into more Macy's, only to have to shutter a lot of them for simply having too many of their own stores as competition, feels extremely short-sighted in hindsight.
One store that was not mentioned was the Bon Marche. The Bon was a Seattle based small chain, with stores in a couple of states. I worked at the one in Bozeman Montana. Fantastic employer and well loved. Around 2000 it was absorbed by Federated Stores, some called it a hostile takeover.
Burdines was hands down one of best regional department stores in the country. It had that Florida flavor and catered to the demographics of the state of Florida. It’s a shame seeing the Macy’s name on the former Burdines store decorated with the neon lights and the palm trees. Burdines was also known for its amazing visual merchandising. Now the stores are dirty and uninspiring. Terry Lundgren will go down as history as one of the worst retailing exes who killed off many storied names like Marshall Fields, Foleys, Rich’s, Lazarus etc
I never had the chance to visit any of those stores. They were changed to Macy's by the time I started going with label scars of the previous store's name.
Those of us I’m SoCal feel the same way about Bullock’s, Bullock’s Wilshire and I Magnin and probably even The Broadway. The advertising tag line for The Broadway was, ‘The Broadway is…. Southern California.’ All these stores epitomized the Southern California aesthetic. Macy’s insulted the legend that was the essence of Bullock’s Wilshire and I Magnin when they closed these stores. BW and I Magnin would make Macy’s look like a Walmart.
Macy's isn't owned by Macy's anymore Federated simply changed their name to Macy's. When RH Macy's was actually running Macy's and Bamberger stores I believed was back in the 80s I know that's when Bambergers changed to Macy's and the stores went downhill ever since
I just wish some of those old nameplates would come back! Macy’s neglects their department stores unless it’s higher performing... It’s sad! For example, Marshall Fields was a GORGEOUS store until Macy’s murdered it. The class, the customer service were all vanquished by Macy’s. 🥺 As for not mentioned Stores you didn’t mention Famous Barr, The Bon Marche, L.S Ayers, Meir and Frank, Robinson-May, The Jones Store, Dayton’s, Hudson’s.
I’ll be sure to add some of those to the next segment. We don’t want the video to be 30 minutes long 😆. (Hint, I put extra logos on the Thumbnail, which will let you know what other stories you should expect in next video).
Dayton's (Minneapolis) and Hudson's (Detroit) were never part of Federated. They were consolidated into the Marshall Field's banner by the spring of 2001 by Target Corporation.
Growing up in Memphis as a child.. I will _Always Remember a trip to Goldsmith's underground Christmas Village. What a Treat :) it was considered an Upper Class Department Store & you dressed up to go to.
Sanger-Harris was based in Dallas and itself was a merger of Sanger Bros. and A. Harris & Co. After the merger they built a flagship store in downtown Dallas with the arches and mosaics which would be replicated at its suburban branches. That building, without the mosaics, is now the headquarters for DART. In 2005, while in Houston for a music festival, I dropped by the downtown Foley's and bought a ticket for the Big 12 championship game at Reliant Stadium hoping to see my Longhorns in it. Did it pay off!
I remembered a friend in Ft Lauderdale told me that Macy’s have taken over Burdines. He was pretty upset. In Texas lot of Foley’s stores. It was wonderful. I had plenty of credit to buy clothing, furniture, and more. Until May Store Corp sold it to Macy’s. I was not happy since, items from Foley’s was gone and the floors were semi bare. It was way too expensive. Lack clothing and furniture was expensive too. Plus my new Macy’s card credit limit $600 less. And two years later Macy’s shut down a 4 story store in my neighborhood. Another store, and more stores too. Not much left in my town. I’m disappointed how Macy’s ruined businesses anyway.
My Dad worked at Rich’s in downtown Atlanta. This was the original store and I have many fond memories of my time there. I was also there when the downtown store closed, it was a sad day.
I wonder how many people miss the Christmas program and tree lighting at the Chrystal Bridge on Thanksgiving night? I think they now hold it at or near Underground Atlanta.
Strawbridge's flagship building still stands in Center City Philadelphia. The street level floor is now a Giant Heirloom supermarket, the upper floors are now the offices of the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper, another part of the building houses a Shoppers World discount store. The corner of 8th and Market had three department stores at that corner-Strawbridge's, Lit Brothers and Gimbel's- all gone-the Lit Brothers building still stands and is now the headquarters and flagship store of the Five Below chain. The Gallery is now the Fashion District. All those stores had basement access to the 8th Street subway station.
To me, Macy’s seems too specialized to have taken over a lot of these stores. Our Filene’s turned into a Macy’s, which made sense to me, but some of the stores don’t seem to line up with what Macy’s is about.
The very first Lazarus store was founded on S. High St in Columbus OH. Back in 1989 a mall was built across the street called City Center Mall, and one of the hub stores was Marshall Fields. However, when Federated decided to ignore the Lazarus history in Columbus and renamed the Lazarus stores Macy's, things crashed in the downtown area pretty quickly, and across the street City Center Mall, already hit by a downturn because of newer malls outside the city, lost their hubs including Marshall Fields. Lazarus/Macy's across the street was closed after more than 150 years in business and was converted into a mixed-use property. The mall was torn down in 2009, only 20 years after it opened. Filene's Basement was taken over in the mid-late 1990s by Value City (soon to become Retail Ventures Inc.), which began on S. Parsons Ave. in Columbus as Schottenstein Department Stores in 1916. However, the original Schottenstein's on Parsons closed in March 2005 (I worked there from 1992 till the end), then the remaining Schottenstein's in Columbus were renamed Value City, and then in December 2008 all remaining stores across the country were closed. I guess Filene's Basement lasted a little longer, probably sold to another company.
I’m from Colorado and I remember that we had Foley’s. I don’t ever remember going into one though as I was just born probably a year before it got rebranded to Macy’s. It’s so sad that I never got to go inside one of those locations
In part four could you include the UK department stores Debenhams House of Fraser alders and BHS Note Debenhams and House of Fraser have just gone bust there in the middle of closing all their stores
Oh and Woolworths UK even though they’re not really department stores a very small number of people called them department stores en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolworths_Group_(United_Kingdom)
Very good and informative report! We need to take notice that the system of retail its damage, all of the no longer existing stores should have made it. Granted, nothing last forever in life. By the way I believe is pronounced Bur-Dines as in dine in.
The store was a Hartford institution since the late 1800's. You will find that an equally iconic woman (Beatrice Fox) was a much revered local figure who ran the store for decades. Your research will show that the name was initially bought by May Co and eventually branded as Filene's and then became Macy's as it is today. The downtown Hartford store, which was an historic building is no longer used; it is now a community college and a high end banquet facility.
You can't have lived in Philadelphia or its suburbs for any length of time without hearing about (if not shopping at) Strawbridge and Clothier (or Strawbridge's if you prefer). Got to Florida too late to see Burdine's in its original form (BTW, please decide how that name is pronounced: is it burr-DEEN or burr-DINE, as in, another way to say "eat"?)
No reason? You need a few lessons in economics. Shopping was changing. First to malls and then online. The big, elderly brick and mortars couldn't compete. How many businesses survive 100-150 years in any form, let alone the same form? You evolve or you die. We are lucky there are any brick and mortar dept stores left at all. My town lost all its dept stores. No Sears, Wards, Penneys. I don't think there is a dept store within a couple hours drive anymore. We have Walmart and some very small clothing stores and that's it.
@@653j521 I do know a few lessons in economics, but I'll forgive you because my original comment was so vague. Federated Dept. Stores squandered a lot of local good will (and therefor economic power) by nationalizing the Macy's name. I know people all these years later who still refer to the old regional name like Burdines or Rich's. It was something that made the stories unique and therefore differentiated over emerging online retailers. The X-Macy's format they had was probably the best middle ground between local heritage and national recognition. Once Macy's became a bland universal everywhere store, there's less reason to go out of your way to shop there.
federated also took over Abraham & Strauss in NY- and I agree with many the Macy brand was not as unique as the names it devoured- I loved Burdines and am not a Fan of Macy's- loved Lord & Taylor, Marshall Fields..... so many other regional brands that were unique to the regions they were founded in, macys is a bland comparison to the originals.... and in 2023 it feels that it too is destined to fade away-
Because Federated took over Macy's during their bankruptcy and closed I. Magnin, I refuse to shop Macy's ever again. Worse what they did to Marshall Fields. I hate Federated!
@@653j521 Maybe more people should boycott Macy's and Bloomingdale's. This isn't about a grudge, but a terrible business decision that affect quite a few people over the past thirty years. It seems that Federated couldn't give a FF about its staff, only the CEO, board and shareholders. Mind you, I grew up with Macy's, I shopped there over the years. I pick Nordstrom over anything Federated, they gave what I want, better value, and unsurpassed CS, something Federated cannot ever replicate.
@@undergroundretail Most of it was catalog, but I did order an Issey Miyake tee from San Francisco store, which I still own. That, and two cashmere sweaters that I treasure, looking worse for wear as they are about thirty years old.
J. L Hudson's was not mentioned in Michigan it was very popular, it then became Hudson's and then Marshall Field, and now Macy's Everyone here in Michigan still miss Hudson's
Hudson’s went downhill when merged with Dayton’s. That was the beginning of the end, around 1985/6. Michiganders still bemoan the eventual “Macy’scre” of one of the most beloved stores. (It also played a part in the Hudson motor company, which eventually merged with Nash-Kelvinator to form American Motors.)
we have discussed this in my home time and time again if macys had not been so greedy and pompous they would have left the local stores in tact and just made them part of the federated company of stores. macys is getting what they deserve and are going to be gone in a few years .
It was sad to lose strong regional nameplates such as Rich's, Lazarus, Goldsmith's, Burdine's, Hecht's, Kaufmann's, Foley's, Filene's, Famous Barr, and Marshall Field. All were better managed stores before the Macy's conversion.
And Macy's main competition is now Belk, Dillard's, Kohl's, and possibly JCPenney. in the Southeast Belk and Dillard's dominate, although Macy's is still strong at the former Rich's locations in Georgia, despite the unpopular conversion.
@@Mr.TylerSC I'm surprised you think Penneys is competition for anyone these days. Also, their merchandise is inferior to what Macys sells in quality and fashion. And you have to buy $75 to get free shipping most of the year whereas with Macys it is usually $25, so I order from Macys.
I'll be soooooo glad when Macy's is added to this list. So many great local names coast to coast replaced by lower end Macy's. If only they would rebrand the remaining stores BACK to their original names. I'm sure that wouldn't hurt in areas Macy's is unpopular. Like everywhere except NYC and San Francisco. And maybe not in those areas either.
Mother saved green stamps all year to go to May Co. once a year and buy a few bras. That was her treat. I went with her sometimes, scrubbed clean and with my Sunday best on for sure.....down to the basement to purchase two or three bras for her. I was coached to not touch anything and mind my manners. Things were sure different then. (1950's - 1960's)
Kaufmann's in Pittsburgh was at Smithfield and Fifth (Gimbel's was Smithfield and Sixth). It was at least a 12-story building rather than 3. Frank Lloyd Wright's well-known work, Fallingwater, was owned by Edgar Kaufmann.
You should do part 2 of Federated and May Department stores with Robinsons-May, Famous-Barr, Meier & Frank, The Broadway, L.S. Ayres, The Jones Store, Hecht's, Liberty House, The Bon Marché, and Bullock's.
As a native St. Louisan, I remember Famous-Barr very well! They were the main department store in my town until maybe the early 2000s, when Macys bought them out! My Mom and sister worked there for a long time, especially my Sis!
My favorite was Burdines "the florida store" which ran rings around macys in Florida. Especially the Dadeland store in miami which still operates as a macys.
Filenes was iconic. Every year Filenes basement would host “The running of the brides.” Brides would line up and storm into the store grabbing as many bridal gowns as possible to try them on in a corner. They would trade gowns with other brides if they didn’t want the ones they had.
@@frsfca I had contemplated adding those two to the list, but those were more specialty stores. I. Magnin actually went out of business. Macy’s converted some locations to Bloomingdales. Macy’s also took over Liberty House in Northern California and Hawaii. Macy’s definitely has the most number of department store locations in both Northern and Southern California.
I was just about to say the same thing; since 1990, I have worked at Bullock's and Robinsons-May (both brief stints), just as Macy's was converting them.
Would like to of heard a bit more about May Companies history, also Famous-Barr, and the history of the Railway Exchange Building in St Louis, the May Co HQ for many years, would also love to know its current state. Shared this on my Facebook page so other ex-May Co veterans can watch and hopefully share some memories.
Jacobson's and Robinsons of Florida - (west coast locations only) - underneath the same umbrella company A.D.G. (Associated Dry Goods). Who also owned Lord & Taylor in the early -mid 80's when I was there in the NYC flagship location.
Along with the Bon Marche in the Pacific NW there was Meier & Frank with its main store in downtown Portland, Oregon and other locations in the Lloyd Center, Salem, and Vancouver. My mother worked in the yardage department on the 5th floor downtown. Everything could be found at that main M&F store. 2nd Basement was budget, 1st basement was groceries and soda fountain, 1st floor cosmetics, 2nd floor men's and shoes, 3rd - 5th women's clothes, 6th floor was sporting goods, furniture, books, and offices, 10th floor was the Georgian Room for fine dining and the casual lunch room. And the green trucks would make home deliveries all over. Purchased by the May Company in about 1966. Then became Macy's. Downtown Portland store has become a hotel and mixed use.
Marshall Field's was a top line store with a lot of private label POPULAR merchandise. When the lower class retailer Macy's replaced the MF&Co name, they lost a ton of customers. To this very day, I refuse to shop at their lower class store.
I grew up in Los Angeles and remember JW Robinson’s, Bullock’s, Bullock’s Wilshire, I Magnin and The Broadway. When I was a kid, my parents didn’t shop there because those stores were expensive. When I could finally afford to shop there, I found these stores to have their style and ‘point of view’ in terms of fashions. Bullock’s Wilshire and I Magnin were akin to Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus and they were expensive, but that was the point. They provided a shopping experience that cannot be had at Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s. Even plain old Bullock’s was a better store than any Macy’s. To me, Macy’s is nothing more than Kohl’s with a different look.
There was Broadway Stores Inc. Which had The Broadway, Weinstocks, and Emporium Capwells. Macy's bought them out in 1995, and converted some stores into Macy's. I remember Emporium Capwells when they closed the store where I worked. The service there was top notch, and the employees went above and beyond to serve the customer. I also worked for Macy's. The level of service there was nothing to what we did for the customer at Emporium Capwells.
I thought May's & Macy's were two different companies. May's had a location in Levittown, NY which now is an indoor flea market but the door handles & floor in between two sets of doors still say May's in the script font.
This is referring to The May Department Stores Company, which was a department store holding company. They Merged with Federated Department Stores after being purchased and later renamed Macy's altogether.
In Florida we had the Jordan Marsh and Burdines under Federated. Worked for Burdines over 20 years and was able to retire in 2010 with Macy's. Sad to see Burdines and Jordan Marsh close,so iconic.
I think Macys has been a poor substitute for most of its buyout department stores. It is definitely not as classy as Meier & Frank, a legendary chain where I live. Luckily, Nordstrom in Seattle didn’t also fold.
As a former Illinoisan living in Florida, the 2 department stores I remember at Woodfield mall in Schaumburg Illinois, were Lord & Taylor & Marshall Fields, the candy you couldn't get enough of, were the Frango mints, there's nothing like them, I used to buy them all the time, on a recent check on the Walnut Room at Macy's on State Street, they still have frozen Frango mint ice cream pie & their cheesecake, 2 things I wouldn't mind having shipped for a taste of Chicago!!!
Regionality is gone. Regional department stors truly knew their customer. Now, stores are divded into A, B, and C stores based on size, climate, and customer demogrpahic. That's it. Macy's runied it all.
In the late '80s/early '90s, I saw a picture from a posh Burdine's in Florida that had an atrium with supporting pillars scultped in the form of huge majestic standing alligators in a soft coral color. I looked for that place every time I was in Florida, but I never found out which store it was in!
It may have been the store in miami coconut grove in the Mayfair shopping center. Unfortunately, that stores was closed and the building was torn down even before the macys conversion.
The only store I know that featured pillars were the Gilly Hicks stores. But that was a retail store. I'm a native of Georgia, so I never got a chance to visit Burdines personally. 😢 blog.ispira.com/gilly-hicks_2
@@undergroundretail You have my sympathies for being a Georgia native. I married into it and was brought here. I was naive and thought the ignorant caricatures in movies were holdovers from the past. I was shocked to see how institutionalized ignorance is a source of PRIDE down here!
Polsky's Department Store was an Akron, OH based department store that was acquired by Federated while downtown store branched out to the suburbs. Polsky's was gone in the early 1980's.
I remember Goldsmith's in Memphis as a kid, totally awesome department store! Every Christmas they would put on the enchanted Forest that ended with you getting your picture taken with Santa Claus. When Macy's took over, the enchanted Forest was cut down.
I miss Filenes, Kaufmann's, and Gimbels. I remember meet me under the Kaufmans clock! I remember women fighting at the sales! Trying on clothes wherever they were. Those were good times! The fights weren't like today it was all in good fun! Bloody Macy's can get bent. Never did like them!
Omg my favorite department store of all time Rich’s, I definitely miss that place, the Pink Pig ride and the Lighting of the Great Tree, my family and I have shopped there for years and years, Rich’s according to my family was definitely better than Davidson’s, but Macy’s royally ruined both Rich’s and Davidson’s, it’s unfortunate when Dillard’s and Belk are so much better than Macy’s as well! 🙄 Then Burdines unfortunately never went in any of there locations except for the former Governors Square Mall location in Tallahassee Florida but Macy’s definitely ruined them for sure, because it’s a dump like the Perimeter Mall Macy’s and some of the existing older Rich’s locations such as: Northlake Mall, Southlake Mall, Gwinnett Place Mall locations, because all 4 former Rich’s including the 5th at Cobb Center and the 6th one at Belvedere Plaza are gone, both Cobb Center and Belvedere never became Macy’s closed shortly before the merger and the one just closed in 90’s which is the Belvedere location of course, but Shannon Mall Macy’s closed twice the original Macy’s is demolished and the former Rich’s is also demolished for a current movie studio, North Dekalb Macy’s is vacant, South Dekalb Macy’s is also vacant as of 2020, and now Greenbriar Mall Macy’s is going to be gone I believe just last month! 😳 And lastly Lord and Taylor sucked, been in only 2 locations in general, the Mall of Georgia one and one in New Orleans, and I have no memory of visiting one while I was in Buffalo, New York either, but anyways the stores were overpriced crap, and unkept like Sears and currently Jcpenney’s it’s ashame for high end store that isn’t better than the average Parisians either! 😳 So I definitely miss Rich’s thanks for mentioning them! 😁 Burdines never got to chance to shop at them, and Lord and Taylor good riddance glad 2021 put them out of business recently not for the sake of the employees but the mismanagement of the company! 🤔
Richs was the bomb! Did all my shopping there at Cumberland Mall and Cobb Center. The bakery, clothing (Izod, pro keds tennis shoes and the auto center for my father. The chocolate and coconut cakes were to die for and wonderful customer service. My parents bought a huge Magnavox tv stereo combo for almost a thousand back then! How I miss Richway, Davidsons as well and the old Cumberland mall before town center
@@robertbeall5850 Omg yes Rich’s was awesome during my parents day, unfortunately the better amenities were stripped away when I was born in 1995, because the one at Cobb Center was a clearance center similar to what Dillard’s does today in certain states except only difference Rich’s kept both floors open where Dillard’s closes down one floor when that happens, but yes the Cumberland Mall Rich’s my all time favorite location besides Lenox Square, my mom and grandparents loved Rich’s bakery, the Publix bakery is about the closest thing to it, other than the Neiman Marcus one at Lenox Square unfortunately, clothing for kids at Rich’s was the best, outlast Walmart quality for sure, and it still was better than what Target sold, even though Target kind of reminds me of Rich’s in some ways even though it’s still not the same, oh yes the auto center at Rich’s was decent and my grandpa worked there for many years back then, customer service was amazing, that’s something Macys and most retailers lack today, only ones who still provide decent customer service are: Target, Home Depot, Publix, Ingles, Winn Dixie, Aldi even though they don’t have a customer service desk, there cashiers are decent, Hobby Lobby, Nordstrom’s, Von Maur from what I have heard, Belk, Dillard’s, and many others except for Walmart, Kroger, Sears, JCPenney’s, and Kmart are bad on customer service sadly, Magnavox is decent brand, but back then they were the Samsung, Lg, Panasonic, Sony, and Hitachi of TVs back in the day. 😁 Richway my parents like but Target actually has kept some of the same values Richway offered back in my parents day because it certainly wasn’t Walmart or Kmart who copied them, because those two stores suck, Davidson’s ehhh, my parents didn’t like them as much, the original Macys was hit or miss back then. 🤔 Oh yes back when JCPenney’s gave a damn about the customer and there LL and UL labeled elevator with furniture, yes I liked that location other than the modern Hiram, Georgia location before I moved to Panama City Beach Florida of course, and Sears at Cumberland Mall was decent at first, but they were bad before they closed, Dick Sporting Goods is ripoff that replaced them, and I prefer Academy Sports over them, and Round 1 never been to but heard of, and Planet Fitness is so overrated they advertise a lot, and then Town Center at Cobb was my other favorite mall, that Rich’s there was okay, but the original Macys was better at that mall, and the fact it wasn’t an original Davidson’s even nicer in my opinion, JCPenney’s at that mall sucks even with the add on square footage of the former Mervyn’s which is like Kohl’s but more downscale, Sears at that mall was the same situation as Cumberland Mall but vacant still as of 2022, Belk is awesome at that mall in the former Parisians. 😁 It’s ashame what happened to Town Center at Cobb they went downhill and foreclosed the mall back in February of 2021, but I live now in Panama City Florida and 3/4 years after Hurricane Michael the former Panama City Mall still sits vacant including Sears. 😳 But yeah Arbor Place Mall is the mall I went to the most with my family back then, and Rich’s they did add there was lousy and not a great replacement for Cobb Center it was more Macys and Federated like, and not Rich’s at all. 🤔
Wy does everyone forget Hudsons? Detroit was the motor city and Hudsons was the premier shopping destination there. Hudson's was responsible for the woodward dream cruise and the Detroit Hplifay parade. Detroit seems to always be slighted in these videos and it is a shame. There is a lot of great history here
Thanks for Watching 😃! Dayton’s was set to be in the next installment, but the history and back story is a lot for it to be featured in a Top 10. Dayton’s will probably have its own video in the future.
@@undergroundretail Please tag me in a video if you make a video about Oneils. There is a HUGE following of the M. Oneil company on FB under Akron Ohio memories and ONEILS. Akron Ohio had a rich history with incredible job bases and incredible shopping. There was also Polskys which Allied Department Stores bought and promptly shut down. Polskys was Oneils direct competitor and was located across the street. Oneils was 600,000 square feet and sold everything including Crosley cars on its parking deck. On a side note, Polskys opened in 1930 and closed in 1979 and it was known architecturally as one of the finest examples of art deco architecture in the country. Akron also had Yeagers and Federmans
@@undergroundretail I believe Oneils closed in 1989 with a $7 million dollar profit. To small of a profit for May Department stores profit / per square foot business model. Mind you they had closed the top 3 floors of the building before any of this.
Great suggestion! I will include it in a future installment. Some DC stores are mentioned for the upcoming Part 2 of this, which is currently in the process of being created.
I worked in the downtown Famous-Barr, which was also the headquarters of the May Department Stores. The corporate offices were above the department store. I worked in the real estate and interior design division as a computer guy. In addition to the tons of department store chains May owned, they also owned many shopping malls, such as the Galleria in St. Louis. After I left, Federated (Macy's) took over May, and thus the mass destruction and changeover to Macy's was complete.
No mention of the buyout of Federated by Campeau in 1988? This was the spark that ignited the basis of this video presentation. Macy's sucks in this day and age, the same clothing crap, the same understaffed stores, the same clutter in all their locations and the end of regional fashions. It's all the same branded crap. This consolidation and rebranding the regional chains to Macy's is what destroyed the department store.
As a little boy in the sixties, my parents shopped quite often at the downtown Foley, the main store. Then, in the seventies when I was in college I worked at a hospital two blocks from that store. I still remember where all the goods were on the various nine floors! Good memories, and yeah, the May gang ruined Foley's.
Biggest mistake Macy's made was renaming regional stores. People felt connected to the regional brands. I still love Macy's, but I like our regional brand better, Sanger Harris.
I totally Agree! They pretty much drained the culture out of those store locations.
I agree with this perspective. PA, OH, and upstate NY shoppers wanted Kaufmann's; Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain state shoppers wanted Lazarus and Bon Marché. These shoppers DID NOT want Macy's, which reminded them of "uppity" New York City.
Liberty House in Hawaii as well.
I never thought of Macy's sounding uppity New York City despite that location being it's flagship location. Now Bloomingdales on the other hand, sounds and looks like what I think an "uppity" New York City department store interior looks like. For some reason our aforementioned renamed regional store feels more inviting to shop in than the recently built Bloomingdales, I guess since mainly just the name changed, but not really the interior. I feel like it was more trouble than it was probably worth for them to make the Ala Moana one look like an actual Macy's they took out the original in store bakery though. Ironically, the downtown location got turned into a Walmart.
@@PinkAgaricus agreed, Neiman Marcus is the only true hometown store left in Dallas.
In SoCal, I Magnan, Bullocks, and Bullocks Wilshire were a level above, and beyond what Macy’s is. It was sad to see them destroyed and erased.
I worked for a May Department Store from 1999 to 2006. Strawbridge & Clothier, a Philadelphia based company which was bought by May Company in mid 90’s and turned into strawbridge’s *above the Mason Dixon line, and Hecht’s in other locations. I miss strawbridges so much. It was a great job when I was in High School and College. I was so sad when Federated bought May Dept Stores in 2005…we eventually merged with Macys in our mall. I left shortly after. Working for Macys was HORRIBLE in comparison.
I always liked Strawbridge and Clothier I even liked their discount store Clover! I miss S & C, John Wanamaker and when Macy's was known as Bambergers
Oh wow! You are probably the first one here in the comments I've seen that worked for Strawbridge & Clothier. I heard Macy's was horrible when it took control of the regional stores.
WOW didn't realize how Macy's took over everything in its way to the "top" what a shame.
You can thank federated department stores for that. Once they bought macys out of bankruptcy, they decided to convert all of the stores that fell under their portfolio into the Macys name plate. You'll think they would have known better using a bankrupt company to rename very profitable stores to.
Most of the chains that Macy’s took over had a better reputation than the parent company. Odd
Macy's buying all of these local chains with unique offerings & loyal followings and converting them solely into more Macy's, only to have to shutter a lot of them for simply having too many of their own stores as competition, feels extremely short-sighted in hindsight.
One store that was not mentioned was the Bon Marche. The Bon was a Seattle based small chain, with stores in a couple of states. I worked at the one in Bozeman Montana. Fantastic employer and well loved. Around 2000 it was absorbed by Federated Stores, some called it a hostile takeover.
I didn’t known about that name until now. Did some research on it and a very interesting background.
it all changed to macys
Burdines was hands down one of best regional department stores in the country. It had that Florida flavor and catered to the demographics of the state of Florida. It’s a shame seeing the Macy’s name on the former Burdines store decorated with the neon lights and the palm trees. Burdines was also known for its amazing visual merchandising. Now the stores are dirty and uninspiring. Terry Lundgren will go down as history as one of the worst retailing exes who killed off many storied names like Marshall Fields, Foleys, Rich’s, Lazarus etc
I never had the chance to visit any of those stores. They were changed to Macy's by the time I started going with label scars of the previous store's name.
I agree Burdines was a great store. It was my favorite store when I lived in FL. I liked Jordan Marsh too but Burdines was my favorite
Those of us I’m SoCal feel the same way about Bullock’s, Bullock’s Wilshire and I Magnin and probably even The Broadway.
The advertising tag line for The Broadway was, ‘The Broadway is…. Southern California.’
All these stores epitomized the Southern California aesthetic. Macy’s insulted the legend that was the essence of Bullock’s Wilshire and I Magnin when they closed these stores. BW and I Magnin would make Macy’s look like a Walmart.
Macy's isn't owned by Macy's anymore Federated simply changed their name to Macy's. When RH Macy's was actually running Macy's and Bamberger stores I believed was back in the 80s I know that's when Bambergers changed to Macy's and the stores went downhill ever since
Burdines had some good radio ads hands down.
Sounds as if whatever you do, eventually you'll become a Macy's!
We are Macy's. Resistance is futile...
Or KOHL'S...
It seemed that way for a while.
Or Dillard's.
I bought for Daytona Hudson's Marshall Fields. Macy's is going out of business just a little more slowly than Sears did.
I just wish some of those old nameplates would come back! Macy’s neglects their department stores unless it’s higher performing...
It’s sad! For example, Marshall Fields was a GORGEOUS store until Macy’s murdered it. The class, the customer service were all vanquished by Macy’s. 🥺
As for not mentioned Stores you didn’t mention Famous Barr, The Bon Marche, L.S Ayers, Meir and Frank, Robinson-May, The Jones Store, Dayton’s, Hudson’s.
I’ll be sure to add some of those to the next segment. We don’t want the video to be 30 minutes long 😆. (Hint, I put extra logos on the Thumbnail, which will let you know what other stories you should expect in next video).
True some Macy's look very old merch.
Dayton's (Minneapolis) and Hudson's (Detroit) were never part of Federated. They were consolidated into the Marshall Field's banner by the spring of 2001 by Target Corporation.
@Ron D 100% correct. I use to work for lord & taylor in miami.
@Ron D agreed. In Los Angeles, we had JW Robinson’s, which was a few notches up from May Co. In the end, May Co absolutely slaughtered Robinson’s.
Growing up in Memphis as a child.. I will _Always Remember a trip to Goldsmith's underground Christmas Village. What a Treat :) it was considered an Upper Class Department Store & you dressed up to go to.
Was it comparable to Barney's New York and Saks?
@@undergroundretail No, it was not that upscale
Goldsmith's quality left in the late 80s
No mention of A&S? Abraham & Straus was one of the founding companies of Federated, and competed head to head against Macy's in the NY/NJ region.
I will be sure to add them to the next installment.
No mention of Bambergers either!
A&S was one of my favorite stores. I loved their Manhasset, NY store!
Sanger-Harris was based in Dallas and itself was a merger of Sanger Bros. and A. Harris & Co. After the merger they built a flagship store in downtown Dallas with the arches and mosaics which would be replicated at its suburban branches. That building, without the mosaics, is now the headquarters for DART. In 2005, while in Houston for a music festival, I dropped by the downtown Foley's and bought a ticket for the Big 12 championship game at Reliant Stadium hoping to see my Longhorns in it. Did it pay off!
Years ago, I remember a store called Dey Brothers, which were located throughout Upstate New York. They were bought out by Macy's..
Interesting.. looks like they had about 7 locations overall.
I remembered a friend in Ft Lauderdale told me that Macy’s have taken over Burdines. He was pretty upset.
In Texas lot of Foley’s stores. It was wonderful. I had plenty of credit to buy clothing, furniture, and more. Until May Store Corp sold it to Macy’s. I was not happy since, items from Foley’s was gone and the floors were semi bare. It was way too expensive. Lack clothing and furniture was expensive too. Plus my new Macy’s card credit limit $600 less. And two years later Macy’s shut down a 4 story store in my neighborhood. Another store, and more stores too. Not much left in my town. I’m disappointed how Macy’s ruined businesses anyway.
My Dad worked at Rich’s in downtown Atlanta. This was the original store and I have many fond memories of my time there. I was also there when the downtown store closed, it was a sad day.
Thats an interesting story! I wonder what occupies that building Today?
@@undergroundretail I am not sure. I haven’t lived in Atlanta for years. I don’t even know if the building is still standing.
I wonder how many people miss the Christmas program and tree lighting at the Chrystal Bridge on Thanksgiving night? I think they now hold it at or near Underground Atlanta.
@@nicoleknight9412 It was an amazing tradition. I also remember the Pink Pig in Rich’s toy department that took you by the tree and the reindeer.
Strawbridge's flagship building still stands in Center City Philadelphia. The street level floor is now a Giant Heirloom supermarket, the upper floors are now the offices of the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper, another part of the building houses a Shoppers World discount store. The corner of 8th and Market had three department stores at that corner-Strawbridge's, Lit Brothers and Gimbel's- all gone-the Lit Brothers building still stands and is now the headquarters and flagship store of the Five Below chain. The Gallery is now the Fashion District. All those stores had basement access to the 8th Street subway station.
To me, Macy’s seems too specialized to have taken over a lot of these stores. Our Filene’s turned into a Macy’s, which made sense to me, but some of the stores don’t seem to line up with what Macy’s is about.
Agreed! Most of the culture was lost for some of those stores.
@@undergroundretail They completely DESTROYED the culture that was the Jordan Marsh Company!
Amazing vid
Thank You!
The restaurant in the Westshore Maas Brother's had the best club sandwich!
The very first Lazarus store was founded on S. High St in Columbus OH. Back in 1989 a mall was built across the street called City Center Mall, and one of the hub stores was Marshall Fields. However, when Federated decided to ignore the Lazarus history in Columbus and renamed the Lazarus stores Macy's, things crashed in the downtown area pretty quickly, and across the street City Center Mall, already hit by a downturn because of newer malls outside the city, lost their hubs including Marshall Fields. Lazarus/Macy's across the street was closed after more than 150 years in business and was converted into a mixed-use property. The mall was torn down in 2009, only 20 years after it opened.
Filene's Basement was taken over in the mid-late 1990s by Value City (soon to become Retail Ventures Inc.), which began on S. Parsons Ave. in Columbus as Schottenstein Department Stores in 1916. However, the original Schottenstein's on Parsons closed in March 2005 (I worked there from 1992 till the end), then the remaining Schottenstein's in Columbus were renamed Value City, and then in December 2008 all remaining stores across the country were closed. I guess Filene's Basement lasted a little longer, probably sold to another company.
I’m from Colorado and I remember that we had Foley’s. I don’t ever remember going into one though as I was just born probably a year before it got rebranded to Macy’s. It’s so sad that I never got to go inside one of those locations
In part four could you include the UK department stores Debenhams House of Fraser alders and BHS Note Debenhams and House of Fraser have just gone bust there in the middle of closing all their stores
I'll be sure to include future UK department stores. Send me a list of them.
Oh and Woolworths UK even though they’re not really department stores a very small number of people called them department stores en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolworths_Group_(United_Kingdom)
Very good and informative report! We need to take notice that the system of retail its damage, all of the no longer existing stores should have made it. Granted, nothing last forever in life. By the way I believe is pronounced Bur-Dines as in dine in.
Thank you! You are correct!
Thank You for tuning in and your feedback 😃.
Crowley's Dept store in Michigan and Buffum's in California
Thats a Great Suggestion!
5:46 river oaks Macy in calumet city Illinois still suprise open with problems with at mall😊
Jordan Marsh in New Enland is Macy's now, too. I miss Jordan Marsh and Filenes. I don't shop at Macy's.
Jordan Marsh will definitely be coming up soon in another installment. Should be out by March.
Sounds like everything that Federated took over ends up going down the tubes.
Filenes used to be G Fox Co.
I’d love to know what location that converted Lazarus store is, with the steeple in the middle with the blue sides, just stunning.
Was the picture included in the video?
Would love to hear what happened to DH Holmes & Robinson’s
DH Holmes is a great suggestion. The one based out of New Orleans. Robinsons-May will be in Part 2 of this installment.
Bambergers
I miss Burdines :(
Thanks for commenting. Which location did you shop at?
@@undergroundretail i shopped at Dadeland and Aventura basically all of the stores in the Miami metro area.
I used to love G. Fox & Co which was turned into Macy.
Frederick Nelson, Meier and Frank, The Bon Marche, i Magnin....Gimbels....
UR, HI,,, BAMBERGERS in LIVINGSTON MALL,was getting stuff with a name,either ;DAVISONS, or DAVIDSONS, which I was told came fromGEORGIA 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
you forgot G. FOX in Hartford CT
Thanks for suggestion this store! I would have never known it existed.
The store was a Hartford institution since the late 1800's. You will find that an equally iconic woman (Beatrice Fox) was a much revered local figure who ran the store for decades. Your research will show that the name was initially bought by May Co and eventually branded as Filene's and then became Macy's as it is today. The downtown Hartford store, which was an historic building is no longer used; it is now a community college and a high end banquet facility.
You can't have lived in Philadelphia or its suburbs for any length of time without hearing about (if not shopping at) Strawbridge and Clothier (or Strawbridge's if you prefer). Got to Florida too late to see Burdine's in its original form (BTW, please decide how that name is pronounced: is it burr-DEEN or burr-DINE, as in, another way to say "eat"?)
Oh yeah, Grant's!!!
Carson’ Pirie Scott
Coming Soon 🔜
Abraham & Strauss store steins store.
Great suggestion! That store will be featured in Part 2.
DID IT JUST ALL CHANGE TO MACYS
Basically 😂
Hecht’s
Baka L+T ain’t forgotten
Jordan marsh stores.?
It will be featured in Part 2. Stay Tuned! 🤫
I am afraid of the backrooms
Agreed!
So many great stores decimated for no reason
😔
No reason? You need a few lessons in economics. Shopping was changing. First to malls and then online. The big, elderly brick and mortars couldn't compete. How many businesses survive 100-150 years in any form, let alone the same form? You evolve or you die. We are lucky there are any brick and mortar dept stores left at all. My town lost all its dept stores. No Sears, Wards, Penneys. I don't think there is a dept store within a couple hours drive anymore. We have Walmart and some very small clothing stores and that's it.
@@653j521 I do know a few lessons in economics, but I'll forgive you because my original comment was so vague. Federated Dept. Stores squandered a lot of local good will (and therefor economic power) by nationalizing the Macy's name. I know people all these years later who still refer to the old regional name like Burdines or Rich's. It was something that made the stories unique and therefore differentiated over emerging online retailers. The X-Macy's format they had was probably the best middle ground between local heritage and national recognition. Once Macy's became a bland universal everywhere store, there's less reason to go out of your way to shop there.
I refuse to ever shop at Macys!
Is it due to the Regional Name changes?
@@undergroundretail Yes, in both Chicago and Porland,OR
I couldn't get it to play
It premieres tomorrow at 6PM. 😃
federated also took over Abraham & Strauss in NY- and I agree with many the Macy brand was not as unique as the names it devoured- I loved Burdines and am not a Fan of Macy's- loved Lord & Taylor, Marshall Fields..... so many other regional brands that were unique to the regions they were founded in, macys is a bland comparison to the originals.... and in 2023 it feels that it too is destined to fade away-
I remember riding the Rich’s Pink Pig. 🐷 A few years ago, I took my son to ride the Macys Pink Pig. Good times.
Famous Barr?
Great suggestions! That is a store next on my list.
I hate Macy's!!!!
left out A&S, Stern's, Hecht's, John Wanamaker's, Bamberger's
I’ll be sure to include some of those in the next installment.
Many of those were owned by May Department Stores before Macy's bought May out.
So what
And famous Barr
Because Federated took over Macy's during their bankruptcy and closed I. Magnin, I refuse to shop Macy's ever again.
Worse what they did to Marshall Fields. I hate Federated!
Frederick Rothe III Who are you hurting with your grudge, their corporation or yourself?
@@653j521 Maybe more people should boycott Macy's and Bloomingdale's. This isn't about a grudge, but a terrible business decision that affect quite a few people over the past thirty years. It seems that Federated couldn't give a FF about its staff, only the CEO, board and shareholders.
Mind you, I grew up with Macy's, I shopped there over the years. I pick Nordstrom over anything Federated, they gave what I want, better value, and unsurpassed CS, something Federated cannot ever replicate.
Which I. Magnin location did you shop at?
@@undergroundretail Most of it was catalog, but I did order an Issey Miyake tee from San Francisco store, which I still own. That, and two cashmere sweaters that I treasure, looking worse for wear as they are about thirty years old.
J. L Hudson's was not mentioned in Michigan it was very popular, it then became Hudson's and then Marshall Field, and now Macy's Everyone here in Michigan still miss Hudson's
Hudson’s went downhill when merged with Dayton’s. That was the beginning of the end, around 1985/6. Michiganders still bemoan the eventual “Macy’scre” of one of the most beloved stores. (It also played a part in the Hudson motor company, which eventually merged with Nash-Kelvinator to form American Motors.)
Hudson's is a great suggestion! I wish I would've thought of that before I wrote the Part 2 of this.
To this day I still miss those Maurice salads. Surprisingly, you could still get it at the Macy’s location at Northland mall before it shut down.
we have discussed this in my home time and time again if macys had not been so greedy and pompous they would have left the local stores in tact and just made them part of the federated company of stores. macys is getting what they deserve and are going to be gone in a few years .
That and Amazon is dominating the retail industry.
It was sad to lose strong regional nameplates such as Rich's, Lazarus, Goldsmith's, Burdine's, Hecht's, Kaufmann's, Foley's, Filene's, Famous Barr, and Marshall Field. All were better managed stores before the Macy's conversion.
And Macy's main competition is now Belk, Dillard's, Kohl's, and possibly JCPenney. in the Southeast Belk and Dillard's dominate, although Macy's is still strong at the former Rich's locations in Georgia, despite the unpopular conversion.
@@Mr.TylerSC I'm surprised you think Penneys is competition for anyone these days. Also, their merchandise is inferior to what Macys sells in quality and fashion. And you have to buy $75 to get free shipping most of the year whereas with Macys it is usually $25, so I order from Macys.
I'll be soooooo glad when Macy's is added to this list. So many great local names coast to coast replaced by lower end Macy's. If only they would rebrand the remaining stores BACK to their original names. I'm sure that wouldn't hurt in areas Macy's is unpopular. Like everywhere except NYC and San Francisco. And maybe not in those areas either.
From 1989 to 2002 i was maintenance supervisor for Jordan Marsh and Burdines here in Miami Florida, I miss those days.
Are those Macy’s stores today?
@@undergroundretail Yes. 👍
Yep Burdines was a formidable competitor and would defend its turf in Florida whereby most stores that came into the market didn't have a chance.
I did not know Jordans was in Florida. I only knew the ones in Mass.
Mother saved green stamps all year to go to May Co. once a year and buy a few bras. That was her treat. I went with her sometimes, scrubbed clean and with my Sunday best on for sure.....down to the basement to purchase two or three bras for her. I was coached to not touch anything and mind my manners. Things were sure different then. (1950's - 1960's)
Thanks for Sharing! Never knew May Co. offered stamps.
Kaufmann's in Pittsburgh was at Smithfield and Fifth (Gimbel's was Smithfield and Sixth). It was at least a 12-story building rather than 3. Frank Lloyd Wright's well-known work, Fallingwater, was owned by Edgar Kaufmann.
And they had Selectomatic Mark Five elevators (by Westinghouse) and the express to the fourteenth floor could make you weak in the knees.
Oh regarding Falling Waters….my friend’s father’s family own the dairy farm next door and witnessed nude romps in the woods.
I remember everyone met up under the Kauffman's clock!
You should do part 2 of Federated and May Department stores with Robinsons-May, Famous-Barr, Meier & Frank, The Broadway, L.S. Ayres, The Jones Store, Hecht's, Liberty House, The Bon Marché, and Bullock's.
Agreed! More of these to come soon and I will include some of those stores on your list.
As a native St. Louisan, I remember Famous-Barr very well! They were the main department store in my town until maybe the early 2000s, when Macys bought them out! My Mom and sister worked there for a long time, especially my Sis!
The sales at Macy’s Marshall Field’s have been slow is because people that loved Field’s are boycotting them!
I can imagine!
My favorite was Burdines "the florida store" which ran rings around macys in Florida. Especially the Dadeland store in miami which still operates as a macys.
My mother always took my brother and I to Maas Brothers to buy a new suit every Easter.
Filenes was iconic. Every year Filenes basement would host “The running of the brides.” Brides would line up and storm into the store grabbing as many bridal gowns as possible to try them on in a corner. They would trade gowns with other brides if they didn’t want the ones they had.
Yes it was! My wife is from Brockton, MA and talks about it all the time!
Bullock’s, Robinson’s, May Company, The Broadway, The Emporium, The H.C. Capwell Company, and Weinstock’s: All California stores that are now Macy’s.
I’ll make sure to include some of those in the next Top 10.
Yes Macy's destroyed all of our fabulous department stores in California - Bullock's Wilshire and I Magnin should be added to the list
@@frsfca I had contemplated adding those two to the list, but those were more specialty stores. I. Magnin actually went out of business. Macy’s converted some locations to Bloomingdales. Macy’s also took over Liberty House in Northern California and Hawaii. Macy’s definitely has the most number of department store locations in both Northern and Southern California.
@@coolbanker2 BTW the iconic flagship I Magnin in San Francisco was incorporated into the Macy's flagship. Such a sad state of affairs.
I was just about to say the same thing; since 1990, I have worked at Bullock's and Robinsons-May (both brief stints), just as Macy's was converting them.
Pittsburghers hate what Macy’s did to the Pittsburgh store.
Would like to of heard a bit more about May Companies history, also Famous-Barr, and the history of the Railway Exchange Building in St Louis, the May Co HQ for many years, would also love to know its current state. Shared this on my Facebook page so other ex-May Co veterans can watch and hopefully share some memories.
Thank You for Tuning in and Sharing! I will talk more in depth of companies in future videos.
Jacobson's and Robinsons of Florida - (west coast locations only) - underneath the same umbrella company A.D.G. (Associated Dry Goods). Who also owned Lord & Taylor in the early -mid 80's when I was there in the NYC flagship location.
Along with the Bon Marche in the Pacific NW there was Meier & Frank with its main store in downtown Portland, Oregon and other locations in the Lloyd Center, Salem, and Vancouver. My mother worked in the yardage department on the 5th floor downtown. Everything could be found at that main M&F store. 2nd Basement was budget, 1st basement was groceries and soda fountain, 1st floor cosmetics, 2nd floor men's and shoes, 3rd - 5th women's clothes, 6th floor was sporting goods, furniture, books, and offices, 10th floor was the Georgian Room for fine dining and the casual lunch room. And the green trucks would make home deliveries all over.
Purchased by the May Company in about 1966. Then became Macy's. Downtown Portland store has become a hotel and mixed use.
I’ve been to Burdines before when it was called Burdines it sucks that Macy’s took them over.
Which Mall?
Aventura and 163rd Street.
Marshall Field's was a top line store with a lot of private label POPULAR merchandise. When the lower class retailer Macy's replaced the MF&Co name, they lost a ton of customers. To this very day, I refuse to shop at their lower class store.
Oh wow! Does the private label POPULAR still exist?
I grew up in Los Angeles and remember JW Robinson’s, Bullock’s, Bullock’s Wilshire, I Magnin and The Broadway. When I was a kid, my parents didn’t shop there because those stores were expensive. When I could finally afford to shop there, I found these stores to have their style and ‘point of view’ in terms of fashions. Bullock’s Wilshire and I Magnin were akin to Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus and they were expensive, but that was the point. They provided a shopping experience that cannot be had at Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s. Even plain old Bullock’s was a better store than any Macy’s. To me, Macy’s is nothing more than Kohl’s with a different look.
There was Broadway Stores Inc. Which had The Broadway, Weinstocks, and Emporium Capwells. Macy's bought them out in 1995, and converted some stores into Macy's. I remember Emporium Capwells when they closed the store where I worked. The service there was top notch, and the employees went above and beyond to serve the customer. I also worked for Macy's. The level of service there was nothing to what we did for the customer at Emporium Capwells.
I thought May's & Macy's were two different companies. May's had a location in Levittown, NY which now is an indoor flea market but the door handles & floor in between two sets of doors still say May's in the script font.
This is referring to The May Department Stores Company, which was a department store holding company. They Merged with Federated Department Stores after being purchased and later renamed Macy's altogether.
Thank you for making this video and explaning all the mergers of these once great stores over the years!
You’re Welcome.
In Florida we had the Jordan Marsh and Burdines under Federated. Worked for Burdines over 20 years and was able to retire in 2010 with Macy's.
Sad to see Burdines and Jordan Marsh close,so iconic.
Macys was poor substitute for Kaufmann’s which from I heard was a poor substitute for Sibley’s.
I think Macys has been a poor substitute for most of its buyout department stores. It is definitely not as classy as Meier & Frank, a legendary chain where I live. Luckily, Nordstrom in Seattle didn’t also fold.
I agree! 💯
As a former Illinoisan living in Florida, the 2 department stores I remember at Woodfield mall in Schaumburg Illinois, were Lord & Taylor & Marshall Fields, the candy you couldn't get enough of, were the Frango mints, there's nothing like them, I used to buy them all the time, on a recent check on the Walnut Room at Macy's on State Street, they still have frozen Frango mint ice cream pie & their cheesecake, 2 things I wouldn't mind having shipped for a taste of Chicago!!!
💕💓
🤩
Lord & Taylor, Sakowitz, Battlesteins, Bonwit Teller, Bob Marche, Henri Bendell’s, Barney’s to name a few.
Thanks for Watching! Lord & Taylor was Number 1 in the video. Check out Part 4 for Barneys 😃: th-cam.com/video/3XF4-mMuqAc/w-d-xo.html
Macy’s takeover
The Big Hostile Takeover!
Macy’s ruined pretty much everything
Regionality is gone. Regional department stors truly knew their customer. Now, stores are divded into A, B, and C stores based on size, climate, and customer demogrpahic. That's it. Macy's runied it all.
I agree with you 100 percent.
In the late '80s/early '90s, I saw a picture from a posh Burdine's in Florida that had an atrium with supporting pillars scultped in the form of huge majestic standing alligators in a soft coral color. I looked for that place every time I was in Florida, but I never found out which store it was in!
It may have been the store in miami coconut grove in the Mayfair shopping center. Unfortunately, that stores was closed and the building was torn down even before the macys conversion.
The only store I know that featured pillars were the Gilly Hicks stores. But that was a retail store. I'm a native of Georgia, so I never got a chance to visit Burdines personally. 😢 blog.ispira.com/gilly-hicks_2
@@undergroundretail ok I use to work at Burdines at one point in my early college days.
@@undergroundretail You have my sympathies for being a Georgia native. I married into it and was brought here. I was naive and thought the ignorant caricatures in movies were holdovers from the past. I was shocked to see how institutionalized ignorance is a source of PRIDE down here!
I don't understand why Macy's bought certain retailers that's what I still don't understand
I think it was to capitalize and dominate regional areas.
@Ron D That's true. You can't really blame Macy's cuz Federated was the one who made all the changes.
Polsky's Department Store was an Akron, OH based department store that was acquired by Federated while downtown store branched out to the suburbs. Polsky's was gone in the early 1980's.
That's an awesome suggestion! I just read some info about it. www.thedepartmentstoremuseum.org/2011/07/polsky-co-akron-ohio.html
I remember Goldsmith's in Memphis as a kid, totally awesome department store! Every Christmas they would put on the enchanted Forest that ended with you getting your picture taken with Santa Claus. When Macy's took over, the enchanted Forest was cut down.
I miss Filenes, Kaufmann's, and Gimbels. I remember meet me under the Kaufmans clock! I remember women fighting at the sales! Trying on clothes wherever they were. Those were good times! The fights weren't like today it was all in good fun! Bloody Macy's can get bent. Never did like them!
Omg my favorite department store of all time Rich’s, I definitely miss that place, the Pink Pig ride and the Lighting of the Great Tree, my family and I have shopped there for years and years, Rich’s according to my family was definitely better than Davidson’s, but Macy’s royally ruined both Rich’s and Davidson’s, it’s unfortunate when Dillard’s and Belk are so much better than Macy’s as well! 🙄 Then Burdines unfortunately never went in any of there locations except for the former Governors Square Mall location in Tallahassee Florida but Macy’s definitely ruined them for sure, because it’s a dump like the Perimeter Mall Macy’s and some of the existing older Rich’s locations such as: Northlake Mall, Southlake Mall, Gwinnett Place Mall locations, because all 4 former Rich’s including the 5th at Cobb Center and the 6th one at Belvedere Plaza are gone, both Cobb Center and Belvedere never became Macy’s closed shortly before the merger and the one just closed in 90’s which is the Belvedere location of course, but Shannon Mall Macy’s closed twice the original Macy’s is demolished and the former Rich’s is also demolished for a current movie studio, North Dekalb Macy’s is vacant, South Dekalb Macy’s is also vacant as of 2020, and now Greenbriar Mall Macy’s is going to be gone I believe just last month! 😳 And lastly Lord and Taylor sucked, been in only 2 locations in general, the Mall of Georgia one and one in New Orleans, and I have no memory of visiting one while I was in Buffalo, New York either, but anyways the stores were overpriced crap, and unkept like Sears and currently Jcpenney’s it’s ashame for high end store that isn’t better than the average Parisians either! 😳 So I definitely miss Rich’s thanks for mentioning them! 😁 Burdines never got to chance to shop at them, and Lord and Taylor good riddance glad 2021 put them out of business recently not for the sake of the employees but the mismanagement of the company! 🤔
Richs was the bomb! Did all my shopping there at Cumberland Mall and Cobb Center. The bakery, clothing (Izod, pro keds tennis shoes and the auto center for my father. The chocolate and coconut cakes were to die for and wonderful customer service. My parents bought a huge Magnavox tv stereo combo for almost a thousand back then! How I miss Richway, Davidsons as well and the old Cumberland mall before town center
@@robertbeall5850 Omg yes Rich’s was awesome during my parents day, unfortunately the better amenities were stripped away when I was born in 1995, because the one at Cobb Center was a clearance center similar to what Dillard’s does today in certain states except only difference Rich’s kept both floors open where Dillard’s closes down one floor when that happens, but yes the Cumberland Mall Rich’s my all time favorite location besides Lenox Square, my mom and grandparents loved Rich’s bakery, the Publix bakery is about the closest thing to it, other than the Neiman Marcus one at Lenox Square unfortunately, clothing for kids at Rich’s was the best, outlast Walmart quality for sure, and it still was better than what Target sold, even though Target kind of reminds me of Rich’s in some ways even though it’s still not the same, oh yes the auto center at Rich’s was decent and my grandpa worked there for many years back then, customer service was amazing, that’s something Macys and most retailers lack today, only ones who still provide decent customer service are: Target, Home Depot, Publix, Ingles, Winn Dixie, Aldi even though they don’t have a customer service desk, there cashiers are decent, Hobby Lobby, Nordstrom’s, Von Maur from what I have heard, Belk, Dillard’s, and many others except for Walmart, Kroger, Sears, JCPenney’s, and Kmart are bad on customer service sadly, Magnavox is decent brand, but back then they were the Samsung, Lg, Panasonic, Sony, and Hitachi of TVs back in the day. 😁 Richway my parents like but Target actually has kept some of the same values Richway offered back in my parents day because it certainly wasn’t Walmart or Kmart who copied them, because those two stores suck, Davidson’s ehhh, my parents didn’t like them as much, the original Macys was hit or miss back then. 🤔 Oh yes back when JCPenney’s gave a damn about the customer and there LL and UL labeled elevator with furniture, yes I liked that location other than the modern Hiram, Georgia location before I moved to Panama City Beach Florida of course, and Sears at Cumberland Mall was decent at first, but they were bad before they closed, Dick Sporting Goods is ripoff that replaced them, and I prefer Academy Sports over them, and Round 1 never been to but heard of, and Planet Fitness is so overrated they advertise a lot, and then Town Center at Cobb was my other favorite mall, that Rich’s there was okay, but the original Macys was better at that mall, and the fact it wasn’t an original Davidson’s even nicer in my opinion, JCPenney’s at that mall sucks even with the add on square footage of the former Mervyn’s which is like Kohl’s but more downscale, Sears at that mall was the same situation as Cumberland Mall but vacant still as of 2022, Belk is awesome at that mall in the former Parisians. 😁 It’s ashame what happened to Town Center at Cobb they went downhill and foreclosed the mall back in February of 2021, but I live now in Panama City Florida and 3/4 years after Hurricane Michael the former Panama City Mall still sits vacant including Sears. 😳 But yeah Arbor Place Mall is the mall I went to the most with my family back then, and Rich’s they did add there was lousy and not a great replacement for Cobb Center it was more Macys and Federated like, and not Rich’s at all. 🤔
Hudson's Department Store became Dayton then yup Macy's
And with every change, the uniqueness went out of Hudson’s. Still a very sore subject here in Michigan.
Don't forget my main store Abraham and Stratus. They were converted into sterns, Bloomingdales and Macy's
Thanks for Watching! 😀 That will definitely be in the second installment. I will have that completed by early 2022.
Wy does everyone forget Hudsons? Detroit was the motor city and Hudsons was the premier shopping destination there. Hudson's was responsible for the woodward dream cruise and the Detroit Hplifay parade. Detroit seems to always be slighted in these videos and it is a shame. There is a lot of great history here
Great video - would love to have another including Minneapolis’ Dayton’s Department Store!
Thanks for Watching 😃! Dayton’s was set to be in the next installment, but the history and back story is a lot for it to be featured in a Top 10. Dayton’s will probably have its own video in the future.
Awesome video!
The M. Oneil Co Akron Ohio Was the most profitable division of the May department Stores Co.
That's a great suggestion! Never heard of that chain.
@@undergroundretail Please tag me in a video if you make a video about Oneils. There is a HUGE following of the M. Oneil company on FB under Akron Ohio memories and ONEILS. Akron Ohio had a rich history with incredible job bases and incredible shopping. There was also Polskys which Allied Department Stores bought and promptly shut down. Polskys was Oneils direct competitor and was located across the street. Oneils was 600,000 square feet and sold everything including Crosley cars on its parking deck. On a side note, Polskys opened in 1930 and closed in 1979 and it was known architecturally as one of the finest examples of art deco architecture in the country. Akron also had Yeagers and Federmans
@@undergroundretail I believe Oneils closed in 1989 with a $7 million dollar profit. To small of a profit for May Department stores profit / per square foot business model. Mind you they had closed the top 3 floors of the building before any of this.
What about Woodward and Lothrop. in
Washington d.c.. Please talk about this store.
Great suggestion! I will include it in a future installment. Some DC stores are mentioned for the upcoming Part 2 of this, which is currently in the process of being created.
Also the Bullocks Stores, Robinsons May and The Broadway where bought by Federated then Macy’s Inc
All Macy’s have a horrible sameness.
Agreed! No Theme or uniqueness at all.
Federated destroyed the Emporium, May’s, Bullock’s and other great stores.
I used to have Emporium, Macy’s & Federated stock.
Famous-Barr in St. Louis
I worked in the downtown Famous-Barr, which was also the headquarters of the May Department Stores. The corporate offices were above the department store. I worked in the real estate and interior design division as a computer guy. In addition to the tons of department store chains May owned, they also owned many shopping malls, such as the Galleria in St. Louis. After I left, Federated (Macy's) took over May, and thus the mass destruction and changeover to Macy's was complete.
I. Magnin in San Francisco, Bullocks in Los Angeles, Lyttons in Chicago
Thanks for Watching! Those will be in the Second installment of the Macy's Forgotten Stores.
No mention of the buyout of Federated by Campeau in 1988? This was the spark that ignited the basis of this video presentation. Macy's sucks in this day and age, the same clothing crap, the same understaffed stores, the same clutter in all their locations and the end of regional fashions. It's all the same branded crap. This consolidation and rebranding the regional chains to Macy's is what destroyed the department store.
So sad. I lived may company. What about bucoves I know I didn't spell that right. Then there was higbees. Hallies.
Do you mean Boscov’s? I suck at spelling it as well 😆. I will do another segment of these later this Spring.
Hudson's
Great Suggestion!