Big corporations have taken over many of our regional department stores.
Is this a good thing, or is it bad?
What have we gained?
What have we lost?
Department stores are not actually vanishing. Department stores are everywhere.What is vanishing are our favorite brands—the department stores we grew up with; those wonderful department stores where we could go and knew that they would have the merchandise that was selected with us in mind. We could count on those stores not only for quality but also for service. The ambienceof meeting for lunch in their fabulous tearooms was special.
While we have many more shopping options than in the past (on-line, catalogues, e-bay, large discounters, and small shops in shopping malls …) those options fail to meet all needs. Since the 1980’s, when many of our regional departmentstores were taken over by larger department store conglomerates, there have been cries of dismay from coast to cost. In Chicago, they are doing more that just moaning about their loss of Marshall Field’s, they have mounted a huge protest to regain the Marshall Fields name. While their sole motivation is to restore Marshall Fields, their efforts have significantly eroded the profits of Macy’s in the Chicago area.
On the other hand, large department store conglomerateshave a lot more clot at the bargaining table. They are able to purchase mechandise at lower prices and pass the savings on to their customers.
Whether the loss of our regional department stores is this a good thing or bad actually depends on your perspective.
March 13th, 2010 at 8:43 pm
This is an excellent article. I live in the Washington ,DC region and we have seen all of our local department stores vanish (Hecht’s, W&L, Garfinkel’s). For a city that started with 3+ major department stores that were spread throughout the region, we’re now left with one national chain, Macy’s. There may be a Macy’s on every block, but they all carry the exact same items. It just doesn’t serve our needs. There’s no competition, no selection, and service is terrible. I suspect that this model of national brands may backfire. People are not as enthusiastic about shopping and more than a few are going to smaller specialty shops to buy (especially true of younger people). One size doesn’t fit all.
March 24th, 2010 at 12:51 am
Hi Adam,
Thank you for your comments. You are so right~One size does not fit all. I hear cries from coast to coast lamenting the disappearance of favorite department store. In Chicago in 2006, when the Macy’s name was placed on their icon, Marshall Fields, the patrons of that store did more than complain about it. The gathered 9,800 names on petitions, demanding that their name be restored. They have buttons, have handed out flyers, gone to stockholders meetings, and have held midnight vigils. They are going strong and gaining momentum. They do not appear to be giving up. They want and believe that Marshall Fields can come back. Whether they will be successful or not, only time will tell. While Macy’s is known from Coast to Coast, and I understand the importance of branding, in my opinion changing the name of this significant Chicago icon was a big mistake, one that has cost Macy’s approximable thirty percent of their profit in the Chicago area.