Macy's Inc. reported
a first-quarter loss of $88 million compared to a loss of $59 million a year earlier. With consumers still spending cautiously, sales were off 9.5%. The results reflect the gloomy retail environment, but also show that four years after paying $18 billion for rival May Department Stores Co., Macy's chief executive Terry Lundgren is still searching for the right mix of stores and strategy.
Since acquiring May in 2005,
Lundgren has rebranded May department stores as Macy's --
raising the ire of loyalists of iconic downtown stores such as Marshall Fields in Chicago -- shuttered 11 stores and three of six regional offices, launched his "My Macy's" strategy to stock goods more attuned to local tastes and inked a deal to open FAO Schwartz toy stores in Macy's outlets nationwide.
In announcing earnings, Lundgren said the company's reorganization is complete and the "My Macy's" initiative is fully implemented, which he says will lift the department store chain in the coming months. But as with any far-reaching integration, particularly one being managed during a deep recession, additional tailoring may be required.
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And the winners are...
A study conducted by fieldsfanschicago.org was presented at the Macy's annual shareholders meeting in Cincinnati this past Friday, May 15.
It said that 78% of Chicago shoppers surveyed preferred Marshall Field's while about 13% preferred Macy's. 72% said that they shopped the former Field's locations less since they became Macy's. 78% also said that they would shop more if those stores went back to being Field's. The survey was conducted in the past month, almost three years since Macy's converted Field's to Macy's and four years since Macy's acquired Marshall Field's.
The data says clearly says the switch from Marshall Field's to Macy's in Chicago was a big mistake.