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 News that California retailer Mervyn's LLC is perched perilously close to bankruptcy underscores the creeping and sad demise of regional department store chains. Remember when you could go to a different part of the country and visit department stores you'd never seen before?
In Boston, it was Filene's and Jordan Marsh. In Chicago, it was Marshall Field's and Montgomery Ward. And on and on. Unlike national chains now such as Macy's and Nordstrom's, there was a regionalism to retail. Now it's all homogeneous. What you see in New York, you see in Dallas. What you see in Atlanta, you see in San Francisco. And it's not just department stores. Localized retail overall is on the run. Suitmaker Moe Ginsburg was a New York landmark before liquidating in 2001. Small regional jewelry chains Derco Inc. and Lexington Jewelers Exchange Inc., Southeast-based Goody's Family Clothing Inc. and Dawahare's of Lexington LLC are all in bankruptcy. Even in Williamsburg, Va., home to the Revolutionary triangle, there's a huge outlet center of national retailers and brands that rivals anything you'll see in metropolises such as New York or Washington or Los Angeles. The rise of home ownership since the 1950s created the suburban shopping mall, and sameness in retail has stolen a march ever since. Mervyn's is a throwback. It has stores in seven Western states, but it's getting pinched by national discount chains, too little capital and plunging consumer spending. Owned by private equity firms Cerberus Capital Management LP and Sun Capital Partners Inc., the sliding tale of Mervyn's also reflects another melancholy reality: Fuel costs are making it prohibitive to venture to stores that you can't walk to. - Terry Brennan CategoriesComments
From: Jim,
Actually, Montgomery Ward was a national chain. One of its biggest markets was California. What's fascinating with Marshall Field's is the big backlash in Chicago where customers still actively picket the flagship State Street store that is now a Macy's. (See http://www.fieldsischicago.org) Marshall Field's just may come back because of it's "founding father" status within the city of Chicago.
Posted on:
July 22, 2008 11:36 AM
From: Jim,
Oops, that link picked up the final paren -- Try http://www.fieldsischicago.org
Posted on:
July 22, 2008 12:15 PM
From: Austin Chu,
I work for a company that manages and tracks gift cards, and I've been following retailers filing for bankruptcy on savvywallet.com. My advice? Go spend your gift cards, you may not know how long they will be accepting them. Don't forget The Sharper Image incident: $75m in unused gift cards.
Posted on:
July 22, 2008 6:49 PM
From: One of many,
I got an "I want my Marshall Field's" button from fieldsfanschicago.org, and people comment on it almost every day and tell me how much they miss the store in Chicago.
Posted on:
July 23, 2008 10:13 AM
From: L. Grand,
The homogenization of America is truly becoming depressing. It's fine in some cases to know that you can go to any city and see a familiar store, but the character of America is slowly being stolen by corporate greed. Why do corporations have to strive to be the biggest? Does this necessarily mean they are the best? I think not. I would think they would be content at a much smaller size as long as they are profitable, unique and beloved. Too much or many of anything is too much or many. Marshall Field's is just one of many examples of regional favorite stores which lent to the uniqueness of communities and regions. I hope to see a revival of sorts, in that Americans get fed up with having these all-over-the-place stores being forced on their communities and say, "Enough!" Marshall Field's was MATCHLESS. www.matchlessmarshallfields.blogspot.com
Posted on:
July 23, 2008 5:24 PM
From: Louise,
This article is a bit misleading. It makes it sound like Marshall Field's went bankrupt. It did not. Macy's converted the profitable 80-store Field's chain to Macy's, because it thought it could make it cheaper to run (and hence even more profitable) as part of the Macy's chain. It was a huge error in business judgment. Since the conversion of Marshall Field's (as well as other regional department stores), Macy's sales have tanked. Its stock has lost more than half its value. Especially in the Midwest, people miss their regional brands, and they regard Macy's as an interloper. Unfortunately, Macy's CEO was unwilling to admit error and spare Field's, when it became obvious that Field's customers were on the war path. He (probably correctly) believed that such an admission would cost him his very lucrative job. By the way, in contrast to Field's, Macy's has gone bankrupt in the past. Could it happen again? I suppose so.
Posted on:
July 24, 2008 11:00 PM
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Congratulations. Bow before your private equity gods. The good news is if you are a billionaire you have nothing to fear.
Free marketeers, can you realize the security market is not free?
Yeah, didn't think so.