POLL: Skyline Chili/Graeter's Expansion?

[kjbrill]

I will admit when I make a mistake. It is a documented fact Lazarus bought Shillito's in 1930. But it is also a documented fact they did not change the name but continued to operate as Shillito's for another 50 years. Federated may have been created as a holding company, but you rarely saw the name Federated until the 1990s.

Federated purchased Macy's in 1994, not the original Macy's but what had survived out of bankruptcy. When Federated bought May department stores in 2005, it brought some other old names such as Marshall Fields.

I have to give Federated credit for deciding to consolidate under a single name Macy's Inc. If you are going to be a national player you have to promote a national brand. And why not start with one of the most recognized names in American retailing? Who has not heard of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the balloons, the whole nine yards? I wonder how many New Yorkers realize the shots are being called out of Cincinnati?

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

So premium ice cream just doesn't seem to be your bag.

Don't assume that because I don't like your premium ice cream that I don't like any.

[tylerSC]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

I will admit when I make a mistake. It is a documented fact Lazarus bought Shillito's in 1930. But it is also a documented fact they did not change the name but continued to operate as Shillito's for another 50 years. Federated may have been created as a holding company, but you rarely saw the name Federated until the 1990s.

Federated purchased Macy's in 1994, not the original Macy's but what had survived out of bankruptcy. When Federated bought May department stores in 2005, it brought some other old names such as Marshall Fields.

I have to give Federated credit for deciding to consolidate under a single name Macy's Inc. If you are going to be a national player you have to promote a national brand. And why not start with one of the most recognized names in American retailing? Who has not heard of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the balloons, the whole nine yards? I wonder how many New Yorkers realize the shots are being called out of Cincinnati?

Many of the Kauffman's and Hecht's stores acquired from May Co. were also converted to Macy's, as well as Marshall Field's. But I am not sure what they did with the Kauffman's stores in Columbus, as many were in the same malls as Lazarus. But overall, converting the regional brands to Macy's in order to create a national nameplate was a strategic marketing move, as well as consolidating logistics. But there was some backlash when the names Marshall Field and Rich's were eliminated.

[kjbrill]

^^ No more so than when they eliminated the name Shillito's. I was pissed at that. Lazarus, who the Hell is Lazarus. I am sure the cities where the other major stores were located felt the same way.

Even though the headquarters is in Cincinnati, Macy's maintains a large presence in NYC sine that is the center of the major clothing purchasing center in the US. I don't think it is any longer the center of the clothing fabrication industry like it once was, but the purchasing still goes through there.

[woxyroxme]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Lazarus, who the Hell is Lazarus?

He was the guy Jesus brought back from the dead.

Everyone knows that.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by woxyroxme

He was the guy Jesus brought back from the dead.

Everyone knows that.

Good quotation, but not in my thought train.

[WheresTheBeef]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

^^ No more so than when they eliminated the name Shillito's. I was pissed at that. Lazarus, who the Hell is Lazarus. I am sure the cities where the other major stores were located felt the same way.

Even though the headquarters is in Cincinnati, Macy's maintains a large presence in NYC sine that is the center of the major clothing purchasing center in the US. I don't think it is any longer the center of the clothing fabrication industry like it once was, but the purchasing still goes through there.

I was walking through one of the Columbus Kaufmann's stores after their conversion to Macy's. They had a huge display extolling the virtues of Macy's and their "New York heritage". I said to myself, nobody cares about that around here. Show me some history about Lazarus.

Which gets me to another point. I can't understand why they didn't just put up Macy's-Lazarus, Macy's-Kauffman's, Macy's-Shillito's, etc. signs and call it a day. They could still advertise as "Macy's" and people would figure it out. People love something with a local touch - they hate dealing with faceless corporations. Why throw away 150+ years of history? Lazarus was so dominant back in its heyday. Stupid, stupid move.

[tylerSC]

Originally Posted by WheresTheBeef

I was walking through one of the Columbus Kaufmann's stores after their conversion to Macy's. They had a huge display extolling the virtues of Macy's and their "New York heritage". I said to myself, nobody cares about that around here. Show me some history about Lazarus.

Which gets me to another point. I can't understand why they didn't just put up Macy's-Lazarus, Macy's-Kauffman's, Macy's-Shillito's, etc. signs and call it a day. They could still advertise as "Macy's" and people would figure it out. People love something with a local touch - they hate dealing with faceless corporations. Why throw away 150+ years of history? Lazarus was so dominant back in its heyday. Stupid, stupid move.

The merged stores were originally cobranded Lazarus-Macy's and Rich's-Macy's for the first few years before it was decided the regional names would be dropped. And I remember the Polaris Center in Columbus had both a Lazarus and a Kauffman's. I'm not sure what they did with the Kauffman's store there. In Fairfax, Virginia, however, the Fair Oaks Mall had both a Macy's and a Hecht's. Now there are 2 full size Macy's on each end of the mall. And back to the original topic of the thread, there were also both Kauffman's and Lazarus stores in Pittsburgh. Now just Macy's.

[WheresTheBeef]

Originally Posted by tylerSC

The merged stores were originally cobranded Lazarus-Macy's and Rich's-Macy's for the first few years before it was decided the regional names would be dropped. And I remember the Polaris Center in Columbus had both a Lazarus and a Kauffman's. I'm not sure what they did with the Kauffman's store there. In Fairfax, Virginia, however, the Fair Oaks Mall had both a Macy's and a Hecht's. Now there are 2 full size Macy's on each end of the mall. And back to the original topic of the thread, there were also both Kauffman's and Lazarus stores in Pittsburgh. Now just Macy's.

Same thing at Tuttle Crossing. Ex-Marshall Field's, Ex-Kauffman's is now a second Lazarus (EDIT: Oops, I said Lazarus!). I think they have to keep it open because of the covenants in their agreement with the mall owner.

Off topic for just a minute: Another interesting conversion is in Richland Mall in Mansfield. They closed the Lazarus there, which was pretty recently remodeled (like in the last five years before it closed) in favor of the Kauffman's/O'Neill's building at center court. That Kauffman's store hasn't been touched since it opened. It is an awful looking store. The ex-Kaufmann's in Ohio Valley Mall in St. Clairsville is also in a 1970's time warp.

The Lazarus at Kingsdale is another 70's era store that hasn't been remodeled, but it was tastefully done in the first place so it isn't so bad. They really need to pay somebody to stucco over the glazed blue brick.

Getting back to the issue at hand, they were hyphenating just to get people used to Macy's. That's why none of the signs were changed until they converted to Macy's. I get that they want to keep costs down and that they can do national advertising as Macy's, but they could still do that as Macy's-Lazarus and still keep the local flavor, especially paying homage to the people who really created the company.

Kroger is pretty smart about that. They leave all of their local banners up, but they work Kroger private-label products into store shelves. I saw lots of Kroger branded stuff at City Market in Colorado.

Macy's to me isn't a department store to me anymore because it isn't local. To me, it's another JCPenney.

I don't know if this is still the case, but Macy's took a hit in Columbus when they dropped the Lazarus name. I linked a cached version of the article.

http://archive.is/voZsm

[kjbrill]

I don't blame them for converting to a single Macy's brand name nationally. Granted I like the local brands who were around for many years. Pogue's still sticks in my mind as The Brand in Cincinnati. When I went down the prestige of the department stores it was Pogues, Shillito's, and McAlpins. McAlpins was where you went to buy your kid's school clothes.

But the times they do change. The department stores seem to be losing out. Outfits like Target and Kohls seem to be cleaning their clock when it comes to items like small appliances, general housewares, even basic clothing, home furnishings, etc.

The only furniture items I have bought over the last 10 years I bought on the internet. It is so nice to browse the internet, shop around, make comparisons and ask questions, make a purchase, and have it delivered to me in a couple of days from half-way around the country. This is revolutionizing purchasing.

The government has to put a stop to it far as sales tax goes. The online retailers must be forced to charge sales tax on purchses relative to where you live or the states are facing a major revenue downfall. Of course the online retailers don't want anything to do with the additional bookeeping cost, but that is the way it will be.

It is the local retailers which have to modify the way they do business. Why should I come to your store to make a purchase if I can get online, make a purchase, and have it delivered to my front door for perhaps less cost than the gas to go to your store?

The big guys are going to figure this out.