Marshall Field's Name to be Extinguished By New Owners
By Dees Stribling. Midwest Correspondent
Tuesday, September 20 2005
Tuesday, September 20 2005
Published on AllBusiness.com
Federated Department Stores announced its intention today to do away with the Marshall Field's department store brand all together, including its renowned location on Chicago's State Street, by renaming the chain Macy's. Federated acquired 62 Field's locations when it bought May Department Stores in a deal that was finalized last month, though many of those locations had only borne the Marshall Field's name a few years, having been converted from Hudson's and other names by May.
The change will take place next year, following the holiday season. Federated said that the conversion will cost about $1 billion over three years. It couched the name changeover to build its strongest brands, Macy's and Bloomindale's. The company expects to realize approximately $175 million in cost synergies in 2006 and $450 million in annual cost synergies in 2007 and beyond.
The prospect of this change is not expected to sit well with many Chicago consumers--especially the change of the downtown flagship store on State Street (illustrated--circa 1800s). There has been a Marshall Field & Co. store in one form or another in downtown Chicago since before the Civil War, with its current building, which takes up a city block, dating back more than a century.
The prospect of the change, talked about now for several months in Chicago, has inspired local newspaper, radio and TV editorials, most of them unfavorable. One Field's supporter even went as far as to start a web site called www.keepitfields.org.
"As a life-long Chicagoan, I'm extremely disappointed," said Chicago retail consultant John Melaniphy III, vice president of Melaniphy & Associates. "But we have been expecting it for a while. It's part of a national rebranding strategy. Still, the name is well-loved here, and I believe that in the short run, the change will have a detrimental impact on sales locally."
The change will take place next year, following the holiday season. Federated said that the conversion will cost about $1 billion over three years. It couched the name changeover to build its strongest brands, Macy's and Bloomindale's. The company expects to realize approximately $175 million in cost synergies in 2006 and $450 million in annual cost synergies in 2007 and beyond.
The prospect of this change is not expected to sit well with many Chicago consumers--especially the change of the downtown flagship store on State Street (illustrated--circa 1800s). There has been a Marshall Field & Co. store in one form or another in downtown Chicago since before the Civil War, with its current building, which takes up a city block, dating back more than a century.
The prospect of the change, talked about now for several months in Chicago, has inspired local newspaper, radio and TV editorials, most of them unfavorable. One Field's supporter even went as far as to start a web site called www.keepitfields.org.
"As a life-long Chicagoan, I'm extremely disappointed," said Chicago retail consultant John Melaniphy III, vice president of Melaniphy & Associates. "But we have been expecting it for a while. It's part of a national rebranding strategy. Still, the name is well-loved here, and I believe that in the short run, the change will have a detrimental impact on sales locally."
