March 23, 2006
Forth & Towne expands to 5 new locations
Old Orchard features one of the five prototype stores in Gap's Forth & Towne concept. Amy and I checked out this store last year. According to a March 22 press release from Gap Inc., these stores have been successful enough to warrant the launch of 5 new locations in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco/San Jose and Seattle. The new locations are slated to open Fall 2006.
Posted by Tannerman at 12:06 PM
March 09, 2006
Old Orchard Expansion Plans Downsized
Remember that big expansion plan leaked by Westfield last June regarding Old Orchard's future? At the core of that idea was tearing down both the Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor anchor buildings and replacing them with space for smaller shops. It was going to be the catalyst for rebranding Old Orchard as a "lifestyle center."
Apparently, those grand plans have been downsized greatly, much to the dismay of myself. According to the Chicago Tribune, Skokie (the village where Old Orchard is based) just approved a much smaller plan:
Skokie OKs mall changesSource: Chicago Tribune
March 9, 2006
Tribune staff, wire reportsThe Skokie Village Board has approved changes to the Old Orchard shopping center that are far less ambitious than the plans floated last year by the mall's Australian owner, Westfield Group. As part of a redevelopment of the former Saks Fifth Avenue store, the existing 104,000-square-foot structure would be replaced with a 64,000-square-foot building for smaller specialty stores and restaurants, according to a village report released this week. The plans would affect Steve & Barry's University Sportswear, which took over the Saks store last year. A representative of the inexpensive apparel retailer, which sells jeans, jackets and licensed college goods, declined to comment. Construction is expected to begin this summer. In June Westfield considered adding as much as 300,000 square feet of space to the well-known center. A representative could not be reached for comment.
Posted by Tannerman at 10:33 AM
February 22, 2006
Field's Name Change: September 9
The jerks at Federated Department Stores have announced the date of the name change for Marshall Field's... it's going to take place the weekend of September 9. The stupid Macy's name will then appear at Old Orchard as well as every other Field's location, including the classic State Street store. Here's what the Chicago Sun-Times has to say:
Source: Chicago Sun-TimesField's to become Macy's in Sept.
February 22, 2006
By Sandra Guy, Business ReporterMarshall Field's will be officially renamed Macy's the weekend of Sept. 9-10, Field's parent company Federated Department Stores announced Tuesday -- the same day it reported better-than-expected holiday profits.
CEO Terry Lundgren also introduced a new marketing chief he hopes will make the Macy's name as well-known as Pepsi.
Lundgren said he wants to advertise Macy's in new ways so it becomes a national icon rather than a traditional department store.
To do so, Cincinnati-based Federated has hired Anne MacDonald, 50, a former top marketing officer at Citibank and Pizza Hut, as Macy's chief marketing officer and president of Macy's corporate marketing division.
MacDonald, most recently at Citibank, has built her career at consumer products companies such as AT&T, Citicorp and Procter & Gamble.
MacDonald, who will start her new job in late March, will succeed Peter Sachse, 48, who will take a new role as chairman and CEO of Macy's online site, www.Macys.com.
Macy's Web site is expected to grow in sales volume and functionality because Federated is pumping $130 million into its online and mail-order business in the next two years to boost its infrastructure and service capabilities.
MacDonald will be in charge of the TV ad campaign and other efforts to promote the company's growth as a national retailer, and as it prepares to change the name of some 400 stores it purchased to Macy's.
The Macy's nameplate will be affixed in phases to Marshall Field's and the other former May Department stores, but the nameplates will be covered with a banner until the Sept. 9-10 grand unveiling, a Federated spokesman said.
Profits at Federated during the important holiday season jumped 59 percent to $699 million, or $2.52 a share, on an 87 percent surge in sales to $9.57 billion.
Federated, which also owns Bloomingdale's, bought May Department Stores for $11.5 billion on Aug. 30.
It promoted deep discounts at the May Department Stores during the holidays to clear the racks so Federated can install its own brands, decor and private-label fashions.
Excluding merger costs and inventory adjustments to reflect clearance sales, Federated's earnings from continuing operations totaled $2.74 a share, easily topping analysts' consensus estimate of $2.62 a share.
Net income was bolstered by a tax settlement, a tight rein on costs and inventory and better-than-expected sales and profit margins at May Department Stores, including Marshall Field's, L.S. Ayres, Hecht's, Foley's, Famous Barr and five other regional department-store chains.
Sales at all of the May Department Stores unit, including Marshall Field's, inched up 0.1 percent, a far better result than Federated's earlier forecast of a sales decline of 5 to 7 percent.
Sales at Federated stores open at least a year -- a key gauge of a retailer's health -- were up 1.1 percent.
Lundgren has said 2006 will be a transition year with costs for store closings, the addition of 400 Macy's nameplates nationwide, and continued efforts to improve disappointing sales at the home-furnishings stores. Federated expects its same-store sales in 2006 to increase 2 to 3 percent, and to have full-year earnings of $3.45 to $3.70 per share.
Federated said it has buyers interested in the Lord & Taylor department-store chain and May's bridal group of stores, both of which it is selling. It declined to reveal the potential buyers' names, but said the sales should be completed this year.
Posted by Tannerman at 09:29 AM
January 13, 2006
Federated puts Lord & Taylor on the block
The anchor situation continues to be interesting at Old Orchard with Federated Department Stores announcing yesterday that they are selling their Lord & Taylor division. Old Orchard has a Lord & Taylor location, though it is rather small. In fact, the small store (along with the former Saks Fifth Avenue space, now a Steve & Barry's University Sportswear) were outlined for demolition by Westfield when their Old Orchard expansion plans were made public last June.
I'm guessing that the Steve & Barry's situation is a short-term lease and if Lord & Taylor gets sold/closed, Westfield will want to get their hands on that smaller building as well, clearing more hurdles for their expansion ideas. The Chicago Sun-Times has the full story on the Lord & Taylor ownership situation:
Federated to sell Lord & TaylorSource: Chicago Sun-Times
January 13, 2006
by Sandra Guy, Business ReporterLord & Taylor is up for sale, and its stores may end up as new locations for an expanded Saks Fifth Avenue or another department store, analysts speculated Thursday.
Lord & Taylor's owner, Federated Department Stores, announced Thursday it will sell the 55-store chain so it can focus on its Macy's and Bloomingdale's department stores. The news ended rumors that had circulated for a year-and-a-half that Federated would dispense with the modernized but floundering Lord & Taylor, which has five Chicago area stores.
The Lord & Taylor chain garnered $1.57 billion in sales in 2004, and analysts immediately speculated that it could sell for $745 million after taxes.
The most likely buyers would be private-equity companies flush with cash. Private-equity companies have recently gobbled up Neiman Marcus Group and Toys R Us in separate deals.
Deborah Weinswig of Citigroup Smith Barney speculated that a private-equity buyer could buy Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor, and rename all of the stores Saks Fifth Avenue.
Another analyst who asked not to be named said a smarter pairing would be Lord & Taylor with the upscale Parisian chain of 40 department stores in the South. Parisian is being sold by Saks.
Federated bought the New York-based Lord & Taylor chain as part of its stunning $11.9 billion takeover of the May Department Stores, including Marshall Field's and L.S. Ayres. The consolidation of the country's top two department-store chains, announced a year ago, took effect Aug. 30.
May Department Stores had tried to turn around the Lord & Taylor chain by introducing more fashionable merchandise and closing 32 stores that represented 38 percent of Lord & Taylor's store base but only 19 percent of the chain's total sales.
Federated expects to sell Lord & Taylor this year. Federated CEO Terry Lundgren, the man responsible for renaming Marshall Field's as Macy's, said that although Lord & Taylor didn't fit Federated's focus, it has "a great name, many outstanding locations, an experienced management team and a strong customer following."
Local shoppers have lost two Saks Fifth Avenue stores in the last three years, and could see more closings of Lord & Taylor stores.
After Saks announced last May it would close its Saks Fifth Avenue store at Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie, the shopping center proposed tearing down the Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue stores to build an open-air shopping area filled with specialty retailers.
Two years ago, Saks closed its Saks Fifth Avenue store at Oakbrook Center mall in the western suburbs. It was replaced by a Bloomingdale's Home Store.
Posted by Tannerman at 10:03 AM
November 01, 2005
Carson's name to stay in Chicago
As previously reported, Carson's has a new owner. Thankfully, according to this report by the Chicago Sun-Times, the name won't be changing anytime soon.
What about the name?Source: Chicago Sun-Times
November 1, 2005
BY SANDRA GUYChicagoans, still reeling from Federated Department Stores' impending change of Marshall Field's name to Macy's, can breathe easy about the future of Carson Pirie Scott & Co.'s name.
Carson's will remain Carson's, Bon-Ton CEO and President Bud Bergren told the Sun-Times.
"We think Carson's is a very good franchise, and has a lot of equity," Bergren said.
He added that he thinks it's "a shame" that Marshall Field's will become Macy's in 2006.
Posted by Tannerman at 03:00 PM
October 31, 2005
Carson's finds a new owner
Even thouugh Saks Fifth Avenue has closed at Old Orchard, their parent company is still making news... namely with the selloff of another Chicago brand name, Carson Pirie Scott. Now, I know Carson's has had lame Christmas windows on State Street the past couple of years, but here's hoping that their new owner, Bon-Ton Stores Inc., keeps the name alive in Chicago (unlike some other lame companies). Reuters has an article about the purchase:
Saks sells Carson Pirie Scott to Bon-Ton StoresSource: Reuters
October 31, 2005
ReutersThe Bon-Ton Stores Inc. said on Monday it agreed to buy 142 stores from Saks Inc. for $1.1 billion in cash, making it one of the largest regional department store retailers in the United States.
The deal involves 142 Saks department stores that operate under the Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Herberger's and Younkers monikers. The purchase will more than double the size of Bon-Ton, which currently has 139 department stores in the Northeast and Midwest.
Bon-Ton shares jumped about 27 percent to $21.19 on Nasdaq on news it clinched the deal for a lower price than the $1.5 billion Saks had originally demanded, traders said.
"The transaction solidifies and strengthens our position in the Midwest and extends our footprint into the Great Plains states," he said.
Saks' Northern Department Store group generated $2.2 billion in sales last year or about one-third of the retailer's total sales. In April, Saks sold its Proffitt's and McRae's chains to Belk Inc. for $622 million.
Luxury retailers have reported strong results in recent quarters as a booming housing market helps to lift spending among high-income consumers. But Saks largely missed out on the bonanza amid a probe into accounting that led to the ouster of three top executives.
Saks restated last year's results after the internal investigation found that the retailer had improperly collected discounts from vendors known as "markdown allowances."
Once the Northern Department Store unit is sold, Saks will be left operating its main, luxury department store chains Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises with 105 stores, its Parisian chain with 40 stores, and Club Libby Lu with 56 stores.
Saks said on Monday it continues to explore options for Club Libby Lu, which offers makeover and dress-up parties for girls. The chain has received buyout interest from Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc., Too Inc., and Claire's Stores Inc., according to media reports. Those retailers have declined to comment.
Birmingham, Alabama-based Saks said it will have received more than $1.7 billion in cash from the divestitures of the two department store units. With a stronger balance sheet and expectations for improved performance its Saks Fifth Avenue and Parisian businesses, Saks said it may use some the proceeds from the Northern Department Stores for share-buybacks, a special cash dividend, or both.
Saks shares were up 10.3 percent, or $1,72, at $18.38 on the New York Stock Exchange on the news of the dividends, traders said. Saks' stock trades at about 26 times Wall Street analysts' profit forecasts for next year, buoyed by expectation of the unit sales, compared with 17 times earnings for luxury retailer Nordstrom Inc.
The deal with Bon-Ton, which was approved by both companies' boards, is expected to close early in the first fiscal quarter of 2006. Bon-Ton said it expected the purchase to add to its earnings immediately after completion, with cost-cuts starting in 2006 and reaching at least $33 million by 2008.
The deal is subject to certain conditions, including Bon-Ton's financing for the transaction. Bank of America, N.A. has executed a commitment letter with Bon-Ton to provide for the financing of the transaction.
Lazard was Bon-Ton's financial adviser on the deal, while Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen served as its legal adviser. Goldman Sachs & Co. and Citigroup advised Saks.
Posted by Tannerman at 05:08 PM
October 13, 2005
Old Orchard Kids Club
Apparently, Old Orchard has a kids club now called KidOOdles. Note the double OO in the name for "Old Orchard". Clever. You've already missed "Halloween Happenings" on October 1, but you can plan ahead for two other events: "Thoughtful Thanksgiving" on November 5 and "Holiday Celebration" on December 3. God forbid we actually use the "Christmas" word in the retail realm. Can't offend, now can we? Whatever.
More info in The Orchard Food Court.
Posted by Tannerman at 10:51 AM
September 20, 2005
Marshall Field's to become Macy's
Well, it looks like we'll see a namechange at Old Orchard soon (as well as downtown on State Street). Stupid Macy's.
Source: Chicago Tribune
Tribune staff reports
Published September 20, 2005, 11:01 AM CDTMarshall Field & Co., a name long venerated in the history of Chicago retailing, will disappear in the fall of 2006, to be replaced by Macy's.
All 62 Field's in Illinois and seven other states will be converted to Macy's, according to today's announcement by Federated Department Stores Inc., Field's new owner.
While Federated had "great respect for the legacy and traditions of Marshall Field's," the decision to drop the Field's name was made after Federated "carefully researched customer preferences and studied alternatives," Terry J. Lundgren, Federated's chairman, president and chief executive, said in a news release.
"While the store's name will change, much of what customers love will stay the same, including Marshall Field's traditions and its outstanding record of community and charitable giving," Lundgren said.
"From a shopping standpoint, customers will have the best of both worlds in major markets like Chicago, Minneapolis and Detroit," Lundgren said.
"They will continue to benefit from regional buying that remains attuned to local preferences and lifestyles plus enjoy the distinctive merchandise and shopping experience that's part of the Macy's brand," Lundgren said.
"As part of this name change process, we will do everything we can to honor the Marshall Field's heritage, particularly in its Chicago birthplace."
The stores will be operated under a Minneapolis-based division, Macy's North, the Cincinnati-based Federated said.
Federated, parent of Macy's and Bloomingdale's, doubled its size Aug. 30 by completing its $11 billion acquisition of Field's owner, May Department Stores Co.
The acquisition gave rise to immediate misgivings among Chicagoans familiar with Federated's history of changing the names of regional department store chains it acquired to Macy's.
Most other May chains, including Famous-Barr, with seven Illinois stores, are to be renamed Macy's by fall 2006. One exception is Lord & Taylor, which Federated has ruled out changing.
The deal between Federated and May marked the second time in less than two years that Field's has changed hands. In July 2004, May bought Field's from Minneapolis-based Target Corp., which dumped its department store holdings to focus on its more vigorous discount chain.
The Federated-May deal created a $28 billion retailer with about 950 department stores.
Despite changing the name to Macy's, Field's may remain a fixture on State Street for some time to come. Two days after Federated closed its acquisition of May, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks formally recommended that the City Council bestow landmark status to the retailer's flagship store at State and Washington Streets.
If approved by the City Council, the landmark designation would give the city legal power to restrict building changes, including tinkering with the large nameplates on its exterior.
Preservationists and politicians have said changing the State Street store from Field's to Macy's would strip away a piece of the city's identity. Many also hoped a landmark designation would preserve the name of the State Street shopping icon.
"It's like changing the name of the Eiffel Tower, honestly," Preservation Chicago president Jonathan Fine said earlier this month. "I don't think Chicagoans will ever accept it as a Macy's. To us, that's somebody who sponsors a parade in New York."
Posted by Tannerman at 12:06 PM
September 02, 2005
Field's Watch: Chicago moving to protect State Street building
Source: Chicago Tribune
By Johnathon E. Briggs
Published September 1, 2005, 9:48 PM CDTWhatever the new owners decide to call it, "Marshall Field and Company" may still be emblazoned on the outside of the historic department store, as the city moves closer to landmarking the building in the heart of the Loop.
The Commission on Chicago Landmarks formally recommended Thursday that the City Council bestow landmark status to the structure at State and Washington Streets.
If approved by the City Council, the landmark designation would give the city legal power to restrict building changes, including tinkering with the large nameplates on its exterior.
Ever since Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores Inc. bought Marshall Field's latest parent, May Department Stores Co., it has considered renaming all Field stores as Macy's, in its efforts to create a national brand. Federated spokesman Jim Sluzewski said the retail giant, which finalized its purchase Tuesday, would decide by year's end whether to keep or abandon the Field name.
Preservationists and politicians say a name change would strip away a piece of the city's identity, and many hope a landmark designation will preserve the name of the State Street shopping icon.
"It's like changing the name of the Eiffel Tower, honestly," said Preservation Chicago president Jonathan Fine. "I don't think Chicagoans will ever accept it as a Macy's. To us that's somebody who sponsors a parade in New York."
"The name Marshall Field is so synonymous with Chicago history," said Ald. Burton Natarus (42nd), who pushed for the designation of the department store, which lies in his ward.
In the 1890s, retail pioneer Marshall Field set out to create the finest department store in the world and commissioned the architectural firm of renowned architect Daniel H. Burhnam to design a retail palace.
The oldest section of the complex, the nine-story stone and terra-cotta clad Marshall Field Annex at the corner of Washington Street and Wabash Avenue , was constructed in 1892. The rest of the building, built in stages between 1902 and 1914, is clad in gray granite and rises 13 stories.
In 1907, a year after Field's death, the overall floor space of the store measured nearly 35 acres and was the world's largest department store.
The store was rated red in the Chicago Historic Resources Survey, the highest category among structures considered by the city to be architecturally or historically significant. And last year, the landmarks commission gave it preliminary landmark status.
Describing it as the "grand dame" of department stores, the commission recommends protecting the building's exterior and key interior features, including the two bronze "Great Clocks" on State Street at Randolph and Washington Streets which were immortalized in 1945 by illustrator Norman Rockwell on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post.
The designation would protect portions of the first-floor sales area, including its gilded pillars, the complex's white marble staircase and landing, cast-iron staircase and its 13-story atrium. Also recommend for protection is the six-story atrium on the south State Street section, including its Tiffany glass mosaic dome and the seventh-floor walnut-paneled dining room known as the Walnut Room.
The recommendation makes no specific reference to the Marshall Field's name plates that adorn the building. But Brian Goeken, deputy planning commissioner for the city's Landmarks Division, said Federated would have to get city approval if it seeks to remove or alter the name plates.
Goeken also said if Federated renames the building, it is possible it could end up like the landmarked Carbon & Carbide building at 230 N. Michigan Ave. The building's name remains on the exterior, but it also has modern signage indicating its conversion to a Hard Rock Hotel.
An attorney representing Federated at Thursday's hearing said the retail giant supports the recommendation for landmark designation.
Posted by Tannerman at 09:13 PM
July 29, 2005
Field's Watch: Name stays for now, Lord & Taylor safe
Since Old Orchard has department stores owned by Federated Department Stores (Bloomingdale's) and The May Department Stores Company (Lord & Taylor, Marshall Field's), here at the Triple-O we've been closely monitoring the Federated-May merger and the impact it will have on the mall and beyond.
With the merger pretty much finalized, as expected Federated announced this week that it is converting 10 individual May department store brands to the Macy's brand by fall 2006, resulting in Macy's bumping up to 730 stores across the country. Fortunately for us here in Chicago, that number does not include Marshall Field's at this time. Federated mentioned that they won't be converting Lord & Taylor to Macy's (as previously speculated by many back in June). The decision on the future of Marshall Field's won't be decided until "before Christmas." The company will also be closing 68 stores, while looking at converting others to Bloomingdale's.
The fact that Federated is keeping the Lord & Taylor brand rather concerns me, as that seems to be an outlier for them, somewhat hurting their "two nationwide brands" concept. Would they want another oddball brand in Marshall Field's as well? According to the Chicago Sun-Times, many are speculating that Field's may remain in name-only at the State Street location, while the other stores in the chain make the Macy's move. I guess we just continue to wait and hope they keep it Field's!
So, which chains lost their individual history and will now be assimilated by the Macy's Borg?
Famous-Barr (MI, IL, IN, KY)
David May started what became The May Department Stores in 1877. By 1892, his company acquired The Famous Clothing Store in St. Louis. Later, in 1913, he acquired the William Barr Dry Goods Company (founded 1849) and combined it with his other stores to become Famous-Barr. Thus, this Midwest chain has always been a part of The May Department Stores Company.
Filene's (CT, ME, MA, NH, NY, RI, VT)
Boston-based chain, and as such, lots of stores in the Northeast. Founded by William Filene in 1849. Despite similar names, not affiliated with Filene's Basement. Acquired by May from Federated in 1988. And the cycle continues.
Foley's (CO, LA, NM, OK, TX)
Primarily a southwestern store chain, it was originally founded as a Houston, TX, dry goods store in 1900 by the Foley brothers. Federated ended up owning Foley's, but sold them to May in 1988. Now they have them again.
Hecht's (DC, MD, NJ, NC, PA, TN, VA)
Founded in 1857 by Samuel Hecht, Jr. based in the New England area. Stores are primarily located in the East with an HQ in Washington, DC. Acquired by May in 1959. Contains previously acquired stores of Thalhimer's, Hess's, Wanamaker's, Woodward & Lothrop, and Strawbridge and Clothier.
Kaufmann's (NY, PA, OH, WV)
Founded in Pittsburgh in 1871, now based out of Boston. Located primarily in the northeastern part of the US. Acquired by May in 1946.
L.S. Ayres (IN)
Lyman S. Ayres purchased a dry good store in downtown Indianapolis, IN, back in 1872. The L.S. Ayres Tea Room, which operated at the downtown department store from 1905 to 1990, served a clientele of fashionable shoppers in a formal setting. Acquired by May in 1986.
Meier & Frank (OR, UT, WA)
Formed by a partnership between Aaron Meier and Emil Frank in 1873 in Oregon. A Pacific Northwest chain of stores. After a bitter battle between the two surviving families, the company was sold to May in 1966. A 2002 purchase of Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution increased the chain's size.
Robinsons-May (AZ, CA, NV)
May's department stores merged with J. W. Robinsons of Los Angeles in 1993 to create this brand, based on the West Coast. The first May stores in the area opened back in 1923.
Strawbridge's (DE, NJ, PA)
A northeastern US chain founded by Quakers Justus Clayton Strawbridge and Issac Hallowell Clothier in Philadelphia in 1862. Flagship is still based in downtown Philly. Acquired by May in 1996.
The Jones Store (KS, MO)
Department store founded in Kansas in 1887 by founder J. Logan Jones, a guy who was born in a wigwam on an Indian reservation. Moved his Stafford, KS, store called the Cyclone to Kansas City, KS, and The Jones Dry Goods Company. Acquired by May in 1996.
Federated, you suck.
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
July 29, 2005
BY SANDRA GUY Business ReporterMarshall Field's got a reprieve Thursday from a name change -- but customers will know by Christmas whether they will be shopping under a holiday tree at Macy's in 2006.
"We're going to get it done before Christmas this year," said Terry Lundgren, CEO of Federated Department Stores, which will take ownership of Field's this fall. "We're going to take our time and make sure when we make our decision, it's the right one."
On Thursday, Federated announced it is converting 10 department store banners to the Macy's nameplate in fall 2006, boosting Macy's nationwide presence to 730 stores.
The announcement leaves Field's and Lord & Taylor as the only two department-store chains being acquired by Federated whose futures are unknown.
Federated has been conducting surveys of shoppers, many with memories of Field's ornate clock and holiday windows, about a name change.
Insiders speculate that Federated may keep Field's name on the State Street flagship, and operate it as a destination store.
Asked about the possibility, Lundgren said, "It's speculation. It's a great store."
Is Federated playing politics with the Field's name?
One analyst thinks so.
"To be honest, it's all about the Field's store on State Street. There is a lot of political pressure not to convert it [to Macy's]," said Lois Huff, senior vice president of Retail Forward, a Columbus, Ohio-based retail strategy consulting firm.
Lundgren denied politics is playing a role.
"We're not going to make a move until we think it through and do the right thing by reviewing customer research," said Lundgren, who works out of Federated's offices in Manhattan.
Federated, which owns Macy's and Bloomingdale's, will acquire Field's, Lord & Taylor and the 10 other regional department-store chains after its $11 billion buyout of May Department Stores is completed sometime between Aug. 1 and Nov. 1.
The number of stores being converted to Macy's -- 330 -- represents about two thirds of May's 487 department stores.
The Lord & Taylor department-store chain will escape the Macy's conversion, but its fate is a matter of heated speculation.
Federated is studying whether a small number of unidentified stores should be renamed Bloomingdale's, and some analysts believe Lord & Taylor's highest-income stores could become Bloomingdale's.
Deborah Weinswig, an analyst at Citigroup Smith Barney, has speculated that Federated could sell Lord & Taylor's flagship store in New York for $384 million.
Lundgren said Thursday that Federated will have no information about Lord & Taylor until after its buyout of May is complete. At that time, Federated must decide how Lord & Taylor is executing its recent overhaul to upscale fashions and improved merchandising.
Before Cincinnati-based Federated makes any moves, its buyout of St. Louis-based May must win antitrust regulators' approval.
Analysts had speculated that Federated and May would be forced to sell up to 100 stores to keep from dominating the anchor stores in shopping malls nationwide.
Federated, based in Cincinnati, announced Thursday it will close 68 regional department stores in 66 malls where its anchor stores overlap those owned by May. Federated owns 27 of the stores in 14 states, and May owns 41 in 12 states. Most of the closings will occur in California, Pennsylvania and the Northeast. The closed stores accounted for $2 billion in sales last year.
Lundgren said he doesn't anticipate any more store closings.
Lundgren has cited customer research for expanding the Macy's brand, but experts say making Macy's a national name is a wise business move.
Macy's needs stores in Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis to give it a presence in the Midwest's biggest markets.
Macy's expansion would make it easier and more efficient for Federated to advertise, manage inventory, buy merchandise from vendors and plan product assortments -- all important ingredients in staying profitable in a retail world filled with rivals ranging from Nordstrom to J.C. Penney to specialty boutiques, retail experts said Thursday.
It would be difficult to make Field's or Lord & Taylor national brands because of their small sizes and limited reach, the experts said.
Field's has 60 stores in the Midwest and Great Plains, and Lord & Taylor will have 54 stores scattered throughout the Midwest and Northeast after May divests three stores scheduled for closing.
"You can't live with these tiny little sub-brands any more. It's not cost-effective," said Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, a research consulting firm based in New York.
Field's also would have trouble holding its own between middle-class Macy's and upper-class Bloomingdale's, said Huff of Retail Forward.
"Macy's is moving up-market with higher-quality goods and distinct product lines. Is it going to be any different than a Field's?" Huff said.
Even diehards' efforts to save the Field's name may not be enough.
"The core of fanatics is too small to make a difference," Passikoff said. "They're not enough to make a company profitable."
Posted by Tannerman at 05:07 PM
July 27, 2005
KeepItFields.org
Well, not a surprise, but a website has been launched to help save the Marshall Field's name. Will the folks at Federated ever care? Probably not. They'll just use pointless, rigged "surveys" to prove that a name change doesn't really matter to Chicago residents. I will say one thing, however... I really like the Flash-based intro to this website! The Chicago Sun-Times has the full story:
Battle to preserve Field's name makes its way to the InternetSource: Chicago Sun-Times
July 27, 2005
BY SANDRA GUY Business ReporterA Web site claiming that Federated Department Stores' threat to "erase" the Marshall Field's name "is nothing short of criminal" launched Tuesday to organize Field's loyalists to keep their beloved store from becoming a Macy's.
The site, www.KeepItFields.org, seeks shoppers' stories on what Field's means to them, and includes links to news articles on the anticipated name change and an online petition to show "tangible support for keeping Field's as Field's."
Nick Potts of Minneapolis, a 25-year-old architect intern, said Tuesday he created the site with the intention of forming an online community.
Potts said he is concerned about the loss of regional identity in the face of globalization, and he respects Field's as a strong part of the community.
Federated bought Field's and other stores owned by St. Louis-based May Department Stores for $11 billion. The deal is expected to close this fall, and Federated CEO Terry Lundgren has touted his efforts to substitute Macy's for regional department store names.
Federated has already ditched Lazarus, Rich's, Burdine's, Goldsmith's and other longtime store names in favor of the Macy's nameplate.
Lundgren told reporters after a July 13 shareholders' meeting that Federated has hired an outside company to poll Field's customers about a name change.
"So far in our markets, our customers said it doesn't make that big a difference," Lundgren said.
The KeepItFields Web site dares shoppers in the Upper Midwest to "show Federated that we are not to be underestimated."
Potts wrote on the Web site that he created it "half out of desperation, and half out of optimism."
He wrote that his desperation stemmed in part from the fear "that the homogenization and dumbing-down of America is most likely going to take away one of the great icons of American history."
He called the Macy's brand "one that stands for nothing but an overhyped parade in a faraway city and economies of scale."
Potts wrote that he is optimistic that Lundgren will realize "that we in the Upper Midwest are more than a blank spot in a map waiting to be filled in and told what to do, think and buy."
A Field's spokeswoman said Tuesday that Potts has no affiliation with the retailer.
"We are fortunate to have such a strong emotional connection with our guests and the communities we serve," said Jennifer McNamara, Field's spokeswoman at Field's headquarters in Minneapolis.
A separate Web log started by a Web site editor urges Field's supporters to write to Lundgren or to call Federated's switchboard or manager of community relations to let their feelings be known.
Scott Smith, the blog's creator, is associate editor of arts and entertainment at the Web site, called Chicagoist. Smith, 30, said he found it interesting that young people who frequent the Chicagoist Web site were passionate about keeping the Field's name.
"We're not just talking about changing the name of a minimart. This will be taking away a part of Chicago's history."
Posted by Tannerman at 09:38 AM
July 21, 2005
Gloria Jeans out; Ethel's in
Over the years, one of our favorite places to visit while at Old Orchard was Gloria Jeans, located on Pear Lane. Now, I don't drink coffee, but my wife does, and compared to the other coffee offerings at the mall (mainly Starbucks), Gloria Jeans was the better option. I did get my fair share of steamed milk items, however.
Unfortunately, like many other retailers, Gloria Jeans pulled out of Old Orchard after their 10 year lease was up, resulting in the store closing a few months ago. We were saddened by this. Soon construction walls went up around the space with no mention of what was on the drawing board.
However, it appears a replacement is now in sight. We're getting an Ethel's Chocolate Lounge at Old Orchard! What's this all about? I'll let the Wall Street Journal explain this new concept owned by Mars, Inc.:A place for cocoa nuts: Mars opens chocolate cafe
By the end of the summer, Mars expects to have 6 locations open in the Chicago area, including the one at Old Orchard (slated for an August opening).
Friday, July 15, 2005
By Amy Chozick, The Wall Street Journal
At Ethel's Chocolate Lounge... couples and families relax on plush pastel-colored furniture, eating champagne chocolates and sipping mocha drinks. Behind a glass pane, espresso, pina colada and honey-flavored truffles sell for about $42 a pound. A sign reads "Chocolate is the New Black."
More precisely, Mars Inc., the closely held candy giant behind Ethel's (named after the late matriarch of Mars), is betting that chocolate is the new coffee. Decorated with pink-and-brown striped wallpaper and whimsical lighting, the new chain is Mars's attempt to make lingering over a plate of premium chocolates in a cafe space as mainstream as drinking a morning latte at Starbucks. For a company best known for making mass-market products like Twix and Snickers bars, this means transforming a lowly commodity into a high-price luxury.
...The $14.5 billion U.S. chocolate industry could use a shot of espresso. Dominated by decades-old products like Hershey bars and M&M's, the industry has posted annual sales increases of less than 3 percent from 2002 to 2004, reports the National Confectioners Association, an industry trade group. Meanwhile, sales at upscale coffee and cocoa stores (a category that includes Godiva as well as sit-down spots like Starbucks) rose 20.6 percent in the same period.
...The chocolate lounge dates back to 17th-century London, about a century after cocoa was brought to Europe from Latin America. Designed or the elite, European chocolate houses offered comfortable seating where the upper crust could socialize while drinking hot chocolate. Today, chocolate is still consumed in Europe more regularly than it is in the U.S., where consumers and manufactures have a more populist approach to it.
Old Orchard already has an upscale chocolate store (Godiva), but it's not really built for lounging. It should be interesting to see how this battle for overpriced chocolate plays out. If they have a good hot chocolate, I may check them out come this fall!
Posted by Tannerman at 12:04 PM
July 17, 2005
Field's Watch: Roger Ebert isn't a fan of a name change
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
July 17, 2005
BY ROGER EBERTThe historic and honorable Chicago name ''Marshall Field's'' is headed for the Dumpster. How do I know this? Sandra Guy, a business reporter for the Sun-Times, reports that the name ''hung in the balance'' as Federated Department Stores approved a $17 billion takeover of the May Co., which owns Field's. And the balance is tipping, she added ominously.
This is an abomination on a par with renaming the Chicago Cubs the Chicago Mets. To pave the way, Federated is ''surveying customers'' and has hired an ''independent company'' to conduct interviews at malls, online, on the phone and by mail.
I can save Federated the trouble by informing them:
1. No one in Chicago wants Marshall Field's to be named Macy's. Absolutely no one.
2. The ''survey'' and the ''independent company'' will uncover a surprising groundswell of support for the name change.
This is because such surveys always produce the results desired by the people paying for the survey, a truth well known in business.
Everything depends on how the question is worded. For example, if I were to ask a Chicagoan, ''Do you think the name of Marshall Field's should be changed to Macy's?'' the result would be 100 percent negative. If I were to ask, ''Does a company have the right to choose its own name for a store?'' the result might be 100 positive.
So let me just assure Terry J. Lundgren, the three-headed chairman, president and chief executive officer of Federated, that I have been discussing this subject for several months at dinner parties, in line at the movies, on airplanes, while walking in the park and while engaging in brief but rewarding conversations with countless citizens of our city, and every single person has responded with outrage.
Lundgren believes he must ''brand'' his stores as Macy's or Bloomingdale's as a ''declaration'' to his shareholders that his company is built around the two national chains. How would his shareholders react if the Chicago flagship of his company found itself hated, shunned and reviled?
Marshall Field's is a name as closely associated with Chicago as Macy's is with New York -- an excellent reason for not making the change. Chicago is a world-class city, more beautiful, better mannered and cleaner than New York. We do not pile up our garbage on the sidewalks, and we do not trash our heritage. We even value a living and breathing Marshall Field among our population.
When Donald Trump came to town to tear down the venerable Chicago Sun-Times building and erect another of his phallic grotesqueries, I was sentimental but serene, because the Sun-Times building was homely and outworn, and because Mayor Richard M. Daley made Trump revise his plans until they were finally up to Chicago's architectural standards.
But as the holder of a Marshall Field's charge card and a citizen who takes out-of-town visitors into the building just to gaze upon it, if I should ever see the name ''Macy's'' under the clock at the corner of State and Randolph, I would never darken its doors again. I would be joined, I can promise Mr. Lundgren, by thousands if not millions of other Chicagoans.
Posted by Tannerman at 06:45 PM
July 15, 2005
A Magical Night
Like everyone else in the world, Old Orchard is capitalizing on the Harry Potter craze with the release of Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince. Barnes & Noble will be running a promotion from 9 p.m. to midnight today, featuring activities for those waiting around to pick up the 6th installment in the Harry Potter series at midnight.
Westfield is also offering face painting and stuff in the Food Court and the serpent play area. In addition, the first 250 cusomters to hit the Customer Service booth (oh, I'm sorry, it's a "Concierge Center") will get a free goodie bag containing a crazy treasure map so you can hunt around the center. Not a bad idea for a promo, I must say. That runs from 5:00 - 9:00 p.m. tonight.
Posted by Tannerman at 05:10 PM
2005 North Shore Art Festival
The North Shore Art Festival will be held this weekend at the Old Orchard shopping center in north suburban Skokie.
If you don't feel like doing the regular "shop at the mall" thing this weekend, you still might want to hop up to Old Orchard for the 15 annual North Shore Art Festival.
It tales place Saturday, July 16, though Sunday, July 17, and according to the Chicago Sun-Times, "will showcase more than $15 million in work by nearly 150 of the nation's finest artists in a variety of mediums, including life-size sculptures, photography, original hand-crafted jewelry, functional and decorative pottery, ceramics and paintings."
So there you go. Knock yourself out!
Image Source: ArtFestival.com
Posted by Tannerman at 04:10 PM
July 14, 2005
Field's Watch: "Two outstanding national retail brands: Macy's and Bloomingdale's"
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
July 14, 2005
BY SANDRA GUY Business ReporterCINCINNATI -- Survival of the Marshall Field & Co. name hung in the balance here Wednesday as Federated Department Stores shareholders approved the $17 billion takeover of Field parent May Co.
And the balance was tipping toward erasing the 124-year-old company's name from Chicago's retail landscape.
Survival of the Lord & Taylor name looks even less likely.
Terry J. Lundgren, Federated's chairman, president and chief executive, told reporters following the shareholders' meeting, "Certainly Marshall Field's is a very well-known, strong name. But the real answer is not with us in this room. It's really with what customers actually will do with that name and how important it is."
Perhaps most telling was Lundgren's declaration to the shareholders: "First and most important, we have a clear vision for being this premier retailing company built primarily around two outstanding national retail brands: Macy's and Bloomingdale's."
Shoppers will know whether Field's will become Macy's by fall or perhaps earlier, but no name changes will occur before 2006.
Federated is already surveying customers in Chicago, Minneapolis and Detroit about the importance of the Field's and Lord & Taylor names. An independent party was hired to conduct interviews at malls, online, on the telephone and by mail, Lundgren said. Similar surveys of shoppers at once-venerated stores such as Rich's in Atlanta, Burdine's in Florida and Bon Marche in Seattle failed to stay Federated's hand from renaming them Macy's.
"The biggest resistance to changing the names came from our own employees," Lundgren said. "To get to the truth, you've got to go deeper, be more challenging and point out what's different inside the store. So far in our markets, our customers said it doesn't make that big a difference."
On the bright side, no Field's stores are expected to be sold because of overlap between Federated and other May nameplates, including Lord & Taylor, Filene's and L.S. Ayres.
But even if the Field's name survives, the chain faces extensive changes.
Federated will introduce its merchandise in Field's stores by fall 2006, including private labels such as INC, Charter Club and Tasso Elba.
Unique merchandise is crucial to Lundgren's mandate to increase sales. However he declined to endorse the continued presence of Field's State Street boutiques, operated by outside companies including Thomas Pink, Alexandre Savile Row and Baccarat crystal.
On the other hand, Lundgren signaled that State Street could remain as is but that its new parent would use more real estate inside the store for merchandise.
"There's a lot of room in the State Street store for upscale assortments," he said.
Posted by Tannerman at 12:31 PM
June 29, 2005
Sara Lee closes all 11 Inner Self stores
I bet you didn't know that Sara Lee owned a retail store concept designed to take on Victoria's Secret. It's true, and was called Inner Self, "a special intimate apparel/loungewear retail environment and experience that pampers, relaxes and soothes." Not that it matters, as Sara Lee has closed all 11 of these concept stores. They want to focus on the other brands they own (such as Playtex, Wonderbra, Hanes, and Champion -- nobody doesn't like Sara Lee!)
Frankly, they had to be a little crazy to think they could battle Victoria's Secret in this space. Sure, they tried to modify their target audience, going after a niche in the women 25-55 category, average dress size of 12. At the time, Sara Lee attempted to "provide an alternative to the often-unattainable, sexy ideal promoted by Victoria's Secret, and declining service at department stores."
Nevertheless, the chain is dead, and now there is a vacancy in the Fountain Court section of Old Orchard. We never saw people actually in that store, which only seemed to be around for a little longer than a year. In fact, when it first opened, it had to close for a few days due to a water leak. Telling signs of what was to come.
Posted by Tannerman at 05:43 PM
June 06, 2005
Proposed Expansion: Old Orchard Goes Lifestyle
Here at the Old Orchard Observer, we've talked about consolidation in the retail industry, especially as it pertains to mall anchors. With Marshall Field's being acquired by Federated, 3 out of 5 anchors at Old Orchard will be owned by the same company. Then just last week it was announced that Saks Inc. would be closing the Saks Fifth Avenue store at the mall, resulting in another unknown for Old Orchard Center. In short, anchors are going to be lost. So what do you do instead?
Traditionally, large malls have been built on the assumption that anchors draw you to the center. Hence the label, "anchor." Often, the appeal of a mall has been built on what anchor stores are present. From a business perspective, rent and leasing rates are determined based on the number and size of the anchors in a mall.
But in case you haven't noticed, there aren't enough anchors to go around these days. There is consolidation, like what is taking place with Federated and May. There is a change in strategy, like what you see in Sears moving away from mall-based stores. There is a downsizing and focus on profitable stores, evident in what took place last week with Saks; J. C. Penney is also a good example here. And of course there is the loss of anchors altogether, as in Montgomery Wards and the like.
This has created a void for traditional malls as they try to figure out what to do. Many have chosen to go with somewhat alternative anchors. For example, the mall I used to work at, Randhurst (Mt. Prospect, IL), recently built a Costco as a part of the mall. Here in the city, unique architecture has allowed traditional "all in one stores" stores like Target to serve as anchors.
The growth of big boxes (Wal-Mart, Target, warehouse clubs, etc.) and category killers (Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Home Depot, etc.) has changed the way people shop. It also is changing the world of mall design and planning. Unfortunately, malls are large and heavy on infrastructure... you can't easily change course and reconfigure.
Sometimes there are exceptions, such as Brickyard Mall, a local mall I grew up with here in the city. It was a large, two-story, indoor mall that basically outlived its usefulness. It recently reopened after being completely torn down and rebuilt as The Brickyard, an outdoor center with a mix of big box retailers and specialty stores. So far, it's been quite a success story.
Other local shopping centers are shooting to become lifestyle centers, the big buzzword in retail these days. A lifestyle center is typically an open-air shopping center that doesn't really feature anchors. Instead, the mix of stores comes more from the specialty retail/boutique side of things. Often they are modeled to look like small towns, full of sidewalks, park-like places, and common areas. They don't require as much space as a large indoor mall and they offer convenience to a typically affluent shopper, as they can just park their oversized SUV nearby and quickly shop.
The "lifestyle center" concept was pioneered by Poag & McEwen with the construction of The Shops of Saddle Creek in Germantown, TN, in 1987. My current employer is located near another lifestyle center that recently opened, 500,000 sq. ft. Deer Park Town Center in suburban Chicago.
So what do you do when you are a traditional mall, you are losing anchors, and the trend seems to be towards lifestyle centers? Well, you build a hybrid! Last July, a suburban mall called Yorktown Center (previously the home of Big Idea) announced that they were going to tear down some vacant anchor space (formerly populated by Montgomery Wards) and build a lifestyle center concept called The Shops on Butterfield. Uniquely, this development would actually connect with the existing traditional indoor mall and feature an attached hotel. It will be interesting to see how that plays out, as the new development is set to open in 2006.
Even knowing these trends, I was shocked today when I read the following story in Crain's Chicago Business regarding what may happen to Old Orchard down the road. I guess the concept makes sense when you think about it...
Giant expansion for Old Orchard
Size would rival Woodfield as new vision for regional malls takes shape
June 06, 2005
By Sandra JonesThe owner of Old Orchard shopping center has drawn up plans to bulldoze the Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor spaces there to make way for a Main Street-style shopping promenade — an estimated $100-million expansion that would put the Skokie mall on par with the region's largest, Woodfield Shopping Center in Schaumburg.
Source: Crain's Chicago BusinessOwner Westfield Group's proposed site development plan, obtained by Crain's and dated May 20, calls for building 53 new specialty stores and restaurants totaling 650,000 square feet. The plan calls for a string of 24 stores backing up to Skokie Boulevard with trees, walkways and small courtyards modeled after the so-called lifestyle centers that have been drawing shoppers from traditional malls.
That strip would replace parking on the east side of the mall, the most traffic-congested. The surface parking would be eliminated and the parking deck outside Lord & Taylor would be torn down. In its place, a new parking deck would be constructed at the southeast end of the promenade near Golf Road. More specialty retail is proposed on the west and north sides of the mall.
The expansion, if approved as-is, would bring Old Orchard to 2.3 million square feet, an increase of about 25%. Retail experts estimate the cost of the overhaul at more than $100 million.
A spokeswoman for Australia-based Westfield calls the plan "very exploratory," explaining the proposal is a way for Westfield to get "a sense of the marketplace." And it still needs the approval of Skokie village officials and the remaining department store anchors: Nordstrom, Marshall Field's and Bloomingdale's.
Still, the ambitious proposal underlines the problem facing all mall operators these days. Malls like Old Orchard were designed to be anchored by department stores. But the department store industry is shrinking, and shoppers now have fewer reasons to go to the mall.
"The rules of the game have completely changed," says Gerhard Plaschka, managing partner at Chicago-based MindFolio, a consulting firm that studies malls. "You have to break the rules and come up with something that makes customers choose a mall. The old story that anchor stores are the mall magnets isn't true anymore."
AMONG OLDEST MALLS IN U.S.
When Old Orchard opened in 1956, it was one of the first malls in the nation. It led the suburban retail revolution, bringing downtown department stores to the newly constructed neighborhoods that ringed the city. Marshall Field's, Old Orchard's oldest tenant, spearheaded the project and played a key financial role in its construction.
Now, Marshall Field's, which has had a string of owners since the mall was built, is about to be sold for the second time in a year. Federated Department Stores Inc. of Cincinnati agreed earlier this year to buy Field's as part of its $11-billion acquisition of St. Louis-based May Department Stores Co. May purchased Field's from Target Corp. last year.
THREE ANCHORS, ONE OWNER
Once the deal closes, as expected this fall, Federated will own Field's, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor at Old Orchard — three of the four remaining anchors.
Saks Inc. announced in May that it intends to shutter its Saks Fifth Avenue store at Old Orchard in July as part of a move to scale back and reorganize the luxury chain. Federated is expected to shutter the Lord & Taylor store and eventually turn either Field's or Bloomingdale's into Macy's, according to retail sources. The two department stores combined accounted for about 220,000 square feet of retail space and about $30 million in annual sales, retail sources say. Officials with May and Federated decline to comment.
"All the major malls are facing department store consolidation," says John Melaniphy III, vice-president of Melaniphy & Associates, a retail real estate consulting firm in Chicago. "There aren't department stores waiting in the wings (to expand), so malls are looking to specialty stores and restaurants."
A sign of how times have changed in just a decade: Old Orchard's last major renovation in 1995 — under a previous owner, a group led by real estate mogul Sam Zell — hinged on the arrival of two new department stores, Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom, to the mall. The $100-million makeover targeted the stroller set with gardens, fountains and outdoor play areas for children.
Today, malls are scrambling to meet fickle shoppers' demands for convenience and entertainment. If either is lacking, they aren't likely to show up, analysts say.
Old Orchard has already begun sprucing up the mall with a new Apple Computer store, which is often crowded. It's also opened harder-to-find specialty stores in the past year including Lacoste, Clarks Shoes and Sigrid Olsen. Soon to debut: NikeWomen.
Still, competition to attract desirable retailers is expected to get tougher as Northbrook Court, another North Shore mall, goes through a similar, but smaller, effort to attract one-of-a-kind stores.
'POSITIVE' ADVANCE REVIEWS
Potential tenants have so far viewed Westfield's preliminary proposal as "positive," says the Westfield spokeswoman. She declines to comment on specifics of the plan. Retail sources familiar with the makeover say it's likely to be complete in 2007.
"This is a great opportunity," says Mr. Plaschka, the mall consultant. "They just need to understand that you have to break the rules. That's the challenge. There is no standard mall mix anymore."
Source: Crain's Chicago Business
Posted by Tannerman at 10:38 PM
May 03, 2005
Will Old Orchard get FAT?
Ah, you have to love Paul Pressler. He's currently the President and CEO of Gap, Inc. But before that, he spent 10 years running the Disney theme park empire into the ground. If that was his goal, he did a fine job. You see, he wasn't a creative guy. He was a business-oriented, retail guy, having gained favor at Disney via his successful reign with The Disney Store. Eventually, he left Disney due to various factors and started at Gap in September 2002.
What does this have to do with Old Orchard? Well, for one thing, the center already has a Banana Republic, in addition to combination Gap/Gap Body and Gap Kids/Baby Gap stores. Old Orchard also offers Talbots and J. Jill. Why mention those retail locations? Because Gap is launching a fourth store brand targeted directly at the same market... with Chicago being a testing ground for 4 new stores called Forth & Towne. The name refers to the company's fourth store brand (after Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy) and "Towne" is supposed to convey a sense of community.
Chicago a 4-store lab for Gap's Forth brand
Becky Yerak
May 3, 2005The Chicago market soon will be a retail laboratory for Gap Inc.
When the San Francisco-based merchant begins testing its Forth & Towne format in Chicago this fall, it'll try new approaches to see what works and what doesn't. Four Forth & Towne stores will open in yet-to-be-announced malls and shopping centers in the Chicago area. A fifth will open in New York.
"We'll experiment with different ideas across the five stores to understand what really resonates and then apply what we learn to future openings," Gap Chief Executive Officer Paul Pressler said in an April 21 conference call. "This includes testing the right combination of store experiences, styles, quality, fit and value."
Finding the winning formula for Gap's fourth retail concept is important because Forth & Towne seeks the affections of women who are 35 and older
That demographic is increasingly coveted by retailers because it's growing rapidly and earns the highest average income of any age group of women, Pressler said. Typical customers at the company's namesake chain are 18 to 34. It also owns Banana Republic and Old Navy. While younger women typically shop at specialty stores, older ones tend to default to traditional department stores. "They don't feel there's a viable alternative," Pressler said.
Forth & Towne prices will fall somewhere between Gap and Banana Republic. The test stores range in size from 8,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet. That's bigger than other specialty retailers wooing that demographic.
For example, Janeville stores, launched last year by Gymboree Corp. for women in their mid-30s and older, are 3,000 square feet. The typical store of Chico's FAS Inc., whose clothes are known for their forgiving fit, is 2,600 square feet.
Stocking a wider array of sizes will be a Forth & Towne hallmark. "We want to make sure we offer a broad size range" so we can serve shoppers with different needs, Pressler said.
The fitting rooms will be in the center of the store, surrounded by "neighborhoods" of merchandise. Gap executives, echoing recent comments by Federated Department Stores Inc. CEO Terry Lundgren, are waxing poetic about how a decent dressing room helps convert store traffic into sales.
Gap expects to have about 30 Forth & Towne stores through 2007.
The chain is being developed by Gap veterans and new talent based in New York. "They're functioning like a start-up," Pressler said.
Chicago was picked as a test market because it's centrally located and has a "great demographic" of women 35 and older, a Gap spokeswoman said.
Source: Chicago Tribune
No word has been made yet regarding which shopping centers in the Chicago area will get the 4 test stores. Also odd is the spelling of the name "Forth & Towne". As mentioned by Snarkmarket.com, they misspelled both "fourth" and "town". Go figure. And over at SnarkHunting.com, it's illustrated how Gap was smart to use the ampersand in the new store name rather than spelling out the word, as the initals for the chain would then reflect Forth And Towne. Would that really describe the 35+ women's market?
We here at the Observer will keep you posted on future developments!
Posted by Tannerman at 01:55 PM
April 28, 2005
The Croc comes to Old Orchard
Do you remember back in the 1980s how it was so "in" to wear a shirt with that goofy crocodile logo on it? Well, that stuff was made by a company called Izod.
Interestingly, the Izod brand was split in 1995 and sold to Phillips-Van Heusen, becoming crocodile-free. The brand that retained the "croc" was Lacoste, a French apparel company based in Paris.
Their namesake is Jean René Lacoste, a famous French tennis player, businessman, and innovator. He was nicknamed "the crocodile" by fans (ah, there's where that came from!). According to Wikipedia, he is now mostly known as being the namesake of the Lacoste tennis shirt, which he invented in 1929.
I mention all of this because Old Orchard is going to be opening a Lacoste store in Spring 2005, according to their construction walls located in The Garden section. The Chicago Tribune recently published this story about the upcoming opening:
Lacoste's crocodile scares up new shops
Becky Yerak
Published April 19, 2005Lacoste, the crocodile-logo polo shirts that were practically issued to people coming of age in the 1980s, is opening its second Illinois store next month in Westfield Old Orchard in Skokie.
After falling out of favor in the grungy 1990s, Lacoste is back, thanks to a resurgence of retro, preppy dressing. It's now a $1 billion brand globally, and U.S. sales rose 125 percent in 2004 and are expected to rise 60 percent in 2005. In 2001, Lacoste hired its first creative director and in 2003 had its first runway show.
The French luxury sportswearmaker has 28 stores and plans for five more in 2005, including Skokie, Las Vegas and New York's Soho neighborhood. Its other local store is in Chicago's Water Tower Place.
...Don't confuse Lacoste with Izod. The two names had been interchangeable, but Izod now represents a croc-less, lower-end polo brand sold in such retailers as J.C. Penney Co. In contrast, Lacoste polo shirts start at $70 at retailers such as Marshall Field's. New for this season are women's Lacoste swimsuits starting at $125.
Lacoste is part of a wave of new tenants at Old Orchard as 10-year leases expire. Other tenants include Sephora, Sigrid Olsen, Landau and Sisley. Among those departing: Lady Foot Locker, Sweet Factory, GNC and Christopher & Banks.
Source: Chicago Tribune
Posted by Tannerman at 11:22 AM
April 27, 2005
Good-bye Shoppingtown!
It's no secret that I detest the branding of Westfield malls as "Westfield Shoppingtown _____". It seems when Westfield purchases a property, they do their best to remove any sort of unique identity that the shopping center previously held with its customer base.
While the branding isn't completely removed, the emphasis now is placed on the corporate parent rather than the individual property itself. I think this is a bad idea as a person typically associates a positive/negative experience with a physical place when it comes to shopping, not a corporate giant. And while Westfield attempts to keep the previous mall's name in their rebranding (i.e. "Old Orchard Center" became "Westfield Shoppingtown Old Orchard"), the subtlety is lost. It's unfortunate that other large mall operators are trying to mimic this branding, namely Indianapolis-based Simon. I wish I could get my hands on some research about this strategy, either for or against, because it just baffles me.
With that in mind, I was a little shocked by this article from today's Wilmington Star-News, published in Wilmington, NC. It references Westfield Shoppingtown Independence:
Westfield engages in name-droppingInteresting!
April 27, 2005
by Bonnie EkstenWHAT'S IN A NAME: Not "Shoppingtown," after Saturday. Westfield Shoppingtown Independence mall in Wilmington will shorten its name to Westfield Independence beginning Sunday.
The Australian-based property management company manages 126 shopping malls in four countries. The company has decided that "Westfield," is the brand name consumers use and recognize, said Chuck Willetts, marketing manager at the Wilmington mall.
All the Westfield properties are slated for the name change, but don't expect signage to change immediately. Mr. Willetts said signs would reflect the new name only when they need replacing.
Posted by Tannerman at 03:51 PM
Another Marshall Field's in Chicagoland?
Even with all the previously reported hype about the future of Marshall Field's, the company just announced that they would be opening a new store in Bolingbrook, IL (about 40 miles from Old Orchard). Apparently it's part of a new shopping development called The Promenade at Bolingbrook, being built by Forest City Enterprises, a firm I've never heard of before. One wonders if this store will eventually become a Macy's.
Marshall Field's Announces Plans for New Store In Chicagoland
Tuesday April 26, 11:00 am ET
Bolingbrook to Be The Company's First Store Opening In Six YearsMINNEAPOLIS, April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Marshall Field's today announced plans to open a new store in spring 2007 at The Promenade at Bolingbrook, a new mall development on Boughton Road near Interstate 355 and the Interstate 55 exit in Bolingbrook, Ill.
The Bolingbrook store will be Marshall Field's 18th store in Illinois and its first new full-line department store in the Chicagoland area since the opening of its Northbrook Court store in 1995 and is the retailer's first new store since its Grandville store opened in 1999. Construction of the new two-level, 180,000-square-foot Marshall Field's store will begin in fall 2005.
"We are thrilled to be part of the new growth and development of Bolingbrook and to be expanding our presence in the Chicagoland area," said Frank Guzzetta, Marshall Field's president and chief executive officer. "This is a terrific opportunity for us to create an exceptional shopping experience and introduce the Marshall Field's brand to the Bolingbrook community in a new, exciting environment."
The Promenade at Bolingbrook is a 1.1-million-square-foot retail center that is being built on two separate pieces of undeveloped land and will be linked to form a seamless shopping destination covering more than 121 acres. The first phase of The Promenade at Bolingbrook is scheduled to be completed in fall 2005, and Marshall Field's Bolingbrook will open on the south side of Boughton Road during the second phase of the development.
Source: Marshall Field's Press Release
Posted by Tannerman at 10:22 AM
Sigrid Olsen opening April 28
Another retailer that is opening soon at Old Orchard is Sigrid Olsen, a clothing specialty chain that is owned by Liz Claiborne. Here is the press release which highlights their store opening on April 28. It's interesting to note that the release references the mall as "Old Orchard Center" and not the Westfield-mandated "Westfield Shoppingtown Old Orchard":
Fashion Designer SIGRID OLSEN Announces Opening of Chicago Suburb Store
Tuesday April 26, 3:25 pm ETNEW YORK, April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Fashion designer Sigrid Olsen brings her nature-inspired, artful clothing line to the women of the Chicago suburbs with the opening of her store at the Old Orchard Center. Opening on April 28, 2005, the SIGRID OLSEN store is the second in the Chicago area, with the first in Oakbrook Center.
"My goal is to create an uplifting experience for the consumer in an environment designed for meeting her lifestyle needs," says Sigrid. Sigrid knows that women in Chicago are educated about fashion and crave clothes that make them feel confident and feminine.
Showcasing Sigrid's sportswear line in a relaxed, comfortable shopping environment, the store brings to life the company motto of "vision/art/clothing/life" by the artistry and beauty of the space and its contents. Honey stained gauged oak, raw black metal, and woven sisal carpets are paired with antique items, drawing on Sigrid's inspiration from nature.
For Spring/Summer 2005, Sigrid presents a line full of floral prints and garden palettes. Inspired by the act of arranging a bouquet, Sigrid chooses color stories with complementary shades. Silhouettes are modern and feminine, with special attention paid to the must-haves for the seasons - jackets and skirts.
An artist by trade, Sigrid launched her sportswear line 20 years ago and has seen it grow from casual resort wear to a lifestyle collection of year- round sportswear. SIGRID OLSEN is the core of the brand, with an emphasis on coordinated color and novelty driven collections. Collection focuses on quality fabrics and attention to detail, imbued with Sigrid's sense of color. SO be it is the artful evolution of comfort casual with a fresh contemporary spin. All divisions, including SIGRID OLSEN handbags, will be featured in the store.
Old Orchard Center is located at 34 Orchard Center in Skokie IL. Store hours are 10am-9pm, Monday through Friday and 11am - 6pm on Sunday. In addition to the new store, there are twenty-seven SIGRID OLSEN retail stores nationwide. The line is also available at select department and specialty stores.
Source: Sigrid Olsen Press Release
Posted by Tannerman at 09:57 AM
April 25, 2005
Anchors: Will they change?
Currently, there are 5 anchor stores at Old Orchard. These are Bloomingdale's, Lord & Taylor, Marshall Field's, Nordstrom, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Interestingly, consolidation is bringing many of these anchors under common owners. This may soon change the face of Old Orchard like it has at so many other shopping centers.
For example, Marshall Field's was sold to The May Department Stores Company in July 2004. This put both Field's and Lord & Taylor under the same roof. Then in February 2005, Federated Department Stores acquired May, resulting in Bloomingdale's, Marshall Field's, and Lord & Taylor all being owned by the same company. That's over half of Old Orchard's anchors.
Will Federated keep all 3 stores running at Old Orchard? Will they sell off the real estate to someone else? Will the much-rumored name change of Field's to Macy's actually happen? I think we'll start to see some answers form this year. In the meantime, here's a quick rundown of who owns what when it comes to the anchor stores (Old Orchard anchors denoted with an astrick):
- Famous-Barr
- Filene's
- Foley's
- Hecht's
- Kaufmann's
- L.S. Ayres
- Lord & Taylor*
- Marshall Field's*
- Meier & Frank
- Robinsons-May
- Strawbridge's
- The Jones Store
- David's Bridal
- After Hours Formalwear
- Priscilla of Boston
- Saks Fifth Avenue*
- Parisian
- Proffitt's
- McRae's
- Younkers
- Herberger's
- Carson Pirie Scott
- Bergner's
- Boston Store
- Off 5th
- Club Libby Lu
Posted by Tannerman at 06:47 PM
April 21, 2005
Cold Stone Creamery adds custom flavor
Per the Official Site, the new Cold Stone Creamery in The Vineyard section of Old Orchard is slated to open on April 30.
Cold Stone Creamery will celebrate their grand opening by introducing a special Skokie Flavor: Skokie Crunch. Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen will be the celebrity scooper at the event. During the grand opening celebration from noon to 2pm a portion of sales will benefit United Way of Skokie Valley. For extra fun, a clown will be on hand from 1 to 4pm and a balloon artist will entertain children from 4 to 7pm.
Posted by Tannerman at 11:56 AM