Yes, that's the exact nemesis that I was thinking of when I typed that. That's why new McDonald'ses, Taco Bells and Pizza Huts look like banks with only a hint of an easily-removable exterior pieces of flair instead of having their iconic '70s roofs.

I am reminded of Boscov's, a family owned department chain that is expanding - carefully, in an era of corporate chains that are in terminal decline (Sears, possibly Macy's). The chairman, Albert Boscov, just announced he has late-stage cancer: http://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/2017/02/02/boscovs-chairman-says-he-has-cancer/97388986/

Yes, that's the exact nemesis that I was thinking of when I typed that. That's why new McDonald'ses, Taco Bells and Pizza Huts look like banks with only a hint of an easily-removable exterior pieces of flair instead of having their iconic '70s roofs.

 

CVS, Walgreens -- nearly all of the suburban landscape is set up around land leases and exotic financing.  That stuff can pay off in the short term but long-term all of the commotion can undermine an area for reasons completely unrelated to its physicality.  If two different entities run into financial trouble a business district can experience a disaster with back-to-back closings.  People wonder why places that always have a crowd go out of business and why White Castle -- which never has a crowd before 1:45am -- stays in business. 

 

If White Castle chose to shut down and sell their land that family would walk away with at least $200-300 million. 

 

 

God Bless Canada!!!  Now bring Cora's to every Macy's!!!

 

Hudson's Bay Co. reported to be in bid for Macy's

 

 

Shares of Hudson's Bay Co. and department store chain Macy's surged on Friday following reports that the venerable Canadian retailer has made a takeover approach to the U.S. company.

 

Hudson's Bay shares rose as high as $10.62 on the TSX before pulling back to trade at $10.45, up 45 cents, or more than four per cent, from Thursday's close.

 

Share of Macy's were up more than eight per cent, trading at $33.34 US on the New York Stock Exchange.

 

The Wall Street Journal, citing an unnamed source, reported that talks between the companies are at an early stage, adding that a deal for Macy's real estate could be a possibility.

 

More below:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/hudsons-bay-macys-bid-1.3965490

Nice. I know that a lot of people were turned off from Macy's when Federated Department Stores centralized its buying power and converted its nameplates to Macy's. Gone were Lazarus, May Company, Shillito-Rikes, Boston Store, Bloomingdale's, Kauffman's - all for a unified potential that failed spectacularly. Because of leasing agreements, many malls had two Macy's locations - often one being converted for Macy's men's/furniture/wares lineup while the other purely for women. Heck, Tuttle Crossing has two Macy's stores and a separate furniture store (or did - the mall is losing one of its Macy's anchors). It was wholly inefficient. Stores no longer catered to the local population. Employees were trimmed. Stores became dingy and cluttered.

 

Take my last attempt to buy some leather laced shoes for my suit. I went to Dillard's, which carries Johnson & Murphy and other classy shoes. There was ample service and the layout was clean, orderly and efficient. I didn't find a shoe I liked, so I went to Macy's. It was dark, with a lot of light fixtures turned off, and there was a very sparse selection of men shoes. A cheap rack was haphazardly placed in the middle of the classy shoes for clearance, and shoes were strewn everywhere. Their frontrunner? A $40 pair of loafers. There was no one that assisted me. Next to this was one of their "brand within a brand" concept - sneakers in a brightly lit corner, next to suits.

 

I ended up going to a standalone Johnson & Murphy and bought a pair of Italian leather shoes. I will not shop at a Macy's again.

Yes, that's the exact nemesis that I was thinking of when I typed that. That's why new McDonald'ses, Taco Bells and Pizza Huts look like banks with only a hint of an easily-removable exterior pieces of flair instead of having their iconic '70s roofs.

 

CVS, Walgreens -- nearly all of the suburban landscape is set up around land leases and exotic financing.  That stuff can pay off in the short term but long-term all of the commotion can undermine an area for reasons completely unrelated to its physicality.  If two different entities run into financial trouble a business district can experience a disaster with back-to-back closings.  People wonder why places that always have a crowd go out of business and why White Castle -- which never has a crowd before 1:45am -- stays in business. 

 

If White Castle chose to shut down and sell their land that family would walk away with at least $200-300 million. 

 

 

 

Of Kroger ever abruptly shut down without someone set to take over their spaces right away, Ohio south of U.S. 30 would turn into a wasteland.

 

 

CVS, Walgreens -- nearly all of the suburban landscape is set up around land leases and exotic financing.  That stuff can pay off in the short term but long-term all of the commotion can undermine an area for reasons completely unrelated to its physicality. 

 

 

I'm not sure if it was an intended side effect of Morgan Spurlock from Super Size Me's Holy Chicken! weekend experiment in Columbus a couple months ago or not, but him renting an old Wendy's for a month or so surely made some people say "So uh, you can just rent an old Wendy's for a little while?"

God Bless Canada!!!  Now bring Cora's to every Macy's!!!

 

Hudson's Bay Co. reported to be in bid for Macy's

 

Queue Trump threatening Canada...

Yeah Wendy's always had a mix of corporate stores and franchises that meant sometimes promo deals were in effect at one but not others.  Same with coupons that only worked at "participating" locations. 

 

My boss used to work in accounting for a department store chain everyone's heard of and said the bulk of the profits come from the damn cosmetics counter and the women's clothing.  Men's is almost irrelevant but they keep it around for women who shop for their husbands and kids. 

^Cosmetics, handbags/accessories, and especially women's shoes make up the vast majority of the profit for department stores, and are all much more susceptible to impulse buys. This is why they are always at the front or in prominent locations. Men's clothing is always at the back or on the second floor because everyone knows dudes will come into a store knowing exactly what they want and walk right to it and buy it, regardless of where it is. Very few men will walk into a department store and drop $200 on a handbag or pair of shoes an impulse. The profit margins on these items is a lot higher than clothes, as well.

Nice. I know that a lot of people were turned off from Macy's when Federated Department Stores centralized its buying power and converted its nameplates to Macy's. Gone were Lazarus, May Company, Shillito-Rikes, Boston Store, Bloomingdale's, Kauffman's - all for a unified potential that failed spectacularly. Because of leasing agreements, many malls had two Macy's locations - often one being converted for Macy's men's/furniture/wares lineup while the other purely for women. Heck, Tuttle Crossing has two Macy's stores and a separate furniture store (or did - the mall is losing one of its Macy's anchors). It was wholly inefficient. Stores no longer catered to the local population. Employees were trimmed. Stores became dingy and cluttered.

 

Take my last attempt to buy some leather laced shoes for my suit. I went to Dillard's, which carries Johnson & Murphy and other classy shoes. There was ample service and the layout was clean, orderly and efficient. I didn't find a shoe I liked, so I went to Macy's. It was dark, with a lot of light fixtures turned off, and there was a very sparse selection of men shoes. A cheap rack was haphazardly placed in the middle of the classy shoes for clearance, and shoes were strewn everywhere. Their frontrunner? A $40 pair of loafers. There was no one that assisted me. Next to this was one of their "brand within a brand" concept - sneakers in a brightly lit corner, next to suits.

 

I ended up going to a standalone Johnson & Murphy and bought a pair of Italian leather shoes. I will not shop at a Macy's again.

 

One more thing-Isn't Boston Store under Bon-ton?

 

The company has even tried to go back and "tailor" the merchandise to each store's target area. My store catered to women and Home, mainly; Men's was a small, small section. But it also had the largest selection of Big and Tall Clothes for like 50 miles. The waterfront store was super small, but had younger clothese because of its proximity to the Colleges. South Hills Village is the high income store- they had the "brands within brands" concepts and Tommy Bahama, Lacoste, etc. We sold a small selection of suits, but our dress clothes were mainly colored dress shirts and khakis or dark pants- because blue collar men don't buy suits for weddings, funerals or job interviews often. Dress shoes? Forget about it. Unless you're at a Large 125K sq ft store.

 

Hudson's Bay stores are clean, well-presented and well-lit (and seem to be loved in CA). I hope this works out.

I remember some website took a picture of the men's shoe selection at the Lennox Target for being tiny and it went minorly viral.

^^ I didn't know Hudson Bay stores were in the US at all (or "The Bay" as it's called in Canada).  It's been around for hundreds of years apparently. And I think the big store in downtown Toronto (which used to be Simpson's--I think) is the only large department store left in that city (downtown), since Eaton's closed.

^Nordstrom and Saks have since opened up in/near Eaton Centre.

^ The Saks is actually in the same building in Toronto as The Bay.

 

^^ The Bay stores are only in Canada, but the parent company also owns Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue stores in the US. Although the owner of the whole company is an American investment firm, so there's a whole lot of ownership on both sides of the border.

^great. more stores I can't afford! But doesn't Hudson Bay own Saks? I wonder what took them so long to open a Canadian store. I know there are strict rules about retail in Canada. I have family there and they're always complaining that the variety of goods, even in high-end American chains, is not the same as in the US counterparts. Not that it's high-end, but I think that's why Target (is that the store?) flopped. They just weren't getting a very good inventory.  But I would imagine everything would do well in Toronto, with its always-booming population.

^boy and howdy. Target was an epic fail. I went to the store in Metrotown- Vancouver during Xmas...half the shelves were bare. It was crazy.

I was trying to place where everything was. I assume this is accurate :|

Report: Negotiations stall as suitor struggles to finance Macy's takeover

 

 

A news wire service reports that a Canadian company currently in a bid to take over Cincinnati megaretailer Macy's Inc. is having trouble lining up funding.

 

Reuters reports that Toronto-based Hudson's Bay Co. – which owns Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor – has not been able to line up equity financing for a bid on Macy's (NYSE: M), citing people familiar with the matter.

 

Sources tell the wire service that Macy's is skeptical that Hudson's Bay can raise the necessary funds and thus is not currently engaged in any negotiations about a possible deal.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/03/03/report-negotiations-stall-as-suitor-struggles-to.html

Is Macy's selling the former Mashall Field's in Chicago?

 

 

Cincinnati-based Macy's Inc. could be in the process of selling its Chicago flagship, the iconic former Marshall Field's.

 

It was a brief comment made in a larger response to a question about Macy's (NYSE: M) real estate, but Chief Financial Officer Karen Hoguet appeared to say the sale of the Chicago flagship was "in process." For context, Macy's announced the sale and closure of its downtown Minneapolis flagship on March 1, and Hoguet previously told analysts on an earnings call that the company is "working on a plan" that would downsize its Chicago store.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/03/17/is-macys-selling-the-former-mashall-fields-in.html

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/08/22/macys-names-new-president-lays-off-100.html

 

Cincinnati-based retail giant Macy's Inc. named an eBay executive as its new president late Monday, alongside announcing a restructuring resulting in 100 layoffs.

Will Downtown Macy's close?

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2017/12/12/macys-wont-commit-renewing-fountain-square-lease-downtown/944867001/

https://nypost.com/2017/12/15/new-macys-president-buys-hilary-swanks-old-townhouse-for-10-5m/

 

Here is the house:

https://streeteasy.com/sale/1281965

I think it’s only a matter of time. The question is, what is the current admin doing to avoid an empty lot at 4/Race being compounded by an empty store at 5/Vine?

I think it’s only a matter of time. The question is, what is the current admin doing to avoid an empty lot at 4/Race being compounded by an empty store at 5/Vine?

 

Downtown location for Trader’s World?

 

Have half the town ready to go for Amazon HQ2?

 

I really hope they don’t close that Macy’s store though. I make a specific point to patronize it & we just did a lot of Christmas shopping there

 

The Enquirer is reporting Downtown Macy’s will close. Sad.

 

I would say that could be an opportunity to redevelop the building and put a residential tower on top, but all these downtown projects seem in on hold right now, so this would have to get in back of a long line (4th and Race, Terrace Plaza, the Banks, etc.)

 

It would be a pleasant surprise if Macy’s could maintain some presence downtown and reopen in Fourth and Race or at least do a Backstage or some kind of concept store there, but that is probably overly optimistic as well.

Being that Cincy is a headquarter city (and with much cheaper rent than NYC), it would be nice if they would try a new concept like an Amazon store, where you could order stuff online and pick it up at the small-format store. Maybe it could also include display models of things that could be ordered for pick-up or delivery, but without all the space needed for inventory. A downtown department store for urban dwellers of the information age.

 

Wishful thinking, I'm sure. Sad to see this store close, as unsurprising as it is.

Macy's seeks to sell parking garage and ground-level retail from its downtown tower:

 

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2018/01/16/macys-moving-sell-off-parking-downtown-cincinnati-hq/1035273001/

Since they moved many of their back office employees to a new building in Springdale, it seem like they only want to keep the executives and key departments downtown, and perhaps rent out some of their excess office space.

https://nypost.com/2017/12/15/new-macys-president-buys-hilary-swanks-old-townhouse-for-10-5m/

 

Here is the house:

https://streeteasy.com/sale/1281965

 

 

thats a weird header because she hasnt lived there for many years. i have a hs story though, back in the oughts we were walking around jibber jabbering with a group of people and my spouse literally ran right into hillary swank. it was kind of both their faults and they were nice to each other about it. this was around the time of million dollar baby, so i would tease her you almost killed her again.

Macy's seeks to sell parking garage and ground-level retail from its downtown tower:

 

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2018/01/16/macys-moving-sell-off-parking-downtown-cincinnati-hq/1035273001/

 

This is all part of the strategy they have been deploying over the last 5 years of selling off their real estate for cash and focusing on the core business. They are not in the parking garage business so this move makes a lot of sense.

Macy's seeks to sell parking garage and ground-level retail from its downtown tower:

 

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2018/01/16/macys-moving-sell-off-parking-downtown-cincinnati-hq/1035273001/

 

This is all part of the strategy they have been deploying over the last 5 years of selling off their real estate for cash and focusing on the core business. They are not in the parking garage business so this move makes a lot of sense.

 

The selling off assets for cash part makes sense then. They don't have to be in the parking business to own a garage. That's why you hire parking lot operators to run your garage and pocket the remaining cash.

^ Yes, but when you can get say $10-15 million cash for the garage to deploy to your core business vs maybe $1 million a year in parking revenue in the short term, it is worth it.

^ Yes, but when you can get say $10-15 million cash for the garage to deploy to your core business vs maybe $1 million a year in parking revenue in the short term, it is worth it.

 

Maybe... But for a billion dollar enterprise like Macy's, $15 million is about a month or two of rent.

This looks like Macy's is in a death spiral and they know it.  Not as violent as Kodak 10 years ago, but it'll be a story with a similar ending. 

I don't even blink when an anchor closes any more. Wal-Mart wiped the whole thing out. I will always shake my fist more at Wal-Mart than "the internet" or hipsters.

Macy's won't even have a store within the City of Cincinnati limits after the downtown one closes. Not a good sign for a corporate HQ.

^ 10-20 years ago, yes. Today, not so much. Retail has changed and very few major cities now have downtown retail. Plus it is not like Macy's has abandoned the region altogether.

 

Kroger is based here and did not have a store downtown (yes I know they are in the city limits)

I don't think Formica has a showroom in Cincinnati proper

 

Also, don't be surprised if they do a smaller backstage store in the area. I think you are reading too much into this

I've said it before, but I think it bears repeating- Macy's real "home" is NYC, not Cincinnati. All of their creative staff, big corporate execs, etc. live and work in New York. The flagship store is Herald Square. They're synonymous with the Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC. The only reason their HQ is listed as Cincinnati is because they merged with Federated Department Stores in the 90s, and I imagine they get some pretty big tax breaks from having the HQ in Ohio instead of New York. They are not a local company ala Procter and Gamble or Kroger. They have had pretty limited involvement in the local community over the years, and I truly think they have very little allegiance to Cincinnati or Ohio.

 

Plus, Jmeck is correct that the company is in a death spiral, and probably won't be around too much longer, at least not as a dominant retailer. Their real estate is probably the biggest asset the company has at this point, and they are selling that off pretty rapidly.

Macy's won't even have a store within the City of Cincinnati limits after the downtown one closes. Not a good sign for a corporate HQ.

 

I think that's actually a possibility. Aaron Renn recently wrote about how P&G might end up starting a new office in Chicago or New York for their "creative" staff while keeping only back office functions in their Downtown Cincinnati office. However, Macy's just moved all of their back office staff to Springdale, keeping only their higher paying jobs downtown. So now it would be quite simple for them to move those downtown jobs to New York and keep the Springdale office as their only Cincinnati area presence.

^at least Cincinnati has rail transit now so it won't hemorrhage creatives like cities without rail transit do.

https://nypost.com/2017/12/15/new-macys-president-buys-hilary-swanks-old-townhouse-for-10-5m/

 

Here is the house:

https://streeteasy.com/sale/1281965

 

That is ominous. Plus it sounds as if the new prez wants to chase e-tail. Mistake, if it's thought to be THE silver bullet.

 

We'll know the end is near if Macy's converts half of its huge NYC store into apartments.  No doubt the next activist investor will suggest that very thing. 

^I doubt if that will happen anytime soon, though I guess you never really know. Over the past few years they spent over $400 million renovating the flagship and it's always mobbed with tourists. It was filled on New Year's Eve (during the day), even late into the afternoon (with two DJ's on hand). Okay, it was during our spell of bitterly cold weather. I think people were just hanging out there before heading off to Times Square. lol

 

Elder-Beerman has DJs in front of their Dayton Mall location periodically.

Elder-Beerman has DJs in front of their Dayton Mall location periodically.

 

maybe they're the same ones--America's official department store DJ's. I don't recall ever seeing them in Macy's before. I remember being in downtown Dayton in the late 70's once and going into a large, old dept store whose name I don't recall. I wonder if that was Elder-Beerman.

Elder-Beerman has DJs in front of their Dayton Mall location periodically.

 

An African troupe plays in the Mitchel Ave. Kroger on Sundays around noon.  The ensemble centers around a drummer playing with his hands and a trumpet player.  Sometimes there is singing, sometimes there are other horn players. 

Elder-Beerman has DJs in front of their Dayton Mall location periodically.

 

maybe they're the same ones--America's official department store DJ's. I don't recall ever seeing them in Macy's before. I remember being in downtown Dayton in the late 70's once and going into a large, old dept store whose name I don't recall. I wonder if that was Elder-Beerman.

 

It was either the downtown Elder-Beerman or Rike's:

 

I think it was Rike's. I remember that name. The flagships must have closed ages ago.

I've said it before, but I think it bears repeating- Macy's real "home" is NYC, not Cincinnati. All of their creative staff, big corporate execs, etc. live and work in New York. The flagship store is Herald Square. They're synonymous with the Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC. The only reason their HQ is listed as Cincinnati is because they merged with Federated Department Stores in the 90s, and I imagine they get some pretty big tax breaks from having the HQ in Ohio instead of New York. They are not a local company ala Procter and Gamble or Kroger. They have had pretty limited involvement in the local community over the years, and I truly think they have very little allegiance to Cincinnati or Ohio.

 

Plus, Jmeck is correct that the company is in a death spiral, and probably won't be around too much longer, at least not as a dominant retailer. Their real estate is probably the biggest asset the company has at this point, and they are selling that off pretty rapidly.

 

Macy's Systems and Technology division is in Lorain, oddly enough (west of Cleveland.) I applied for a job there, once. They manage eCommerce and design the in-store systems.