Okay, this is where I start to look schizophrenic.

I really do like Macy's - in New York or DC.

I love Bloomingdale's - in New York or DC (or by mail).

I like Filene's - in Boston.

I like Lord & Taylor - in New York or DC.

I love Marshall Fields - in Chicago.

I love Kaufmann's - in Pittsburgh.

I absolutely loved Horne's - in Pittsburgh.

What I hate is, as 33girl said, the lack of choice!!

They better not mess with Marshall Field's -- the one on State Street especially. I might not live in Chicago any more, but it's like an institution -- an altar of shopping bliss -- and should never, ever change. If anyone wants to start calling it the Macy's Walnut Room, there's going to be trouble.

If you guys want choice, why do you shop at one big store as opposed to the many, many smaller stores?

-Rudey

What a boy comment! The big store has many departments within it (hence the name department store). If I want to buy a dress for me, lipstick for Tracy, socks for the Earpman, and a new duvet cover for you, I can get them all at the same place and under the same credit card rather than going from store to store.

There's now going to only be one store where I can do that, which leads to lesser selection of duvet covers, and as you know that blows.

Ha ha...maybe it's the NyQuil, but found this really funny.

It does suck, though. I seriously think Federated is the source of much evil in the world.

Do you always buy dresses, lipstick, men's socks, and duvet covers all at once?

-Rudey

you'd be suprised how many do!

C'mon Rudey, admit it, when you bought your duvet cover you also picked up a nice Lancome lipstick

I like Macy's and Bloomingdale's. I really don't understand what the complaints are. Macy's has a huge selection at reasonable prices and lots of sales. Bloomingdale's is higher end and more expensive than Macy's. I have never heard of Kauffmann's or Horne's so I can't compare them.

I remember when Federated took over A & S, and they became Macy's. It really wasn't a big deal for customers. They even shared bridal registries.

It's an emotional thing here. There was a definite pecking order: Horne's, then Kaufmann's, then Gimbel's. I can remember being about six years old, and the elevator at Horne's stopped on the Bridal floor. My mother told me that, when I get married, we'd come down there to select a dress. They were closed, though, by then. :(

Don't get me wrong, I really do like Macy's and Bloomie's - it's just that they're New York stores (and somewhat DC).

OK I see. I thought it might be a Pittsburgh thing like the cookie table. :)

I think that people reacted that way when they closed Gimbels, B. Altman, and Alexanders in NYC. Now they are building a huge skyscraper where Alexanders was, B. Altman is a school, and the Gimbels building has been turned into co-ops or condos. Progress.

Macy's isn't that bad really.

so let me tell you about my mall...

4 dept. stores...

macy's
filene's
lord and taylor
sears


now where am i supposed to shop. i actually do like the macy's most. from a friend who work's at the filene's, she said they are going to keep the filene's store bc they own it outright...and change it to macy's. i love lord and taylor for the dress section, even tho it is expensive, i don't look like a tree!

and the worst part of all is that the best parking lot in the whole mall (where you are almost always guarenteed to get a parking space up close) is at the macy's store. this sucks!

the one thing they have been saying is that consumers will probably see a price increase because there is no competition.


oh, and what is to become of filene's basement.....

For us Iowans/Midwesterners:

Younkers started to suck when it was bought out by Saks, Inc. When Carson-Pirie-Scott bought it out from Saks, Inc., it started to suck even more. The ones in the bigger malls -- Valley West and Jordan Creek aren't bad -- but otherwise the rest of the Younkers stores are pretty sucky.

Thank God we still have Von Maur and their fabulous shoe sale room.

No one's complaining about Macy's as a store--the complaints are more about smaller department stores that have become part of a city's tradition being bought out by larger stores and losing part of their local identity.

What would happen if Bergdorf Goodman was bought out by Wal-Mart (huge overexaggeration, yes) and became Wal-Goodman? Even if nothing changed except the name, many people would be upset at what they saw as the end of an era. Of course, more will change about these stores than just the name.

I'm not a big fan of large department stores at all--but they fill a need all the same.

One of the tv stations ran a poll last night asking if people would still shop at Field's if the name was changed...90% said no. Field's is an institution here, so, obviously, it would be smart business sense to keep the name as is. I guess we'll see.

Oh, and ISU Kappa - I work at CPS part-time, and Carsons didn't buy Yonkers. Saks owns Yonkers, Herbergers, CPS, Bergners (which bought out CPS), and the Boston Store. They merged all of the above into the Department Store Group. No one likes the merger..especially since they've closed some stores, stopped carrying some higher-end merchandise, and made a terrible inventory even worse.

Well, I make it to the mall every couple of years, whether I need to or not.

When I was growing up in Columbus, though, the original Lazarus store downtown was like fairyland -- a whole floor (the 6th) of toys.

It was Federated's gem. Haven't been there in thirty years, though.