Top 10 Forgotten Federated/May Department Stores (Macy's) 

Are those Macy’s stores today?

@@undergroundretail Yes. 👍

Yep Burdines was a formidable competitor and would defend its turf in Florida whereby most stores that came into the market didn't have a chance.

I did not know Jordans was in Florida. I only knew the ones in Mass.

I’ll be sure to add some of those to the next segment. We don’t want the video to be 30 minutes long 😆. (Hint, I put extra logos on the Thumbnail, which will let you know what other stories you should expect in next video).

True some Macy's look very old merch.

Dayton's (Minneapolis) and Hudson's (Detroit) were never part of Federated. They were consolidated into the Marshall Field's banner by the spring of 2001 by Target Corporation.

@Ron D 100% correct. I use to work for lord & taylor in miami.

@Ron D agreed. In Los Angeles, we had JW Robinson’s, which was a few notches up from May Co. In the end, May Co absolutely slaughtered Robinson’s.

I’ll be sure to include some of those in the next installment.

Many of those were owned by May Department Stores before Macy's bought May out.

So what

And famous Barr

Yes it was! My wife is from Brockton, MA and talks about it all the time!

Agreed! More of these to come soon and I will include some of those stores on your list.

I totally Agree! They pretty much drained the culture out of those store locations.

I agree with this perspective. PA, OH, and upstate NY shoppers wanted Kaufmann's; Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain state shoppers wanted Lazarus and Bon Marché. These shoppers DID NOT want Macy's, which reminded them of "uppity" New York City.

Liberty House in Hawaii as well. I never thought of Macy's sounding uppity New York City despite that location being it's flagship location. Now Bloomingdales on the other hand, sounds and looks like what I think an "uppity" New York City department store interior looks like. For some reason our aforementioned renamed regional store feels more inviting to shop in than the recently built Bloomingdales, I guess since mainly just the name changed, but not really the interior. I feel like it was more trouble than it was probably worth for them to make the Ala Moana one look like an actual Macy's they took out the original in store bakery though. Ironically, the downtown location got turned into a Walmart.

@@PinkAgaricus agreed, Neiman Marcus is the only true hometown store left in Dallas.

In SoCal, I Magnan, Bullocks, and Bullocks Wilshire were a level above, and beyond what Macy’s is. It was sad to see them destroyed and erased.

Thanks for Sharing! Never knew May Co. offered stamps.

I always liked Strawbridge and Clothier I even liked their discount store Clover! I miss S & C, John Wanamaker and when Macy's was known as Bambergers

Oh wow! You are probably the first one here in the comments I've seen that worked for Strawbridge & Clothier. I heard Macy's was horrible when it took control of the regional stores.

You can thank federated department stores for that. Once they bought macys out of bankruptcy, they decided to convert all of the stores that fell under their portfolio into the Macys name plate. You'll think they would have known better using a bankrupt company to rename very profitable stores to.

Most of the chains that Macy’s took over had a better reputation than the parent company. Odd

And they had Selectomatic Mark Five elevators (by Westinghouse) and the express to the fourteenth floor could make you weak in the knees.

Oh regarding Falling Waters….my friend’s father’s family own the dairy farm next door and witnessed nude romps in the woods.

I remember everyone met up under the Kauffman's clock!

That and Amazon is dominating the retail industry.

It was sad to lose strong regional nameplates such as Rich's, Lazarus, Goldsmith's, Burdine's, Hecht's, Kaufmann's, Foley's, Filene's, Famous Barr, and Marshall Field. All were better managed stores before the Macy's conversion.

And Macy's main competition is now Belk, Dillard's, Kohl's, and possibly JCPenney. in the Southeast Belk and Dillard's dominate, although Macy's is still strong at the former Rich's locations in Georgia, despite the unpopular conversion.

@@Mr.TylerSC I'm surprised you think Penneys is competition for anyone these days. Also, their merchandise is inferior to what Macys sells in quality and fashion. And you have to buy $75 to get free shipping most of the year whereas with Macys it is usually $25, so I order from Macys.

My mother always took my brother and I to Maas Brothers to buy a new suit every Easter.

Hudson’s went downhill when merged with Dayton’s. That was the beginning of the end, around 1985/6. Michiganders still bemoan the eventual “Macy’scre” of one of the most beloved stores. (It also played a part in the Hudson motor company, which eventually merged with Nash-Kelvinator to form American Motors.)

Hudson's is a great suggestion! I wish I would've thought of that before I wrote the Part 2 of this.

To this day I still miss those Maurice salads. Surprisingly, you could still get it at the Macy’s location at Northland mall before it shut down.

I can imagine!

There was Broadway Stores Inc. Which had The Broadway, Weinstocks, and Emporium Capwells. Macy's bought them out in 1995, and converted some stores into Macy's. I remember Emporium Capwells when they closed the store where I worked. The service there was top notch, and the employees went above and beyond to serve the customer. I also worked for Macy's. The level of service there was nothing to what we did for the customer at Emporium Capwells.

I’ll make sure to include some of those in the next Top 10.

Yes Macy's destroyed all of our fabulous department stores in California - Bullock's Wilshire and I Magnin should be added to the list

@@frsfca I had contemplated adding those two to the list, but those were more specialty stores. I. Magnin actually went out of business. Macy’s converted some locations to Bloomingdales. Macy’s also took over Liberty House in Northern California and Hawaii. Macy’s definitely has the most number of department store locations in both Northern and Southern California.

@@coolbanker2 BTW the iconic flagship I Magnin in San Francisco was incorporated into the Macy's flagship. Such a sad state of affairs.

I was just about to say the same thing; since 1990, I have worked at Bullock's and Robinsons-May (both brief stints), just as Macy's was converting them.

Frederick Rothe III Who are you hurting with your grudge, their corporation or yourself?

@@653j521 Maybe more people should boycott Macy's and Bloomingdale's. This isn't about a grudge, but a terrible business decision that affect quite a few people over the past thirty years. It seems that Federated couldn't give a FF about its staff, only the CEO, board and shareholders. Mind you, I grew up with Macy's, I shopped there over the years. I pick Nordstrom over anything Federated, they gave what I want, better value, and unsurpassed CS, something Federated cannot ever replicate.

Which I. Magnin location did you shop at?

@@undergroundretail Most of it was catalog, but I did order an Issey Miyake tee from San Francisco store, which I still own. That, and two cashmere sweaters that I treasure, looking worse for wear as they are about thirty years old.

I never had the chance to visit any of those stores. They were changed to Macy's by the time I started going with label scars of the previous store's name.

I agree Burdines was a great store. It was my favorite store when I lived in FL. I liked Jordan Marsh too but Burdines was my favorite

Those of us I’m SoCal feel the same way about Bullock’s, Bullock’s Wilshire and I Magnin and probably even The Broadway. The advertising tag line for The Broadway was, ‘The Broadway is…. Southern California.’ All these stores epitomized the Southern California aesthetic. Macy’s insulted the legend that was the essence of Bullock’s Wilshire and I Magnin when they closed these stores. BW and I Magnin would make Macy’s look like a Walmart.

Macy's isn't owned by Macy's anymore Federated simply changed their name to Macy's. When RH Macy's was actually running Macy's and Bamberger stores I believed was back in the 80s I know that's when Bambergers changed to Macy's and the stores went downhill ever since

Burdines had some good radio ads hands down.

I didn’t known about that name until now. Did some research on it and a very interesting background.

it all changed to macys

It may have been the store in miami coconut grove in the Mayfair shopping center. Unfortunately, that stores was closed and the building was torn down even before the macys conversion.

The only store I know that featured pillars were the Gilly Hicks stores. But that was a retail store. I'm a native of Georgia, so I never got a chance to visit Burdines personally. 😢 blog.ispira.com/gilly-hicks_2

@@undergroundretail ok I use to work at Burdines at one point in my early college days.

@@undergroundretail You have my sympathies for being a Georgia native. I married into it and was brought here. I was naive and thought the ignorant caricatures in movies were holdovers from the past. I was shocked to see how institutionalized ignorance is a source of PRIDE down here!

I will be sure to add them to the next installment.

No mention of Bambergers either!

A&S was one of my favorite stores. I loved their Manhasset, NY store!

You’re Welcome.

💕💓

🤩

We are Macy's. Resistance is futile...

Or KOHL'S...

It seemed that way for a while.

Or Dillard's.

I bought for Daytona Hudson's Marshall Fields. Macy's is going out of business just a little more slowly than Sears did.

Thank You for Tuning in and Sharing! I will talk more in depth of companies in future videos.

Was it comparable to Barney's New York and Saks?

@@undergroundretail No, it was not that upscale

Goldsmith's quality left in the late 80s

Which Mall?

Aventura and 163rd Street.

Thanks for Watching! 😀 That will definitely be in the second installment. I will have that completed by early 2022.

Oh wow! Does the private label POPULAR still exist?

Interesting.. looks like they had about 7 locations overall.

Thats an interesting story! I wonder what occupies that building Today?

@@undergroundretail I am not sure. I haven’t lived in Atlanta for years. I don’t even know if the building is still standing.

I wonder how many people miss the Christmas program and tree lighting at the Chrystal Bridge on Thanksgiving night? I think they now hold it at or near Underground Atlanta.

@@nicoleknight9412 It was an amazing tradition. I also remember the Pink Pig in Rich’s toy department that took you by the tree and the reindeer.

This is referring to The May Department Stores Company, which was a department store holding company. They Merged with Federated Department Stores after being purchased and later renamed Macy's altogether.

Agreed! Most of the culture was lost for some of those stores.

@@undergroundretail They completely DESTROYED the culture that was the Jordan Marsh Company!

Thanks for Watching 😃! Dayton’s was set to be in the next installment, but the history and back story is a lot for it to be featured in a Top 10. Dayton’s will probably have its own video in the future.

Thank You!

Thanks for Watching! Lord & Taylor was Number 1 in the video. Check out Part 4 for Barneys 😃: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3XF4-mMuqAc.html

Thank You so much! Welcome aboard down memory lane. 😀

Thanks for Tuning in King 👑 ! Glad you enjoyed it.

Thanks for turning in! Glad you enjoyed the video and Subscribing to the channel. 😃

@@undergroundretail Absolutely, glad to be here.👍

sadly the Edison Mall is a blank canvas, as any store that held its own has left- or been eaten by macys- I do believe there is still a Dillards in that mall but 2 macys- so sad if they had left one with the original regional brand the mall might be in such decay- it's only a matter of time before it is closed for good...

@@latertjs So sad.. 😢

That wooden escalator was scary!

There is one still present at the Macy's Flagship store.

Thanks for watching! I will do a Part 2 installment and will be sure to include them in it. I was trying to see if people would actually like the Topic. Glad you enjoyed the video 😃.

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

@@undergroundretail Also, did you happen to get the Richway logo from Wiki?

@@PostMortar Yes, I snagged it off Wiki 😀

@@undergroundretail Awesome! I made that logo and I've been waiting for someone to finally use it.

@@PostMortar That's Awesome! I would have never known 😀

Thanks for watching and commenting. Is this location currently connected to a Mall?

@@undergroundretail "Currently" is an important word.When it was a store it was part of the Burlington Town Center (formerly Burlington Square Mall) which had been built in the '70s (this store not till the '90s -its site was a surface parking lot for ages). That mall's since been demolished and the replacement project stalled for almost 4 years.

That's a great suggestion! Never heard of that chain.

@@undergroundretail Please tag me in a video if you make a video about Oneils. There is a HUGE following of the M. Oneil company on FB under Akron Ohio memories and ONEILS. Akron Ohio had a rich history with incredible job bases and incredible shopping. There was also Polskys which Allied Department Stores bought and promptly shut down. Polskys was Oneils direct competitor and was located across the street. Oneils was 600,000 square feet and sold everything including Crosley cars on its parking deck. On a side note, Polskys opened in 1930 and closed in 1979 and it was known architecturally as one of the finest examples of art deco architecture in the country. Akron also had Yeagers and Federmans

@@undergroundretail I believe Oneils closed in 1989 with a $7 million dollar profit. To small of a profit for May Department stores profit / per square foot business model. Mind you they had closed the top 3 floors of the building before any of this.

😂

Thats a Great Suggestion!

Did you ever work for any of the other chains?

@@undergroundretail no

Did you float from store to store?

I'll be sure to include future UK department stores. Send me a list of them.

Oh and Woolworths UK even though they’re not really department stores a very small number of people called them department stores en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolworths_Group_(United_Kingdom)

I never heard of that chain before. I will do some research on this.

If that store was in Willingboro, NJ in the plaza, I used to shop there in the 60s and 70s with my mother

That is a perfect name. We can call it a “Macys hostile takeover” 😆

Those stores will be Featured in Part 2 as the video is under production 😃

Jordan Marsh will be featured in Part 2.

Thank you! You are correct!

Thank You for tuning in and your feedback 😃.

Thanks for Watching! Those will be in the Second installment of the Macy's Forgotten Stores.

And with every change, the uniqueness went out of Hudson’s. Still a very sore subject here in Michigan.

I think it was to capitalize and dominate regional areas.

​@Ron D That's true. You can't really blame Macy's cuz Federated was the one who made all the changes.

Thanks for Watching! I've done some research on it and remember reading about it. Check out this article skycity2.blogspot.com/2006/07/richway-discount-division-of-rich-1968.html

I think Macys has been a poor substitute for most of its buyout department stores. It is definitely not as classy as Meier & Frank, a legendary chain where I live. Luckily, Nordstrom in Seattle didn’t also fold.

I agree! 💯

Great Suggestion! I need to look into them.

Jordan Marsh will definitely be coming up soon in another installment. Should be out by March.

The Big Hostile Takeover!

I worked in the downtown Famous-Barr, which was also the headquarters of the May Department Stores. The corporate offices were above the department store. I worked in the real estate and interior design division as a computer guy. In addition to the tons of department store chains May owned, they also owned many shopping malls, such as the Galleria in St. Louis. After I left, Federated (Macy's) took over May, and thus the mass destruction and changeover to Macy's was complete.

Thanks for commenting. Which location did you shop at?

@@undergroundretail i shopped at Dadeland and Aventura basically all of the stores in the Miami metro area.

How many Gold Circle stored existed?

@@undergroundretail Wikipedia says that there were 76 of them, mostly in Western Penna, Ohio, Kentucky and NY. I was sorry to see them go.

@@joeyjamison5772 Awesome! I’ll include them in a future installment.

Acquired by Target

That's cool!

Was the picture included in the video?

Richs was the bomb! Did all my shopping there at Cumberland Mall and Cobb Center. The bakery, clothing (Izod, pro keds tennis shoes and the auto center for my father. The chocolate and coconut cakes were to die for and wonderful customer service. My parents bought a huge Magnavox tv stereo combo for almost a thousand back then! How I miss Richway, Davidsons as well and the old Cumberland mall before town center

@@robertbeall5850 Omg yes Rich’s was awesome during my parents day, unfortunately the better amenities were stripped away when I was born in 1995, because the one at Cobb Center was a clearance center similar to what Dillard’s does today in certain states except only difference Rich’s kept both floors open where Dillard’s closes down one floor when that happens, but yes the Cumberland Mall Rich’s my all time favorite location besides Lenox Square, my mom and grandparents loved Rich’s bakery, the Publix bakery is about the closest thing to it, other than the Neiman Marcus one at Lenox Square unfortunately, clothing for kids at Rich’s was the best, outlast Walmart quality for sure, and it still was better than what Target sold, even though Target kind of reminds me of Rich’s in some ways even though it’s still not the same, oh yes the auto center at Rich’s was decent and my grandpa worked there for many years back then, customer service was amazing, that’s something Macys and most retailers lack today, only ones who still provide decent customer service are: Target, Home Depot, Publix, Ingles, Winn Dixie, Aldi even though they don’t have a customer service desk, there cashiers are decent, Hobby Lobby, Nordstrom’s, Von Maur from what I have heard, Belk, Dillard’s, and many others except for Walmart, Kroger, Sears, JCPenney’s, and Kmart are bad on customer service sadly, Magnavox is decent brand, but back then they were the Samsung, Lg, Panasonic, Sony, and Hitachi of TVs back in the day. 😁 Richway my parents like but Target actually has kept some of the same values Richway offered back in my parents day because it certainly wasn’t Walmart or Kmart who copied them, because those two stores suck, Davidson’s ehhh, my parents didn’t like them as much, the original Macys was hit or miss back then. 🤔 Oh yes back when JCPenney’s gave a damn about the customer and there LL and UL labeled elevator with furniture, yes I liked that location other than the modern Hiram, Georgia location before I moved to Panama City Beach Florida of course, and Sears at Cumberland Mall was decent at first, but they were bad before they closed, Dick Sporting Goods is ripoff that replaced them, and I prefer Academy Sports over them, and Round 1 never been to but heard of, and Planet Fitness is so overrated they advertise a lot, and then Town Center at Cobb was my other favorite mall, that Rich’s there was okay, but the original Macys was better at that mall, and the fact it wasn’t an original Davidson’s even nicer in my opinion, JCPenney’s at that mall sucks even with the add on square footage of the former Mervyn’s which is like Kohl’s but more downscale, Sears at that mall was the same situation as Cumberland Mall but vacant still as of 2022, Belk is awesome at that mall in the former Parisians. 😁 It’s ashame what happened to Town Center at Cobb they went downhill and foreclosed the mall back in February of 2021, but I live now in Panama City Florida and 3/4 years after Hurricane Michael the former Panama City Mall still sits vacant including Sears. 😳 But yeah Arbor Place Mall is the mall I went to the most with my family back then, and Rich’s they did add there was lousy and not a great replacement for Cobb Center it was more Macys and Federated like, and not Rich’s at all. 🤔

Did you ever shop at any of the locations?

Thanks for watching 😃! That store almost made Part 5, but lost its spot to "Abraham & Straus." 🤫

Thalhimer's became Hech'ts after it was acquired by May Co. and then Hecht's became Macy's when May stores were merged with Federated. And all former May and Federated stores were rebranded as Macy's.