Friday, February 25, 2005

May and Federated Talks Resume




Discussions for a $10 billion buyout of May Department Stores from rival Federated Department Stores are getting closer to reality, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

The merger is a topic of much discussion in the apparel arena. One analyst pointed to the possibility of a good-better-best approach for Federated, if it goes through with the acquisition. According to Wendy Liebmann, WSL Strategic Retail, the new Federated could operate with Macy's as good, Bloomingdale's as better, and Marshall Field's as best.

"The 'best' tier would potentially give the corporation a better chance of picking up all those high spending 'affluents' that are now driving much of the U.S. department store business," said Liebmann. "Whether this scenario is viable depends on a number of factors, the most critical of which is whether Marshall Fields is the brand to achieve national 'best' status."

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