MINNEAPOLIS (United Press International via COMTEX) -- A Minneapolis man who can't bear the thought Federated Department Stores might phase out the Marshall Field's name has started online resistance.
Nick Potts, a 25-year-old architect intern in the Twin Cities, said he is concerned about the loss of Midwestern regional identity in the face of globalization.
So he has launched a Web site, KeepItFields.org, which seeks shoppers' stories on what Field's means to them, and permits visitors to sign an online petition to show "tangible support for keeping Field's as Field's."
Federated bought Marshall Field's and other stores owned by St. Louis-based May Department Stores for $11 billion.
Federated has already dropped Lazarus, Rich's, Burdine's, Goldsmith's and other longtime store names in favor of the Macy's brand, the Chicago Sun-Times said.
For his part, Potts wrote on the Web site Macy's brand is "one that stands for nothing but an over-hyped parade in a faraway city and economies of scale."
It will be interesting to see if Federated bows to the pressure and keeps the Field's name. I think Terry Lundgren is leaning towards rebranding all of May's stores to Macy's.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think it's a shame that venerable regional department store names keep getting dropped. It would be great if L.A. still had Bullock's and The Broadway and if Phoenix still had Goldwater's and Diamond's.
I agree with keeping some of the regional names at Federated going forward, especially Field's. Despite what Terry Lundgen and company think, the name means a lot to a segment of the population that shops these stores.
ReplyDeleteThe name is the thing that ties the store to the community, gives the city a sense of ownership, rather than being just another unit in a large corporation.