Cindy Ford, left, and Eula McClung have been at the Hecht's at Tysons Corner Center for more than 30 years. They carpool; McClung calls Ford "chauffeur," Ford calls McClung "co-pilot." (Photo Credit: By Lucian Perkins -- The Washington Post)For Some Workers, Macy's Won't Be the Same
By Ylan Q. Mui
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 23, 2005
The three friends have spent more than 30 Christmases together at the Hecht's in Tysons Corner Center: Henry Kurosaka overseeing the furniture inventory, Cindy Ford ringing up sales in the home department and Eula McClung wishing her pint-size customers in the children's clothing section a hearty "Merry Christmas."
This one will be their last.
Four months ago, the local chain's parent company, May Department Stores Co., was bought by rival Federated Department Stores Inc. The new owners plan to convert most Hecht's into the company's flagship Macy's stores by the fall. And the friends know that even if they stay on, it won't be the same. It won't be Hecht's.
"There's only a few of us that really understand the real nature of the store," said Kurosaka, 50, of Falls Church.
The trio from Tysons can remember a time when shoppers dressed up for an outing to Hecht's and the other big-name stores. One of McClung's bestsellers during the holidays when she started in the early 1970s was fussy red velvet suits for boys. Ford said her department used to be filled with bolts of fabric, notions and needlework. Now she oversees the Ralph Lauren Home collection.
The three friends seemed to lose themselves in their memories as they recalled the chain's heyday: Remember when there was a restaurant inside the store? When they got in those silk sheets from Dior? When Hecht's sold ice cream and wine and cheese and toys and -- gasp -- vinyl records?
"This was the only place to go," Kurosaka said. "This was the hubbub."
Hecht's was founded in 1857 by Samuel Hecht, a Baltimore furniture store owner. He operated flagship stores in Washington and Baltimore and expanded the chain across the region. In 1959, it was bought by the May Co., which had been gobbling up other big-name department stores in Baltimore and Denver. Later, the retailer shortened its name from the Hecht's Company to simply Hecht's.
"They thought it would be more hip to be like, 'Hecht's,' shorter," Kurosaka said.
"Like Bloomie's," Ford added.
"Soon to be Macy's," McClung reminded them.
The three have been together almost from day one. McClung, 71, of Herndon was the first to sign on as a sales associate in the children's department in 1971. Kurosaka was hired in the furniture department in November 1974, the same month that Ford, 62, of Reston was brought in to work in the home section.
"November 4th," Kurosaka said. Then he looked sideways at Ford. "I think I have seniority over you," he told her. She slapped him playfully.
Their lives have become inextricably intertwined with the history of Hecht's over the past three decades. Kurosaka used to ride his dirt bike through the fields across the street from the mall -- now home to Tysons Galleria. Ford and McClung have carpooled to work for more years than they can count.
"She's my chauffeur," McClung said, pointing to Ford.
"She's my co-pilot," Ford said, pointing to McClung. Then they both started giggling.
There was the time when everyone had to sleep in the store because of a snowstorm. There were the horrible bell-bottom pants they once sold along with "anything polyester," Kurosaka said. From pet rocks to puka shells, the trio has seen them all come and go.
"We're like family almost, in a sense," Ford said.
"I've probably seen you guys more than I've seen my family," Kurosaka added.
Ford nodded in agreement. "Especially during the holidays," she said.
They are the face of Hecht's for countless customers, part of an era when workers stuck with their companies and shoppers sought out their favorite salespeople. Kurosaka likes to joke that he started working at the store as a teenager and now qualifies for an AARP card. McClung said she has watched parents who came to her department to buy clothes for their children age into grandparents looking for gifts for the next generation.
"They'll say, 'Are you still here?' I'm like an old fixture," she said.
Hecht's seems to have grown older along with them. It was the last of the once-formidable downtown department stores to remain standing. Garfinckel's, Woodward & Lothrop, and Lansburgh's have all fallen by the wayside, casualties of changing consumer tastes and a national decline in traffic at department stores.
The $11 billion Federated-May merger was an attempt to create the first national department-store chain, with 950 stores from coast to coast, according to Retail Forward, a market research firm. In addition to Hecht's 61 stores, the May properties also included Lord & Taylor, Marshall Field's, Filene's, Kaufmann's, Robinsons-May, Foley's and Famous-Barr. Federated already operates Macy's and Bloomingdale's.
Federated will begin the first round of store closings at the end of January, mostly on the West Coast. Cooperate offices will switch over in February, and the company will begin cutting jobs in May.
The Hecht's store at Westfield Shoppingtown Wheaton is the only one in the area scheduled to shutter its doors for good, company officials said, because it would directly compete with a Macy's already there. The Hecht's in Chevy Chase will be converted into a Bloomingdale's. All others will become Macy's.
Retail industry analysts said Federated's push into the Washington area is a natural fit. The regional market has grown increasingly upscale with developments such as the Collection at Chevy Chase at the Friendship Heights Metro station, featuring high-end retailers such as Dior and Jimmy Choo, and the revitalization of downtown Washington. Housing prices have skyrocketed. The median household income in the region jumped from $63,591 in 2000 to $72,128 this year, according to data from Claritas Inc., a marketing information company.
All that new money needs somewhere to shop -- and Hecht's doesn't cut it.
"I think [Hecht's] will be missed by people, but I think that it's also good for downtown" Washington, said Michael Pratt, a principal with Madison Retail Group, a commercial real estate firm. "Macy's has a little bit more of an urban flair to it. . . . They've got a little more cachet."
Ford said she has not fully absorbed the news of the merger yet. It's the holidays. It's busy. She'll worry about that in the new year.
"I mean, it's in the back of our heads," she said.
"We never thought that this would happen," McClung added.
McClung said she still has plenty of regulars. As many as 35 customers have told her that they prefer Hecht's to Macy's.
"There's a lot of customers who don't like this change," Kurosaka said. "They feel this is a staple of the area."
He would like to keep working at the store even after the new management comes in but does not want to commit until he understands a bit more about what lies ahead. "We have to see what cards they give us," he said.
But McClung and Ford said they hope to stay at the store, whatever its name may be. They are proud of their years of service, displayed on their nametags. This is no time to abandon ship.
"Yes, 31," Ford said she tells customers when they ask her about the tag. "It's probably longer than some marriages."
Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.
Hecht's, Tysons Corner Center, McLean, Virginia. Upper level mall entrance. Photographed with camera phone 10/2/05.
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