Garland Pollard

Cause of Department Stores' Decline: Changing Spending Habits

Good insight. The other thing you didn't mention. Macy's has eliminated regional brands that are quite beloved..Marshall Field raised a stink in Chicago, and people were visibly angry..a NY/Chicago rivalry that hit home the old "second city" inferiority complex. But what Macy's missed is that most of their brands were over 100 years old, and were expressions of civic identity. Atlantans loved Rich's, and Floridians loved Burdine's. It would be analagous to the NFL deciding, for economy's sake, to name all its teams "NFL" or "Giants" and expect the fans to come back. Even if the game is just as good and the teams were the same, they've lost a bit of local identity.