Carol Spieckerman

Macy's Should Monetize Its Former Brands

Who want's a Buffum's T-shirt? How about an Emporium Capwell keychain? Surely there's a market for a Sanger Harris necktie! Marshall Field's, Wanamakers and the other post-Macy'srelated moniker disappearances are no more significant than the list of controversially absorbed or closed retailers that at one time engendered tremendous localized loyalty . . . oh, that is, until everyone just moved on. Nostalgia is a powerful emotion, but in retail, particularly fleeting.

Macy's is doing so many things right . . . and late. Who knew that playing well in the upper middle would be punished so severely in this downturn?