Lundgren Bullish on Macy's

NEW YORK CITY-When all of the Federated Department Stores’ regional chains become Macy’s units on March 6, Terry Lundgren, chairman, CEO and president of the company, says he does not expect a backlash by customers. Lundgren addressed this and other Federated topics in a speech yesterday here at the National Retail Federation’s annual conference in the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

“If consumers do what they say, they have accepted that the name has changed to Macy’s,” he said, referring to extensive opinion surveys Cincinnati-based Federated conducted while planning the switch. The stores that will have new signs are The Bon Marché, in the Northwest; Burdines, in Florida; Goldsmith’s, in Tennessee; Lazarus, in the Midwest and East; and Rich’s, in the South. In all, Federated is converting 184 stores into Macy’s, which already has 239 East and West coast units.

Some of the pluses Lundgren outlined in his speech included the ability to have a single national advertising campaign for the stores, as opposed to concentrating on regional advertisements. He stressed that the two chains Federated will be left with, Macy’s, and the upscale Bloomingdale’s, are by far the strongest brand names the company owns.