This morning's buzz is all about Federated's acquisition of May Department Stores, including May's major Midwest presence, Marshall Field's. May bought Marshall Field's from Target just last year, but likely foolishly overbid in an effort to beat out Federated for the chain. Last year's acquisition had no impact on customers, employees, or vendors because May, quite frankly, didn't change a thing. However, retail experts are foreseeing big changes in this buy-out based on past Federated acquisitions. On a store level, I don't think much will change. I predict a stronger presence of core brands, pushing out higher-end designers. The labels that I represent probably won't be affected, as they are definitely core brands and make up most of the revenue in their respective areas. The store name might change to Macy's. Unfortunately, bigger changes will likely be seen on a corporate level in the form of job elimination and consolidation.
It's important to note that I don't work for Marshall Field's, rather I represent brands that have contracts with Marshall Field's (as well as Nordstrom, Macy's, and Bloomingdale's). I work side-by-side with sales and management staff nearly every day, visiting 13 stores twice monthly. Marshall Field's is my shopping staple because I'm surrounded by the merchandise. I know what's hot and what's not, what gets marked down and when, and which stores have what product. Like I always say, spend every working day in a mall or department store, and you're bound to become an expert on something. This knowledge is essential to excelling at my job in the fashion industry, not to mention priceless as far as my personal shopping business is concerned.
I'll keep you posted on any changes I see in the stores. So far, the most informative Federated/May buy-out article I've read can be found here.
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