Can Federated Compete with Wal-Mart?

[Adam's Apple]

Attention Wal-Mart Shoppers!
By Greg Crosby
March 4, 2005

If you haven't heard, Federated Department Stores has acquired May Department stores for almost $11 billion. This deal will create a retail franchise with 1,000 locations and $30 billion in sales and is expected to cut Federated-May's costs by hundreds of millions of dollars. What all this means is, a) there will be thousands of layoffs, b) hundreds of store closures, and c) the end of the regional department store — an institution in American retailing for more than a century.

The name brand regional stores like Robinson-May, Lord & Taylor, Hecht's, and Marshall Fields have up until now been kept going by owner May Co. Federated plans to eliminate the old names in order to build a few mega-brands that can compete with Wal-Mart and Kmart-Sears.

www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/crosby030505.asp

 

[Huckleburry]

Read that in the economist. Let the games begin. My money is with Federated.

 

[Annie]

Attention Wal-Mart Shoppers!
By Greg Crosby
March 4, 2005

If you haven't heard, Federated Department Stores has acquired May Department stores for almost $11 billion. This deal will create a retail franchise with 1,000 locations and $30 billion in sales and is expected to cut Federated-May's costs by hundreds of millions of dollars. What all this means is, a) there will be thousands of layoffs, b) hundreds of store closures, and c) the end of the regional department store — an institution in American retailing for more than a century.

The name brand regional stores like Robinson-May, Lord & Taylor, Hecht's, and Marshall Fields have up until now been kept going by owner May Co. Federated plans to eliminate the old names in order to build a few mega-brands that can compete with Wal-Mart and Kmart-Sears.

www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/crosby030505.asp

No more Marshall Field's?