Not to mention not hearing the “Day-O” song anymore.
Silly, cheesy, and weird. But I knew when there was a sale at the Bon and it was much better than the corresponding Macy’s ads.
Obviously, the change made advertising and printing and labelling easier for Macy’s, but I miss the pretense that it was a local company.
Nitpick: Macy’s isn’t buying anything. Federated Department Stores, which owns Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, is buying May Co. Having already renamed a bunch of stores that they’d acquired previously (the Bon Marché, for example, had been owned by Federated for about 10 years before it was renamed Bon-Macy’s and then Macy’s), they’re continuing that “national branding” theme and not delaying the renaming.
I really have no idea if this is good business strategy or not. I get why they want to turn Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s into national brands and stop trying to coordinate efforts among a bunch of regional names. I’m sure it’s saving them money. And I suspect that, while in the short term people will gripe about their local brands going away, in the long run it’s not much of a business hit for them.
Department stores nationally, however, have become a losing business model. People, overall, now tend to shop at discount or warehouse stores for the low prices, or high-end specialty retailers for the high fashion. Nordstrom and Costco have been doing well for a while; Federated, not so much.
That said, I miss the Bon, and even though I don’t live in the midwest anymore, they’d better not eliminate Marshall Field’s or I’ll shop at Macy’s even less than I do now.
Hell, in Detroit, I’m juuuuust begging to remember that I’m supposed to say, “I’m going to Marshall Field’s” instead of “I’m going to Hudson’s” (this was 4 years ago. Yes, it takes me a long time; part of it is being stubborn, dammit), even though I usually still say Hudson’s. If I’m supposed to remember that now it’s Macy’s, fuck that shit!
I’m just beginning to remember. Jesus F. I’m usually not that bad.
Wow, I thought it was just Bon Marche-- their sign was mysteriously replaced with a Macy’s sign here a couple of months ago which took everyone by surprise. Interesting to hear it’s a larger phenomenon.
(Just moved back to the PNW after years away and have a soft spot for the Bon as it was the only store like that when I was a kid in Juneau and I had my first hysterical fit of panic when confronted with Santa there)
Re Strawbridges
The article I read said Federated had owned them for a while. They’ve simply decided to get rid of the Strawbridge brand and change them to Macy’s
Re Krass Brothers
I didn’t hear about them. I thought they still had several stores in Philly and were not in danger of banruptcy or being rebranded. For those who aren’t familiar with Krass Brothers, a big part of the charm was the television ads. One of the co-owners/co-founders would be featured wearing one of their suits and surrounded by scantily clad models driven into a sexual frenzy by his fine haberdashery. The same man would shout in voice over “Krass Brothers! Store of the stars!” The ads lasted only ten seconds each.
Re Wannamaker
This store was before my time. But, when we saw Mannequin my mother and grandmother became very excited when they noticed the department store in the film was the flagship location of John Wannamakers.
Sadly, the flagship South Street store of Krass Brothers was toast a while ago, and the relocated store closed in 2002. Ben was buried in a Krass Brothers suit, true to his coffin ad. When ya gotta go, go in a Krass Brothers suit!
The store fascia may not bear the Wanamaker name, but they can’t take away the eagle or Mr. Wanamaker’s massively impressive organ, enjoyed by young and old for many years. 
That would be New York. They were Macy’s first competitor.
It would also be a chore getting that fifteen-ton bell off the roof.
I’ve never heard of Wannamaker, but I thought the movie Mannequin was filmed at a Boscov’s in Pennsylvania. One or two quick google links indicate that my memory isn’t completely gone yet (or at least, that I don’t suffer alone).
I’m waiting for the fallout on the mall near my house (Natick MA): Macy’s, Filene’s, and Lord & Taylor are three of the four anchors. Apparently Macy’s is moving where FIlene’s is now, and I never see too many people at Lord & Taylor so I wonder how long that location will stay open. Lots of retail music chairs going on there right now.
There still would be that “loyal brand store” following. Marshall Field and Macy’s were in Houston. Marshall Field is gone. Macy’s closed up most local shops.
In the Galleria, it is rumored that Macy’s will vacate its premesis and move into Foley’s. Federated has been around for many years with several department shops under its umbrella for years. Why now is it consolidating under one name?
In a way I’m very glad that our old local department store, Tapp’s, died a natural death years ago; I’d hate to see some awful behemoth department store in Tapp’s. (Instead now it’s crazy loft apartments.)
My grandfather drove a truck for Gimbel’s back in the day, in Pittsburgh. He misses them. 
My local mall has both a Macy’s and a Hecht’s. Wonder if they’ll just have 2 Macy’s or change the Hecht’s to a Bloomingdales.
When Macy’s bought Rich’s, and Lenox Square had one of each, they kept the Rich’s name, at least at the time. I believe they have since changed one of them, but I think Rich’s is still Rich’s. (Riches? Rich’es? Every way I try to type that thing it seems awfully strange. R’iches?)
Whoops, a little tiny bit of searching tells me that while originally they kept the name, now Lenox has a Bloomingdale’s and a Macy’s. No more Rich’s (maybe nobody else was sure how to spell it either.)
This should come as no suprise. We can complain all we want about losing our local/regional stores but as a business mode homogenizagtion works devistatingly well. No suprise that other corporations should follow the path of Wal-Mart, the biggest corporation in the world. Itg’s happened in every segment of the marketplace. When I travel I find it nearly impossible to find a restaurant that I can’t go to at home.
I remember going to McRae’s here because they had decent demi-cups and strapless bras in Ds. I could at least afford those.
Now McRae’s is going away–hooray, more Macy’s…so no more affording that.