The End of an Era

Marshall Field's is going to be rebranded to Macy's. This Chicago institution is undergoing a rebranding after 150 years in business (due to the acquisition of the May Company by Federated). While I can understand and appreciate some of the business decisions behind this, I think Federated may be underestimating the brand loyalty of the Mid-western base behind Marshall Field's.

Marshall Field's is as much a part of Chicago as the Cubs, the Watertower, and the Art Institute. Almost every single time I visit the city, I stop in the flagship State Street Marshall Field's to just browse or purchase some of those famous Frango mints to take back home with me. Now, I realize the State Street store is not going anywhere, but Macy's?????

I deplore Macy's. The stores are always a mess and the service is horrible. I rarely shop there as a result. Obviously, living on the West Coast, I do not shop at Marshall Field's either, but this is due to the fact that there are none here. If I had to choose between Macy's and Marshall Field's, I would always pick Marshall Field's.

Once again, "market research" has won out (see my recent post on the Saturday Wall Street Journal). However, this time I think the experts may be wrong. When the Federated deal closed, I was sad to hear of the rebranding of Famous Barr - the storied St. Louis department store chain (I lived in St. Louis for eight years). However, I realized that Famous Barr did not have a presence outside of a limited region and did not hold such a place of endearment to the population of St. Louis as Marshall Field's does for Chicago. People are very very upset about the rebranding of Marshall Field's - I include myself in this camp.

I realize change is constant and over the years, many brands I once held dear are gone - either to mergers or bankruptcy. However, this one is hard to stomach. So, if you have a moment, add your name to the attached petition. Who knows, maybe it will do some good.....

http://www.keepitfields.org/share.htm