Is Bloomingdale’s Macy’s Ugly Duckling?

Published by clickbroker.blogspot.com.

Strange question in the title readers might think. After all Bloomingdale’s is Macy’s (M) upscale branded department stores. But anecdotally it appears that Macy’s is following Target’s (TGT) restructuring to concentrate on its core brand. Dayton Hudson shed its moderate and upscale department stores and renamed itself Target. Now all the resources are dedicated to one core brand.

Macy’s became national through a series of acquisitions, bankruptcies and other reorganizations. Then they went through the process of rebranding most of their stores into Macy’s. Finally, the company was renamed from Federated to Macy’s. Only two brands remain – Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s.

Recently I visited Bloomingdale’s for the first time in a few years in a very upscale mall. Tacky is a kind description. The Macy’s store in the same mall was immaculate; Macy’s higher end merchandise overlapped Bloomingdale’s. Macy’s was crowded and Bloomingdale’s was empty.

Bloomingdale’s had not been updated for many years. The “classically modern” signature black and white tile was clearly dated. The carpets were stained and worn; the mauve-colored Formica in vogue about two decades ago on the checkout counters was faded and peeling.

Macy’s was loaded with merchandize while Bloomingdale’s was thinly stocked. Some parallels existed. Salespeople at both stores wore solid black business casual and both stores contained sale racks. Why the disparity in investment?

This same mall also contains pristine Nordstrom (JWN) and Saks (SKS) stores. Why would the upscale shopper not shop at Bloomingdale’s competitors?

No disclosures.

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