This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
HOLLADAY - The new merchandise is in place. The employees are ready. And the Meier & Frank signs are about to disappear for good.
But will shoppers along the Wasatch Front embrace department store chain Macy's as it makes its Utah debut Saturday?
Macy's executives are counting on it.
They say they have done their homework and are stocking the chain's eight Utah stores with better brand names and the styles and merchandise Utahns want. Even though Meier & Frank invested millions to upgrade its stores, Macy's is going to spend even more. And execs say shoppers will be wowed by stores that are cleaner, better organized and more fun to shop.
It's a combination a Macy's executive says Meier & Frank never seemed to get right in the five years since it acquired Utah's homegrown department store company ZCMI.
"Meier & Frank did not have a lot of brand loyalty in Utah," said Jeff Gennette, chairman and CEO of Macy's Northwest, a territory that covers stores in Utah, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. "And Macy's is perceived positively coming into the [Utah] market."
Maybe, but that doesn't mean a Macy's conversion is a slam dunk.
Shoppers on a recent weekday had a number of worries about the transition, mostly about the disappearance of their favorite brands and whether Macy's prices will be as good as Meier & Frank's.
Verda Gunnell of Holladay was overwhelmed to see for the first time the Cottonwood store nearly transformed into a Macy's store. All the Meier & Frank brands and merchandise were about gone - including her favorite Alfred Dunner apparel brand. Store associates assured her that although Macy's no longer carries the brand, she would find a selection of comparable brands and styles.
Likewise Joan Dalton, who lives in the Sugar House area of Salt Lake City, was assured that Macy's will stock several comparable brands to her Meier & Frank favorite apparel brand, Ideology. And she said she's happy that the Cottonwood Mall store plans to carry more of the Ralph Lauren brand.
She is worried that Macy's won't be as competitive as Meier & Frank was in terms of prices and sales.
"I loved Meier & Frank's sales and I loved all the coupons," she said. "We'll just have to see if Macy's will be as good."
Lauri Heinrich of Park City, who shops at the Cottonwood store regularly, said she, too, will take a wait-and-see approach to Macy's prices.
"I only buy stuff that's on sale," she said. "If they have good sales and coupons, I'll be back."
Gennette of Macy's said his company might not use as many coupons, but does have good sales and that its prices and values compare favorably with Meier & Frank.
Seeking converts: Though shoppers have some concerns, Macy's most likely will have an easier time in Utah than in other parts of the country as it transforms a number of different department stores into a national brand. In Chicago, many shoppers are mourning the loss of the venerable Marshall Field's nameplate and have said they won't shop at Macy's. In Portland, a number of shoppers aren't too crazy with Macy's replacing Meier & Frank.
The conversions to the Macy's banner stem from Federated Stores' acquisition of May Department Stores about a year ago. Federated operates the Macy's and Bloomingdale's brands. May operates hundreds of stores under brands such as Meier & Frank, Hecht's, Foley's, Filene's and Marshall Field's.
Rather than continuing to operate such a diverse mix of stores under different names, Federated decided to turn most of the brands - comprising about 400 stores - into Macy's, creating a national brand with more than 800 stores.
Federated's eight stores in Utah are in Salt Lake City at the Cottonwood and ZCMI Center malls, and one each in Murray, Layton, Riverdale, Sandy, Orem and West Valley.
Tough transition: Just five years ago, Meier & Frank acquired Utah's homegrown department store chain ZCMI and converted those stores to its nameplate.
From the start, the transition to the Meier & Frank name didn't go as smoothly as company executives had hoped.
Meier & Frank stopped carrying a number of popular Macy's brands ZCMI had been carrying since 1993 because it did not want to carry brands of a competing chain. Not a popular move among some customers.
Other customers, many of whom are still loyal to ZCMI, grumbled at the changeover to Meier & Frank and a decision to close popular features in the basement of the downtown Salt Lake City ZCMI store, such as a lunch counter and bakery.
"There was this perception that Meier & Frank did more national purchasing and didn't recognize the needs of the Utah market," said Lane Beattie, CEO of the Chamber of Commerce.
For a national brand store to succeed, it can't simply stock all its stores across the country with the same merchandise. The company must get to know customers in each of its markets, said Patricia Walker, partner in the North American retail practice of consulting firm Accenture.
Macy's insists it is doing just that, which is one reason why most of Meier & Frank's merchandise is being cleared out.
Gennette said shoppers won't recognize the women's dress area come Saturday.
"We had a real disconnect in this area," Gennette said. He said some Utah customers have made it clear that they aren't interested in buying dresses with "plunging" necklines, exposed arms or high hemlines.
Utahns "want more modest styles - but they don't want dowdy," he said.
Targeted marketing: The chain said it is tailoring its inventory not only to the Utah market, but also to differences among its individual stores. Company officials say they have conducted focus groups and elicited customer input via surveys and interviews.
The Cottonwood Macy's store will get more of the highest-end merchandise than other Utah stores because of its well-heeled clientele. The Cottonwood location will be the only Utah Macy's store that will carry Macy's Hotel Collection brand bed linens, said Barry Arnold, Cottonwood store manager.
The stores in Layton Hills and South Towne malls, on the other hand, will emphasize children's and junior's merchandise more than the downtown store, reflecting the consumer desires in that area, he said.
Customers surveyed said they wanted better service and more accessible employees. Macy's isn't hiring more employees, but insists it will deploy them better so customers get the help they need.
One way they are doing that is to split the responsibilities of serving customers with that of stocking merchandise on the floor.
Stacy Briggs, who has worked in the Cottonwood store for more than a decade, used to work 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the sales floor, torn between the responsibilities of selling and stocking.
Now she works 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. with the sole responsibility of displaying merchandise. She said Macy's philosophy makes a lot of sense.
"Making the store look good is my passion. It's great to focus on one thing."
Battling discounters: Though the Macy's transformation generally is going well across the country, over the long term the department store chain faces considerable challenges, said Morningstar analyst Kimberly Picciola.
"With so many options, consumers have the power when it comes to purchasing apparel, accessories and home goods, making it more difficult for old-line department stores to differentiate themselves and retain market share," Picciola said in a recent report.
In recent years, Wal-Mart, Target and other discounters have placed increased emphasis on fashion, beefing up their apparel and shoe offerings.
But Cottonwood store manager Arnold said Macy's knows the challenges and is dedicated to wowing customers for years to come.
"The brands are better, the stores are less cluttered, the sales associates are better deployed," he said. "We know what we're doing and we're doing it right."
Genesis of a conversion
Utah's new Macy's stores
Eight Utah Meier & Frank stores officially will become Macy's on Saturday, when the chain will stage a number of grand-opening festivities: