It's been a long time since Macy's acquired the former Federated Department Stores and it seems as if the company has been trying to get itself straightened out ever since. Heading into the holiday season, there are signs the nation's largest department store is finally getting to the place envisioned when the acquisition took place and a good portion of the credit goes to its "My Macy's" local assortment approach.
"We had to do something different," Terry Lundgren, CEO of Macy's, Inc., told Bloomberg News. "I wanted to maximize the business on a local level, but how do you do that today with 810 Macy's stores?"
According to a Houston Chronicle article, the local approach Macy's has taken can been seen by comparing two Texas cities, Houston and San Antonio. In Houston, women buy boots, jeans and other cowgirl-type gear at Rodeo time. In San Antonio, they look for brighter-colored clothes around Fiesta.
This year, Macy's promoted "Rodeo Chic" in Houston with stores featuring boots, hats, jeans and plaid shirts. In San Antonio, the company launched seasonal "Fiesta Shops."
George Burch, a district merchant for Macy's who serves as a liaison between buyers and store managers in Houston and Louisiana, told the Houston Chronicle, "The longer we do it, the more we can learn about the customer and the more we can refine the assortment."
Discussion Questions: What is your assessment of the My Macy's program? Of all the large retail chains, which one(s) do you think use local assortments to the greatest advantage?