Feb 6, 2008 8:42 pm US/Central
Macy's Opening New Chicago Offices
Company To Close Minneapolis Headquarters
CHICAGO (STNG) ―
Macy's decision to shutter its regional offices in Minneapolis — the former Marshall Field's headquarters — will be Chicago's gain.
Macy's will close its regional office in Minneapolis -- called Macy's North -- cutting 910 jobs, and will open two new district offices and one regional office inside Chicago-area Macy's stores.
The three new offices in Chicago are expected to employ 60, a Macy's spokesman said.
One of the new Chicago districts, the North district, will focus on the Macy's on State Street and stores in the north suburbs and southern Wisconsin. The second district, the South district, will include most of the western suburbs and Northwest Indiana.
The Chicago regional office will be the central hub for the two Chicago districts, plus two districts in Detroit and two in Minneapolis.
As part of the reorganization, Macy's North CEO and Chairman Frank J. Guzzetta, who worked to reverse sales declines at the State Street Macy's in downtown Chicago, will retire in the spring. Also retiring will be Macy's North President and Chief Operating Officer Robert M. Soroka.
Macy's Inc. CEO Terry Lundgren told the Sun-Times Wednesday that the Chicago market's performance is "not much different" than it has been in the past. Rumors never confirmed had put sales losses at the State Street Macy's store as high as 35 percent after Macy's replaced the storied-but-sales-losing Marshall Field's.
"We've got our work cut out for us," Lundgren said. "We have to make sure we're providing stores with merchandise that's the most appropriate."
Guzzetta raised eyebrows when he said last year that Macy's was moving past trying to win back Field's loyalists who rebelled against the department store's changes.
Asked about those comments, Lundgren said, "My view is we need to do everything we can to satisfy the local consumer in Chicago. Chicago is an important market for us. Bringing back that name (Marshall Field's) isn't the answer. (Marshall Field's) wasn't performing well when it was called that."
Said Lundgren, "There's a certain group that would like to move on and we need to move on. ... We welcome any and all customers to come and shop with us. We have to make sure we're really focused on the core customer of Macy's in the Chicago market."
Lundgren said he believes the district and regional offices in the Chicago area will better respond to local shoppers' wants and needs than having the buying offices in Minneapolis.
"Chicago is an important market. We are going to work hard to get it right. I'm positive we will get it right over time," Lundgren said.
"What's really important is the customer experience," Lundgren said. "Do you (Macy's) know who I am when I walk into the store? Do you understand I prefer black instead of red in jackets? That my size is 12 to 14, not zero to 2. That I prefer heavy to light-weight fabrics.
"We need to be better at (understanding) variances in region and stores," he said. "We cannot be a cookie cutter organization."
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(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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