Sep 9, 2006 7:35 pm US/Central
Goodbye Field's, Hello Macy's
Name Change Officially Takes Effect
CBS 2's Chelsea Irving contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
For many years, there was a clear division –
Marshall Field's was the place to shop in Chicago, while
Macy's was the
New York store that sponsored the Thanksgiving Day parade with giant balloons.
But starting Saturday, Field's is just a memory, and Macy's has officially taken its place. All 61 former Marshall Field's stores now bear the Macy's name.
As CBS 2's Chelsea Irving reports, for many Chicagoans, this may be a sad day, but officials at Macy's are excited.
Macy's planned some special events for the day, including a gift card giveaway which began when the store opened at 9 a.m.
"We are giving away a gift card to the first 500 people who enter our store this morning, and one of those people are going to be lucky enough to receive a $1,000 gift card from Macy's," said Macy's regional vice president Ralph Hughes.
Also featured on Saturday were entertainment from Joan Cusack, Gilbert Gottfried and other celebrities, a family fun day on the fifth floor, and an all-day shopping party.
As for the long-term changes at Macy's compared with Field's, Hughes said: "Two things that I think are most important – number one is, I think, we're going to enhance service. We've got some things we know that Chicagoans will really appreciate. We've expanded our fitting rooms, we've got some better lighting, we've got some great new shops in the store, wider aisles.
"And then the other thing is the merchandise selection – we have expanded our merchandise selection to a great degree. We've got brand new private brands that people will love at our store."
Macy's officials also offered reasurrance for those who were saddened by the replacement of the Marshall Field's name.
"We definitely understand that emotion," said Macy's public relations manager Andrea Schwartz. "All of us who are still working here at Macy's have worked at Marshall Field's, so we acknowledge ethat and we are doing our very best to keeping the best that Marshall Field's has to offer and the very best that Macy's has, and we're hoping to give them a much better shopping experience than ever before."
Schwartz said the traditional Christmas tree lighting will also continue, and Mary Poppins will appear in the windows of the State Street flagship store this year. The iconic clock and the Marshall Field's plaques will remain there. Frango mints will still be made there too, and the Walnut Room will remain open.
But it is a tough sell to some loyal Field's customers who are sad to see the end of an era. They are saying goodbye to a name that has been synonymous with shopping in Chicago for more than a century.
One group, called
FieldsFansChicago, organized a protest for Saturday morning.
"You're taking away something that makes us different," said protester Beverly Bearint.
Betty Ellis shared her feelings, but expressed them a little more quietly. Waring green and carrying a Field's bag, she came in from Palos Park to not shop at Macy's.
"I think it's going to take a while, I don't think I'll shop quite yet. I'm just going to have to get used to it," Ellis said.
Some burning questions, some people may have:
--What will happen to the Marshall Field's bags?
Macy's will not use them Saturday. What's left will go to charities in the city.
--Will shopping carts be brought in as they are in New York?
They are already in the store, the name on them will change to Macy's. They are black they'll stay black and no more will be added.
--What will happen to the Field's Express Desk in the atrium area?
It will change to Macy's Express Desk.
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