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Boy am I ticked...Marshall Field's no more...

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Boy am I ticked...Marshall Field's no more...

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Old Sep 20th, 2005, 11:28 AM
  #61  
 
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What is all this about Macy's and Bloomingdales being "New York"? And Marshall Fields, Chicago? There's a Macy's and a Bloomingdales in the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California! Marshall Fields is in Altoona, Pennsylvania, fer dog's sake! I suppose it'll be Macy's of Altoona, now.
What's happened to Ward's?
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Old Sep 20th, 2005, 11:29 AM
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Amen, Cassandra.
Well said.
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Old Sep 20th, 2005, 11:30 AM
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Sequoia, I think most people are referencing the traditional Chicago area Marshall Fields, especially the State Street store.
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Old Sep 20th, 2005, 11:37 AM
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I don't suppose Oprah is a Marshall Field's fan being in Chicago? Maybe write her letters - a big name can certainly get a cause noticed, and a lot of your stories are touching (Oprah worthy).
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Old Sep 20th, 2005, 11:44 AM
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Ahh, the power of Oprah! If she can bring Hermes to its knees, imagine what she could do to Federated!
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Old Sep 20th, 2005, 11:48 AM
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What is next? Are they going to change the name of the Field Museum? (After all Marshall Field lent his name & support to that wonderful museum.) Maybe in time for the King TUT exhibit so they can get more name recognition & more people will come to view the exhibit. I don't think they have to worry about more crowds for the exhibit. It will probably sell out anyways, especially after the crowds that have been showing up for the exhibit in LA.
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Old Sep 20th, 2005, 11:49 AM
  #67  
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Remember the big backlash letter writing/ news campaign when both Frango Mints and Fannie Mae left, swalter518?

I doubt if it will make a difference but there will be a vocal backlash. And I do think that because of Antiques Roadshow and some of the other features that have highlighted past M.Fields' fixtures, cove moldings, glass, etc. etc. that they will not trash anymore of the paneling or wall pieces. For one thing, they know how much they're worth now!

If they do try to modernize big time, I bet they have some mean women in their face during the fact.
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Old Sep 20th, 2005, 11:49 AM
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Doesn't seem that long ago that the Marshall Fields sign went up at the mall here.

As long as I can get Clinique lipstick (Super Berry!), I don't care what the name is.. I'm not much for makeup, but lipstick is only a few rungs below oxygen on the essentials ladder.
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Old Sep 20th, 2005, 11:55 AM
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Did you see Oprah yesterday talking about the Hermes incident - with the president of Hermes US at her side?

She definitely wasn't bringing Hermes "to their knees". Their letter didn't apologize and the pres (and Oprah) attributed it to "one rude employee". Oprah said the majority of what had been written had not been true. And told her fans to wear their Birkin bags - and buy more!
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Old Sep 20th, 2005, 12:01 PM
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What?????? The majority of what had been written in the media had not been true?????

I'm utterly shocked.

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Old Sep 20th, 2005, 12:02 PM
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googled to find if there was anything in the news recently about Oprah/Hermes. Here's a link -

http://www.jossip.com/gossip/oprah/o...r-20050920.php
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Old Sep 20th, 2005, 12:11 PM
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Anyone interested here's the link to the Federated comments line...
http://www.fds.com/contact/general.asp
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Old Sep 20th, 2005, 12:15 PM
  #73  
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I'd bet my next paycheck that the percentage of Oprah's veiwing audience that can afford a Birkin Bag is in the hundreths of a percentile.

 
Old Sep 20th, 2005, 12:24 PM
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I was also so dissappointed to see that Field's will not be Field's. Yesterday I got my Regards Reward 15% discount in the mail and today I am sending it back today with a no thanks. I love Marshall Field's, I registered there for my wedding, I buy all special gifts there, most of my clothes, I spend most of my lunch hours from work at the State Street store and my boss gets me a gift card for Christmas every year. The sad thing is I really like Macy's also just not as well. As soon as the name changes I am afraid I just could not bring myself to step through those doors. I know it probably sounds silly to a lot of people but it feels like a death to me. I haven't felt like this since I heard Fanny May was closing.
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Old Sep 20th, 2005, 12:40 PM
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Fields is an institution - 'meeting under the clock at fields' was a favorite thing for us when we'd go out to lunch in our younger days. The history of the store is unmistakeable when you walk in - the architecture, etc is so great. I think that regardless of the 'name' on the store, in our minds, it will always be Fields - and they had better not even try to sandblast the bronze name plates from the outside corners! as for me, I'll just start doing more internet shopping at other stores who haven't been sold yet. just hope the Christmas window displays don't go away too soon. I imagine most of the Field's legacy will evaporate along with the grace and genteel atmosphere on State Street!
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Old Sep 20th, 2005, 01:10 PM
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crefloors:
Your comment about the "sales" is totally correct.

But what these "sales" actually illustrate is just how high the markup is on imported clothes.

Notice how many of the coupons exclude a plethora of designers and brands? That's because they want you to use them on their labeled imports (that's all those phoney names you see in the departments).

So, they bring in an item that costs $1. They ticket it $4. Then they put it on sale for 20% off or $3.20. Then they give you a 15% off coupon. Now you pay $2.72 for it. They've still gotten a whopping 172% markup on the item!

Even at "half off the original" they are getting a 50% markup - which in the old (more honest) days was the normal mark up. So, they're aren't even losing money on clearance stuff.

About 18 years ago I bought lingerie for a store in Rochester NY (long gone now). Lingerie was strictly a domestic manufacturing business. Bras retailed for about $8 to $11. Now they retail for $24 to $32 - and they are making them all overseas.

Why the huge price increase when cost of the goods is probably half (or less) what it was 18 years ago? Because they market them "buy 2 get one free", or 30% off or some such nonsense.

Lots of money in somebody's pocket - and I don't think it's the saleclerk's!
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Old Sep 20th, 2005, 01:22 PM
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karens, well at least we still have Main Street, Bethelehem (even if Orr's is no more).
It is sad to see things become more and more anonymous, no real local flavor to so many stores.
Agree with wliwl about the markup. In department stores, jewelry departments are among the worst offenders...jewelry is "on sale" almost every day of the month. And for the most part, those sale pieces are made of lousy quality stones in mass produced settings.
As overpriced as that Hermes Birkin bag is, at least it's still produced in France by French artisans who make a living wage.
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Old Sep 20th, 2005, 01:38 PM
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I have to agree that the name Macy's doesn't have the same (positive) associations that Marshall Field's does for me.

Being on the west coast, I miss the Bon Marche. A few years ago they all became Bon Macy's, and now just Macy's. It just doesn't have the same appeal to me for shopping there anymore.
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Old Sep 20th, 2005, 01:50 PM
  #79  
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I too am heartbroken and can't believe they would change Marshall Field's into Macy's. I agree with those who think that Macy's isn't close in quality to Field's--and yes, I have shopped at the flagship Macy's in Manhattan. I also understand that not every Field's in the U.S. is up to the State Street store standards. But I shop or eat lunch at the State Street Field's almost every week. It's a gorgeous, sophisticated store with both a sense of history and a sense
of up-to-the minute fashion. Last year they had an outdoor fashion show--with the models walking UP the outside of the building. Everyone goes there to look at the Christmas windows, to register for their weddings....I really think they should keep the Field's name alive--even for this one store.
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Old Sep 20th, 2005, 02:13 PM
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Don't get too attached to any one name.

Soon there will be only one, world-wide.

Walmart.
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