Bloomingdale's Marching to Atlanta

A report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution confirmed that Federated Department Stores Inc. (Cincinnati) will be closing all of it Macy's stores in metro Atlanta, bringing its Bloomingdale's division into the South's largest city and re-branding the city's home-grown Rich's Department Stores as Rich's-Macy's.

Macy's two most prominent stores, at Lenox Square and Perimeter Mall, will be redesigned and reopened later this year as Bloomingdale's.

In addition to its downtown Macy's, which has struggled in recent years, Federated will close stores in Gwinnett Place, Cumberland and Southlake. The Macy's at Northlake will be re-branded as Rich's-Macy's, as will all the retailer's Rich's stores. The Macy's store in Town Center at Cobb will be closed, but one floor will be converted to a Rich's-Macy's furniture gallery that will reopen in the fall. The remainder of that store will be sold or leased for other retail use.

Federated chairman and ceo James Zimmerman said the consolidation of Rich's and Macy's under a combined Rich's-Macy's nameplate will allow the company to concentrate its management resources and capital spending on one brand and key store locations. “Atlanta is an important and unique market for us,” said Zimmerman, “the only one with such an extensive concentration of both Rich's and Macy's stores competing head-to-head. By combining the strong regional expertise of Rich's with the powerful Macy's national brand, we will be giving Rich's-Macy's customers the best selection of fashion and value under one umbrella, while ensuring that we maintain community ties and preserve the special traditions of each.”

A total of 28 stores in Atlanta, Athens, Augusta, Columbus, Macon and Savannah; Birmingham, Ala., and Columbia and Greenville, S.C. will be branded as Rich's-Macy's.