urbanSTL

The Early bird event drew a good crowd.

I was downtown tonight (black friday) and went into Macy's. The store had almost no one in it. Downtown seemed pretty dead for a Friday night, though.

Friday was an odd day/night thing downtown. City Museum, for example, was shoulder-to-shoulder from opening until about 6 pm -- and less crowded than usual from 6 pm until 1 am. I suspect that all the Early Bird shopping simply pooped everyone out.

There was a seperate thread about people living DT leaving it to go visit family, etc for Thanksgiving. That might have something to do with the empty feeling inside Macy's in the evening.

Jax wrote:I was downtown tonight (black friday) and went into Macy's. The store had almost no one in it. Downtown seemed pretty dead for a Friday night, though.

I was there from about 2:00 until 4:30, and the place was jumping then. Nothing like what you see in the malls, but then there aren't seven floors of merchandise in the mall stores, so keep that in mind. Business was brisk most of the time while I was there, but by the time I left, it was slowing down considerably (no doubt because it was little over an hour until closing time).



Perhaps if Macy's had extended the hours of business as they did in downtown Pittsburgh (the former Kaufmann's flagship stayed open until 9 p.m.), and offered validated parking, that may have made a difference in the later hours.

Today at around 2:00 Macy's was so dead it made me a little sad. It was well-decorated and appared to be plentifully stocked, but aside from a few people looking at the windows it was quite deserted. The salespeople on the men's floor were all standing around twiddling their thumbs, and poor Santa -- a "real" Santa -- didn't have any kids waiting in line.



There was a little street activity around Macy's, primarily looking at the windows. Don't know what the parking is like, but a lot of people were just doing drive-by viewings it seemed.



I tried to find a quick place to eat. Nothing was open in the vicinity. I walked from 9th to 12th right down the middle of Locust, taking pictures. Not a single car passed. On the other hand, Rooster looks like a pretty nice place; I'll try it next week when it's open.



I wanted a quick carry-away meal like a gyro or a kebab or something, but none were to be found. I would have settled for any sandwich or wrap or anything. I passed on Pasta House Pronto, the only place I could think of, because I had just eaten there Wednesday for lunch. I think a walk-up window to a doner kebab or noodle stand would be ideal for the city. No lattes, no sushi, no scene...just a filling, cheap, carry-away meal would be great.



I went into a few shops on Washington. like MacroSun. They are all nice but I can't imagine the niche markets for wildly expensive Nepalese and Tibetan knick-knacks to be able to support them. Either way, I hope they are doing OK. There was one other couple in MacroSun. It smelled very good, I'll give it that.



Finally I reached the Gelateria which had a small crowd of about a dozen in it. I just got a gelato. Walking past Homeless Park, I saw more people there than I had from 9th to 14th streets in the rest of downtown.







I then walked to Union Station. It had a small crowd but all the closed storefronts made it depressing.



Metrolink on the way home from Union Station was quite crowded. It was really hard to tell where people were coming from or going to. A big crowd was waiting at the Forest Park station to go to the airport. A few small groups exited at the Richmond Heights and Brentwood Stations, and the rest went all the way to Shrewsbury.



Anyway, here's a little video of the Macy's train window if you haven't seen it yet:

There was a pretty brisk business for crepes at Washington Ave. Post most of the morning and early afternoon; and City Museum was packed pretty solid. Steady business this afternoon at Casa Semplice, steady grazing crowd at City Market in the late afternoon, and an apologetic employee at the Bread Co ("sorry, we close at 4 on Saturday") said that she had been very busy all afternoon. At 5 pm, the hockey crowd was starting to build up along McGowan Row.

KSDK TV Channel 5





Customers look at a train display in the window of Macy's in downtown St. Louis on Wednesday night. This is the first time since 1988 the display has greeted holiday shoppers. Photojournalist: Chris Cross



Macy's Renews Downtown Holiday Tradition



By Cordell Whitlock



(KSDK) - It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in St. Louis. The holiday season has begun with a look back to the good old days.



Wednesday night, the Festival of Lights at Keiner Plaza began the countdown to Christmas. Meanwhile, a local department store is trying to bring back the glory days of St. Louis shopping.



Forty years ago crowds flocked to the downtown Famous Barr at Thanksgiving to look at the Christmas window displays. They were elaborate creations that caught everyone's eye. Macy's has continued the holiday tradition.



"I noticed the train. The train really took me back. I'm a 50s baby, so the train set, I really enjoyed it," said Brenda Ringo.



Each display is sponsored by a St. Louis sports team or a cultural or civic organization. There's a Cardinals' window with a ball signed by David Eckstein, a Fox Theater display with theater tickets and autographed jerseys from the Blues and Rams. And everything you see, including the trees, will go to the highest bidder.



"We'll have a silent auction on each of those trees from now until December 16 with the proceeds going to charities or their sponsored organizations," said Bill McNamara, CEO of Macy's Midwest.



Aside from helping charities, Macy's wants to generate interest in downtown using the holidays as a springboard.



"I hope all efforts applied to this project it is a success and it prompts people to see downtown is alive," said Ringo.



"As they tell their friends, they'll talk and more people will come," said McNamara.



The silent auction ends on December 16.



GREAT NEWS VIDEO ON WINDOWS AT DOWNTOWN MACY'S:

http://www.ksdk.com/video/player.aspx?aid=42356&bw=

The first time since 1988?? I work DT and have seen it every year. It may not have been there in 2005.

^ I realize KSDK is located at 10th and Market streets, but I think it's a safe bet that most of its employees haven't been anywhere near the downtown Macy's/Famous-Barr since 1988.



After all, I'm unaware of any murders or fires there in the last 20 years, and that's the only time KSDK pays attention to the city besides the sports report.



Hell, I'm just impressed that someone at KSDK noticed Macy's. My guess is that they were referring to the other decorated windows, as that is something that Famous-Barr hasn't done in nearly 20 years. I thought it was 1990 or 1991 when the window decorating and Santaland ceased, but I could be off by a year or two FWIW. The train display was there last year, and Breakfast with Santa became a new tradition in 2005 (there are several of these planned at the downtown store between now and Christmas).

bprop wrote:Today at around 2:00 Macy's was so dead it made me a little sad. It was well-decorated and appared to be plentifully stocked, but aside from a few people looking at the windows it was quite deserted. The salespeople on the men's floor were all standing around twiddling their thumbs, and poor Santa -- a "real" Santa -- didn't have any kids waiting in line.



There was a little street activity around Macy's, primarily looking at the windows. Don't know what the parking is like, but a lot of people were just doing drive-by viewings it seemed.

bprop, I had no eyeglasses or hallucinogens in my possession late Friday afternoon, but the store was busy most of the time I was there. And there was no dearth of people inside the store or out and about in downtown carrying Macy's bags. The window displays attracted quite a few people when I was there; I just wish there were more windows decorated (especially on the Sixth Street side of the store).



Maybe it's not the cut-throat environment one would experience at the Galleria or West County Macy's stores, but to me there was a noticeable uptick in business and volume from previous Black Fridays downtown.

ThreeOneFour, it may have been one of the ebbs and flows of the day. The ground floor had probably 25 shoppers, and it was decidedly busier than the others (I stopped on 2 and I think 4) each of which had maybe two others besides myself, plus the salespeople. And I have no doubt it was busier than in years past. I've been working downtown for about eight years and the ground floor traffic was probably similar to a decent weekday.

I think I said this in a previous post, but I arrived at the store around 2:00 and left a little after 4:30.



Business was light when I arrived and when I was getting ready to leave, but it was rather brisk the rest of the time. I'd say at one time there were as many people as 75 (give or take a dozen) on the ground floor shopping. I bought a shirt for myself on the second floor and there may have been a dozen or so shoppers there. The main, third, and fourth floors were consistently busy. I was disappointed to see the store clearing out around 4:30, but I wasn't surprised since the store closed at its usual time (6 p.m.).



Outside the store, I noticed a steady stream of people at the train window, mostly because my wife and I were taking turns standing with our son as he glued his face to the windows with the train display.



As great as it looks, I wish Macy's would have taken the decorating up a notch. I witnessed many people stopping to view the windows along Seventh Street, yet you could fire a cannon on the Sixth Street side and not hit a soul (for some reason, only the windows on the Olive and Locust Street corners were decorated on that side). Just a few more changes (decorate every window, open at least one of the restaurants, and offer extended hours and validated parking) would extend the store's appeal beyond those that currently shop there.

The problem is that there is almost no other retail in the area. Sure there are the furniture stores that are convenient when you move in, but Macy's seems to be the only major presence in retail downtown. Unless you live close, no one is going to travel to do christmas shopping at one store. It clearly doesn't help that the merchandise at the downtown Macy's is not on par with the other stores. If there were at least a few other clothing or gift stores, then people could think about getting downtown, getting out of the car, walking around a little bit, and doing some REAL christmas shopping.

^ True. All of the rumored retailers (Borders, Whole Foods, etc.) that are supposedly interested in downtown cannot come fast enough. I don't think Macy's would've invested as much in the store as they have if they weren't in it for the long haul, FWIW.



I think Macy's could make a better case for itself by doing some of the things that I (and others) mentioned, but ultimately it is at a disadvantage given the lack of other retailers in the area. (I think Federated management realizes this at least.) Even the specialty shops that are adding to Washington Avenue's appeal are several blocks away.

I think that in a few years, downtown may not be the retail capital of the region, but it will definately be respectable. It all is going to depend on getting at least 1 or 2 more big names on the retail ticket, more office occupancy, and more residential to keep customers noticing. If Ballpark Village can deliver at least a few of these and the area gets marketed well, we will be on the upswing.

JMedwick wrote:I agree that the completetion of the big name residential projects downtown (Dillards, BV, Arcade Wright, StL Center) are key to getting the 1-2 more big name retailiers that might really make dowtown a much stronger shopping district, but a key componenent is that the retail must be concentrated. If the BV has great shops, but is a few empty bland blocks away from Macys, then downtown will still be missing the connections nessisary to develope a strong shopping district.

I think another corner will be turned when a mid-level typically big box retailer comes downtown. I'm either thinking a homewares store like

• "Bed, Bath and Beyond"

• "Linens & Things"

or electronics like

• "Best Buy"

• "Circuit City"



Even if they're scaled-down smaller stores, their presence could lead a parade back downtown.

Downtown Milwaukee added a Linens N Things to its downtown mall a few years back, so there is a precident there.



I'm with you, I think the first major retailer to set up shop downtown will open the floodgates.

With the posts we are seeing of Macy's DT performance (being empty on nights where county stores are busy), does it seem likely that high end retailers would come DT?

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I think there's too much open land around downtown to ever have three or four big reatailers move in. If Target and more goes in at FPP and Spring, BPV gets some mid-size retail, Chouteau's Landing has room, as does the Bottle District site . . . so my question is which of these will become a retail hub?

The key is to develop all the vacant lots into some density on the near North side, near South side, and between midtown and DT. If that happens then it will be more attractable for retailers of this size. Right now it seem as if DT is on an island.

bsharmastl wrote:With the posts we are seeing of Macy's DT performance (being empty on nights where county stores are busy), does it seem likely that high end retailers would come DT?

That's a good question, although I wouldn't read too much into the anecdotal accounts of business at the downtown Macy's.



FWIW, I'll offer some observations anyway, as I make frequent trips to the store (I'm probably there once a week on average). Go during the lunch rush, or if a major convention is in progress, and it's a lively place. Go on any non-gameday weekend or near closing time, and it can feel like a ghost town. The good news? Business seems to be up overall. However, just as it was in its recent history as Famous-Barr, there are peaks and valleys in customer volume (that's generally the case anywhere, but it does seem more noticeable in this seven-level store).



Keep in mind that this isn't unique to downtown- the same holds true for area malls, many of which are anchored by Macy's. Busy weekends at most malls are a given, but on weeknights, (excluding the holiday season, of course) I can think of many times when places like the Galleria, West County Center, and South County Center feel rather empty.



I have to agree with DT2007 and Ihnen- more retailers will be attracted downtown as the population continues to increase, and as demand increases for living in areas surrounding downtown that are now sparsely populated. I do believe we'll see a major tenant like Borders or Whole Foods sign on in the next year or two as part of Ballpark Village or 600 Washington- even one or two minor anchors like this would complement Macy's and spur more interest in downtown among major retailers IMHO.

Everyone on this forum should try to buy at least ONE Christmas/Holiday gift at Macy's downtown. I wonder how much we could help this store. I'm sure it does fine, especially with 90,000 workers who might shop there during lunch, but imagine if this store were to close.. Do they charge to park in the garage if you go down on a weekend? I really hope the answer is NO.

^ Unfortunately, they do charge to park in their garage on weekends. I rarely use the garage on weekends because I almost always seem to find an on-street spot within two or three blocks of the store anyway.



The last time I used it was in early September for the Saturday grand opening celebration, and regular rates applied then. This Saturday we have reservations to take our son to Breakfast with Santa, and validated parking is part of the deal, thankfully.



As I've said previously in this thread, I think they should consider offering validated parking to anyone that makes at least a $20 purchase in the store on a given day. I think it's the number one reason people avoid the downtown store, although to be fair, there are other reasons as well (mostly, better selection and convenience at suburban stores, something we've discussed often through this thread). Macy's seems committed to making this store work, but I think validated parking could be one small step toward a giant improvement in business.

It may be tougher than you think to make comparisons between downtown and county stores. DT spreads customers over 6-7 floors. A sales person told me a couple of months ago that the downtown store (Famous then) had high sales figures and was doing very well.