urbanSTL

Expat wrote:^Yes, there was a restaurant in the basement level (bargain basement). It wasn't as nice as the others, as I recall.

Thanks, Expat! I'm not sure, but I think the basement level restaurant may have been called Down Under, at least before it closed in the mid 1980s, when May Company/Famous-Barr made several changes to the store prior to the opening of St. Louis Centre.



Like you, I think there may have been another restaurant on the upper floors, but I cannot remember for sure.



Since you mentioned the bargain basement, I still think it would be a good idea to reopen that for clearance merchandise, and maybe Macy's could even bring in merchandise from other stores in the area to one central spot. Of course, it would still take validated parking to draw the masses. I'm not sure why Macy's won't consider that, and I don't know why Famous-Barr eliminated it in the first place.

I would be pleased if the Men's department wasn't completely barren. I am tired of going to Papa Fabarre's and seeing an entire floor devoted to Levi's and Dockers. The first floor section is ok. Still, the selection is a pathetic joke even compared to the likes of Northwest Plaza and Crestwood.

The bargain basement was great, you could really save money on clothes, linens, etc. And they had cheap everyday home goods on mezzanine. Stuff like plastic trash cans, mops, dish drains, detergent, etc. Very handy and would be useful today. With the bargain basement & home goods on mezzanine, you could avoid trips to K-Mart.

Expat wrote:The bargain basement was great, you could really save money on clothes, linens, etc. And they had cheap everyday home goods on mezzanine. Stuff like plastic trash cans, mops, dish drains, detergent, etc. Very handy and would be useful today. With the bargain basement & home goods on mezzanine, you could avoid trips to K-Mart.

IMO Messy's is the K-Mart of the department stores. This bargain basement will help them a lil, since it will help them move more unsold merchandise. Their merchandise quality is poor and overpriced, as well as not being appealing. What kind of name is Alfani? Its more like Alphony...a poor rip at Armani haha. That along with Donald Trump, Style & Co, INC, and Charter Club. Obviously, a lot of consumers aren't fooled by this and shop at Nordstroms, JCPenneys, and even Kohls for better and quality stuff. Messy's has gotten even lower to K-Mart levels since they started selling Martha Stewart home items lol. Why buy at full price at Messy's when I can get it at K-Mart for cheaper.

saminSTL wrote:I would be pleased if the Men's department wasn't completely barren. I am tired of going to Papa Fabarre's and seeing an entire floor devoted to Levi's and Dockers. The first floor section is ok. Still, the selection is a pathetic joke even compared to the likes of Northwest Plaza and Crestwood.

Yeah, since they've improved the ladies' selection, I don't understand why they don't follow through with a better selection of men's clothing.



10-intuition: My God, how do you really feel about Macy's?

Wow...did 10-intuition used to work at Famous Barr??? I think Macy's is far less Messy that the old Famous stores, where every department was jammed with way too much merchandise. I think Macy's store brands are better than Famous', too. It's true that Macy's has lost buyers to Kohl's & JC Penney because they have gone upmarket a bit and it is offputting to some of the old Famous buyers (grandmas), but I like that they are carrying brands like Lucky Brand jeans & Lacoste. Department store in general seem to be having a hard time attracting younger adult buyers who prefer shopping at specialty stores.

I'm by no means a department store type, but I actually like Macys. I think they've got pretty good clothes, and some decent styles.

10-tuition, I'm not sure what you're looking for, but I have no problem finding what I need at Macys. Granted, I have figured out that I can't shop at the downtown location (unfortunately), but the Galleria store is just fine. I spent a couple hundred dollars in the spring, and I'm very happy with what I got.

re downtown: I tried many times to locate husband's favorite men's furnishings there- the selection of CK diminished, and now I am not even sure the store carries CK boxers. I finally ordered said underpants from Freshpair.com



On the other hand, I now can actually shop there . it's been 10 years since I've bought any women's stuff there- it was so ugly, frumpy and large. Only the past spring did I buy something- a silk shirt and some nerdy bermuda shorts.

Looks like they're no longer carrying Cole Haans, but they do have Clark's now, which is good to see.

^ I haven't been in the store in a while- I assume the large void where the Rams/Cardinals stuff used to be by the old St. Louis Centre entrance is still there?



Stuff like that makes me think Macy's isn't trying all that hard to boost sales in that store beyond the many renovations made prior to the phaseout of Famous-Barr in fall 2006. Hopefully the announcement of Mercantile Exchange will convince Macy's management to stick it out for the long haul and make some more much-needed improvements to the downtown store.



I try to shop there as much as I can, but it's frustrating when I know I can find a better selection at the Galleria, West County, or St. Clair Square, all of which are less than a 30 minute drive from my home (it's about 10 minutes to downtown from my abode).

ThreeOneFour wrote:^ I haven't been in the store in a while- I assume the large void where the Rams/Cardinals stuff used to be by the old St. Louis Centre entrance is still there?



Stuff like that makes me think Macy's isn't trying all that hard to boost sales in that store beyond the many renovations made prior to the phaseout of Famous-Barr in fall 2006. Hopefully the announcement of Mercantile Exchange will convince Macy's management to stick it out for the long haul and make some more much-needed improvements to the downtown store.



I try to shop there as much as I can, but it's frustrating when I know I can find a better selection at the Galleria, West County, or St. Clair Square, all of which are less than a 30 minute drive from my home (it's about 10 minutes to downtown from my abode).

Yeah, the area where the Rams gear used to be is almost completely empty. They now have a few Bulger/Jackson jerseys set up where the Cards gear used to be, and the Cards gear has been moved to where the coats used to be. There's plenty of spae for the return of Ralph Lauren...

DeBaliviere wrote:

ThreeOneFour wrote:^ I haven't been in the store in a while- I assume the large void where the Rams/Cardinals stuff used to be by the old St. Louis Centre entrance is still there?



Stuff like that makes me think Macy's isn't trying all that hard to boost sales in that store beyond the many renovations made prior to the phaseout of Famous-Barr in fall 2006. Hopefully the announcement of Mercantile Exchange will convince Macy's management to stick it out for the long haul and make some more much-needed improvements to the downtown store.



I try to shop there as much as I can, but it's frustrating when I know I can find a better selection at the Galleria, West County, or St. Clair Square, all of which are less than a 30 minute drive from my home (it's about 10 minutes to downtown from my abode).

Yeah, the area where the Rams gear used to be is almost completely empty. They now have a few Bulger/Jackson jerseys set up where the Cards gear used to be, and the Cards gear has been moved to where the coats used to be. There's plenty of spae for the return of Ralph Lauren...

What about Blues stuff?

^

I don't recall seeing any Blues stuff, although there might have been some mixed in with the athletic gear.

Where are the coats?

Macy's isn't trying all that hard to boost sales in that store

Are you kidding? I get a card, call, or letter every week or so from their men's dept. Honestly, they call me more often than the guy trying to get me to change phone companies.

They should still redo the first floor windows. Really open the store up to the street like it USED to be. They would create something truly unique in St. Louis. But, I'm sure they won't and they'll never really get the sales numbers that legitimize keeping the store open for the long term.. a little ho hum rehab won't do the trick.. sad.. I f ing love this building.

publiceye wrote:Are you kidding? I get a card, call, or letter every week or so from their men's dept. Honestly, they call me more often than the guy trying to get me to change phone companies.

I've spent a decent amount of money in that store over the last several years, even moreso during the last year under the Macy's banner, trying to do my little part to keep it afloat. The amount of shopping I do there must pale in comparison to you, because I've only received sales fliers (which are sent throughout the Macy's Midwest division and don't mention the downtown store specifically beyond the Olive Street address).



Besides, I was referring to the overall condition and merchandising mix of the store. Yes, they've improved the appearance and the merchandise mix considerably. Yes, they could do much more and try a little harder, IMHO of course. They've decorated some windows. How about decorating more? They've added some new clothing lines. How about a few more? How about using that vast empty space in men's merchandise on the second level? We're not talking rocket science here. A few not-so-costly changes would make the store more attractive, and dare I say, more profitable. Macy's Inc. (then Federated) spent an undisclosed yet likely substantial amount of money refurbishing the store to phase out Famous-Barr and introduce Macy's to the local market. Why not go one small step further?

^ They will be forced to compete within 2-3 years because of MX. Hopefully they work it earlier...

innov8ion wrote:^ They will be forced to compete within 2-3 years because of MX. Hopefully they work it earlier...

I agree, and like you, I hope they'll recognize the opportunity to improve the store sooner!

publiceye wrote:Are you kidding? I get a card, call, or letter every week or so from their men's dept. Honestly, they call me more often than the guy trying to get me to change phone companies.

Interesting. I've done enough shopping at the downtown Macy's to get me bumped up from a red Macy's card to a gold card, but have never heard from them.

This may not really belong in this Macy's Downtown specific thread, but I thought I'd mention this anyway. Just got back from Vegas, and did some shopping at the Macy's store at the Fashion Show Mall (that name still cracks me up for some reason!). I realize that the Vegas market is an entirely different animal than St. Louis, but WOW, what a selection!! I was just recently at the State Street Chicago location and even it didn't have the selection that the Vegas store has. If they would stock our store (or any of their stores) with half of the Vegas selection, they would do much, much better IMHO.

^ I agree. The selection, or the lack thereof, is the main problem IMHO. And the already small/weak selection of men's casual wear on the first floor recently shrunk to accommodate holiday decorations.



I'd suggest putting the displaced merchandise in that vast open field on the second floor, but it's increasingly apparent that Macy's couldn't care less about how the second floor looks.

I spoke with one of the salesmen in the shoe department today about the Cole Haans - he said they were selling well and he'd hoped they would keep them in stock, but they were told to return their remaining stock. Weird. He told me I should go online and complain - which I will do. I would have purchased a pair today, had they been in stock.

jeffrk wrote:This may not really belong in this Macy's Downtown specific thread, but I thought I'd mention this anyway. Just got back from Vegas, and did some shopping at the Macy's store at the Fashion Show Mall (that name still cracks me up for some reason!). I realize that the Vegas market is an entirely different animal than St. Louis, but WOW, what a selection!! I was just recently at the State Street Chicago location and even it didn't have the selection that the Vegas store has. If they would stock our store (or any of their stores) with half of the Vegas selection, they would do much, much better IMHO.

The primary way styles get allocated is based upon sales volume, not really market, except where a buyer or higher believes there is a specific need to show depth of style selection.



The store in the Railway Exchange Building has not been considered a source of pride, much less a flagship, in the last 10 years. Now with the same people running Macy's Midwest that ran May Corporate, and the loss of the company's individual identity (bye bye Famous Barr), I am fairly positive it will never be a flagship again.



As a child, I remember eating in the awe inspiring St. Louis room (seat yourself and have a buffet now), going to see the Bears at Christmas (why the heck we spent 2 hours in line to walk through 2 minutes of basic animitronics, I'm not sure now).



The reason the store exists, altough I'm glad they gave it a makeover, is to support the purchasing needs of the employees in the Macy's Midwest divison, and to a lesser extent for them to be able to view their results in action....



St. Louis Centre now aside, I think returning this store to a true flagship in companion with closing some doors (read Jamestown, Alton, and Crestwood) could if executed correctly make this a true downtown destination. I'm just fairly confident that's not the micro-managers that run Macy's and the Midwest Division's goals...