Federated Department Stores is conducting an experiment in Atlanta. According to a report in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the retail chain is closing seven Macy’s stores in the market, including anchor stores at The Rouse Co.’s Perimeter Mall, Simon’s Lenox Square, Town Center at Cobb and Gwinnett Place properties, and General Growth’s Cumberland Mall.
The report says Federated will open Bloomingdale’s stores in the Macy’s locations at Lenox Square and Perimeter Mall, and will rebrand all of its Rich’s stores in the market as Rich’s-Macy’s. Many Atlanta malls featured both stores as anchors. Federated is hoping that by combining the two brands it can concentrate its management resources and capital spending, CEO Jim Zimmerman told the newspaper. Several other Rich’s and Macy’s stores in the Southeast will also be affected. 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.
For further anlysis of Federated’s plans and their impact on malls, stay tuned to www.shoppingcenterworld.com