When Hecht’s department stores across the Washington region reopen as Macy’s Saturday, Tysons-area shoppers will have not one, but two, Macy’s to choose from.
Ten local Hecht’s — purchased last year by Macy’s-owned Federated Department Stores Inc. as part of an $11 billion buyout of Robinsons-May — will make the switch. The change over is part of Federated’s strategy to create one supersized retail brand with more than 800 Macy’s across the nation — but the move will also create duplicates in a number of malls across the country. Locally, Macy’s will have a home in both Tysons Corner Center and Tysons Galleria, which sit right across the street from each other.
“It’s a terrible situation to have two Macy’s in the same mall, unless it’s a giant mall like [Bloomington, Minn.’s] Mall of America,” said Carol Parish, managing director for brand strategy of WPP Group’s Enterprise IG, a brand consulting firm. Parish said having duplicate Macy’s, especially ones where the merchandise is different at each store — the strategy planned for the two Tysons-area locations — could create confusion among customers.
But reps for the Tysons malls, which are each managed by different companies, said having the stores right across the street from each other shouldn’t create a problem because the stores cater to two different audiences.
“Our Macy’s will continue to offer brands that coincide with [Tysons Galleria],” said Jaime Friedman, senior directing of marketing for Tysons Galleria, which tends to target a more high-end consumer with stores such as Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, but sees fewer shoppers on an annual basis.
The store, which is already a Macy’s, will carry more high-end brands such as Coach and BCBG that are different from those in the new Macy’s at Tysons Corner Center.
“We feel perfectly comfortable about the fact that they can coexist,” said Lynn Blacker, marketing manager for Tysons Corner Center. “It might be a good thing for both centers in that they’ll merchandise things differently to cater to their clientele. We’re hoping it will be a win-win for everybody.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
