Sept. 11, 2006 6:48 a.m.
By Cynthia Vinarsky
BOARDMAN, Ohio -- Wider aisles, new merchandise brands and comfortable seating are among the changes shoppers began noticing this weekend as three area Kaufmann's stores took on the name of their world-renowned flagship store, Macy's.
Kaufmann's department stores in the Southern Park Mall, Boardman, the Eastwood Mall, Niles and the Shenango Valley Mall in Hermitage, Pa. all celebrated name changes Saturday with ribbon cutting ceremonies and gift card giveaways.
In all, St. Louis-based Midwest division of Macy's renamed 93 stores in nine states. Spokesman Nathan Shore said Macy's, the largest retail brand of Federated Department Stores, now has 800 stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.
Ella Scales, manager of the Southern Park store, said Macy's widened the aisles at the Boardman location and added seating near the escalators and in most merchandise departments. "We've actually opened up the departments. There's a noticeable difference," she said. "It's brighter and cleaner, less cluttered."
She expects to see more extensive remodeling at the store sometime in the future but said those changes are still in the planning stages.
Macy's added new carpet in some sections of the Eastwood Mall store, said manager Frank Bordonaro, in addition to wider aisles, new fixtures and innovative sign placement. "The whole team worked hard to improve the shopping experience, and with all the great brands that you can only buy at Macy's, I know shoppers are going to love it," he said.
Neither manager would comment on the number of workers their stores employ but they agreed that most of their Kaufmann's staffers would remain under Macy's.
Bordonaro said his most-senior employee is Madeline Bono, who has worked for the department store chain and its predecessors for 61 years.A sales associate in the Niles store's intimate apparel department, she shared ribbon-cutting duties with Bordonaro and other dignitaries Saturday.
Bordonaro has been with the chain and its predecessors for 39 years and has managed the Niles store since 1989; Scales as been with the company and its predecessors for 20 years and celebrated her sixth anniversary as manager this summer.
Scales said Macy's "listened to its customers" and decided to keep two Kaufmann's fashion brands, Karen Scott for women and John Ashford for men.Stores will also feature several private-label Macy's brands, she said, and value pricing on some items everyday. "Macy's is known for is fashion and affordable luxury," she said. "We'll be offering everyday values day in and day out."
Macy's will continue to offer coupons as Kaufmann's did, she said, but often they will be targeted to its credit card shoppers as part of a nationwide loyalty rewards program that provides discounts and other perks.
Area Macy's stores will be a part of the national retailer's commitment to community service, said Scales, starting with a Shop For a Cause event Sept. 16. Several charities in the region are selling tickets for the shopping day, which will entitle each ticket holder to merchandise discounts and a $10 bonus coupon. All proceeds from the ticket sales go to the charities.
Macy's is changing the names of stores its parent, Federated Department Stores, acquired last year when it bought May Department Stores. Federated has since formed the new Macy's Midwest division which encompasses May's former Famous-Barr, L.S. Ayres, The Jones Store and Kaufmann's locations. The division operates 93 stores, now all under the Macy's name, in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
The Youngstown-area Macy's stores have undergone other name changes in recent years.Originally known as Strouss-Hirshberg Co. stores, their name was later shortened to Strouss, and then changed to Kaufmann's in 1986.In the late 1980s May shut down four Kaufmann's stores, located in downtown Youngstown, Austintown, Liberty, New Castle, Pa.and Sharon, Pa.