Guess Who's Comming to Town

On my flight I sat next to a guy who confirmed something I had been hearing but wasn't really sure of.

Macy's is coming back to New Orleans.
Immediately after the storm Macy's made announcements that they would be back, their plans kept getting pushed further and further in the future. Many people speculated that they would not be back.

In 2006 Macy's began changing the names of many old line department stores such as Riches (Atlanta) Foley's (Houston) Marshall Fields (Chicago)and Burdine's (Florida) it had acquired over the years to Macy's, with a few high end stores becoming Bloomingdales. The parent company formerly named Federated Department Stores, on June 1, 2007 the name was changed to Macy's Incorporated.

I was always puzzled by their apparent abandonment of New Orleans. If the goal was to build a single national brand to maximize the reach of their marketing, why leave New Orleans?


If my informant is correct the Esplanade Mall store will be renovated and new stores constructed at Lakeside and Oakwood Malls. The Esplanade store will be open for Christmas 2008. I wonder if a North Shore store is in the offing.