[Climbs up on soapbox.]
Today, it was announced that Federated Department Stores will be buying the May department store chain. This will mean significant changes and homogenization of the Southern California Retail Market. I, for one, am sad to see the changes.
When I was growing up, there were loads of department stores in Los Angeles. We had Weinstocks, Broadway and Bullocks (now both part of Macy’s), May Company and J.W. Robinsons (where my grandmother worked, and now part of the May Company), Buffums (out of business, 1991), Bullocks and I. Magnin (now part of Federated), Ohrbachs, Desmonds. Most of these (with the exception of May) were based in Los Angeles. There, of course, were the mid-prices stores, such as J. C. Penny, Montgomery Wards (chapter 13), and Sears. I would regularly get gifts from my great-aunt in St. Louis, always from Stix, Baer, and Fuller (now part of Dillards)—never from Dillards or Famous-Barr (May Company). Then there were the “big-boxes” of the era: Fedco (now gone), Gemco (now gone; many stores are Targets), White Front (gone), Zodys (now gone, many stores are Target), K-Mart.
Where have they all gone? What happened to local diversity in retail stores?
Nowadays, we have Target of Borg, Macys/Bloomingdales of Borg, Wal-Borg, and K-Sears. There are a few second-tier retailers left: Dillards, Nordstrom, Saks, Needless-Markup, Pennys. Yet the retail markets are all the same, with the same merchandise city to city. History is also being lost: Will children understand the reference to Montgomery and Wards in the Music Man? Will they know where the Maison Blanc Christmas Bear came from?
I understand, financially, the need to consolidate. The companies claim it benefits consumers. I don’t believe them for a minute. After all, with all the supermarket consolidation that has gone on, are our markets any cheaper. Look at the markets that are gone from Southern California: Market Basket (Kroger, now Ralphs), Lucky (now Albertsons), Smiths, Food Giant, Food King, Westward Ho, Safeway (now Vons). Ralphs, which used to be cheap, is now one of the most expensive stores. Don’t believe me? Look at this article from the Daily News. The chart that accompanied the print version of the article showed the Trader Joes was the cheapest of all markets. Ralphs was near the top.
Consolidation doesn’t benefit the consumer. You get less choices, at higher prices.
It also doesn’t benefit the local communities. Go to the Music Center one day. Look at the names of the companies that donate to make major art structures in Los Angeles: Buffums (in fact, the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion was named after Dorothy Buffum Chandler), Robinsons, Broadway, Rockwell, Hughes Aircraft, Litton, TRW, Union Oil, Security Bank. Companies with their corporate HQ in Los Angeles. Where are they now?
Sometimes, I really wonder where society is heading. Sigh.
[Climbs down of soapbox]
