Marshall Field's becomes Macy's: understanding retail brand

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the controversy surrounding the 2006 extension of the Macy brand to the Marshall Field's stores. Initial reactions, as well as on‐going resistance, to the re‐branding provide a means of understanding of the strength of retail brand, how it is established and whether “symbols and traditions” may be separated from retail brand per se.Design/methodology/approachThe effort of Federated Department Stores (later Macy's Inc.) to rebrand Marshall Field as Macy's offers a unique opportunity to understand retail brand. This paper relies on news accounts for a chronology of events leading up to and following the Marshall Field's re‐branding as Macy's. In addition, analysis of postings to the customer‐originated fieldsfanschicago blog is used to understand, from the consumer's viewpoint, how retail brand is formed and to consider the strength of retail brand.FindingsThe paper concludes that retail brand may be as strong as product brand, that personal experience, as well as retailer‐controlled variables, is strongly associated with retail brand, and that retailer “symbols and traditions” are an integral component of retail brand.Originality/valueThis paper examines retail brand in the context of the extension of family brand. The use of blog posts permits a first‐hand account of how customers perceive retail brand and of how intense their attachment to such brands may be.