Atlanta’s New Logos: Rich’s-Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, Too

The venerable Rich’s was founded in 1867. If the nameplate disappeared, people would be saddened, at least temporarily. "We’re being sensitive to that," Lundgren said. "Change for people is a little uncomfortable. The real test is in terms of consumer response and we’ll understand that a year from now."

In addition to Macy’s in the Lenox and Perimeter malls, Macy’s units are set to close in early April in downtown Atlanta and at Cumberland, Southlake and Gwinnett Place shopping centers. Macy’s downtown store on Peachtree Street will close. It was the only department store left in downtown Atlanta, and originally was a Davison’s, built in 1910.

Macy’s in Town Center at Cobb will close, but one floor will be converted to a Rich’s-Macy’s furniture gallery that will reopen in the fall. The other floor will be leased or sold for retail use.

Stores becoming Rich’s-Macy’s are the Macy’s at Northlake, as well as Rich’s in Atlanta; Birmingham, Ala.; Athens, Augusta, Columbus, Macon and Savannah, Ga., and Columbia and Greenville, S.C.

The two Bloomingdale’s stores are expected to hire about 500 employees, and the furniture gallery about 25, though 1,500 store-level positions will be lost through the Macy’s closings. Affected employees will be given preference in filling any open positions at Rich’s-Macy’s, as well as in interviewing at Bloomingdale’s.

Overall, the RLG division operates 77 stores and employs more than 16,500 people in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Rich’s store and division employees will not be affected by the changes.

Outside the Atlanta market, Federated will close four other stores, for a total of 11 closings nationally this year. Those closings are Lazarus stores at College Mall in Bloomington, Ind., and Lafayette Square in Indianapolis, a Goldsmith’s at Raleigh Springs in Memphis, and Macy’s in South Brunswick, N.J. This will lead to a net reduction of approximately $100 million in revenues, after the opening of the two Bloomingdale’s. The impact on operating income resulting from the consolidation and store closings is expected to be minimal before one-time costs once the Bloomingdale’s stores open.