Macy's as New Coke: an update

Two years ago Macy's decided to put its name on Chicago icon Marshall Field's, and a year ago they went and did it despite indications Chicagoans wouldn't like it -- because they had survey evidence suggesting it wouldn't be a problem. Here's a story from today's Tribune:

It has been a year since Macy's made its Chicago debut, and the department store chain can't seem to shake the image of a New Yorker trampling on the Second City. Marshall Field's loyalists plan to gather Sunday in front of Macy's on State Street in Chicago to call for the return of the famous moniker, marking the fourth protest organized by the grassroots group Field's Fans Chicago.

Here's what I said two years ago:

Chicagoans might tolerate name changes, but this isn’t any name change – it’s a change to a very New York name. Chicagoans don’t like New York. They would like even less the idea that their cherished local icon has been converted into a despised New York icon. I suspect that the "Chicago Mets" wouldn't do the same business as the Cubs, even in Wrigley Field.

I smell New Coke here. Remember that? Coke asked people about how they would feel about about New Coke, but didn’t tell them that Old Coke would disappear. Big mistake. In this case, did they ask Chicagoans whether they would be less likely to shop at the new Macy's?

Comments

[Fat Man]

I would be a lot more impressed with the argument, if you had presented us year over year comps for the Chicago region and for other regions such as south central Ohio where a regional Federated brand was replaced and those areas, such as New York, where there was no store label change.