Transformation From Hecht's to Macy's Will Be Completed Today
By Ylan Q. Mui
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 9, 2006
Every morning for the past few months, when the lights have flicked on at Hecht's in Metro Center, the store has looked a little bit different -- a little bit more like Macy's.
Sometimes the changes have been small, such as new mattresses for the bedding displays or shiny new wood-and-chrome fixtures. Other times walls have been demolished. On a recent morning, mannequins were outfitted in Macy's latest back-to-school styles to kick off the season's promotions.
Daily morning staff rallies are devoted to Macy's sales strategies. Store manager Larry Kinton reminded associates recently that Macy's targets younger consumers. He urged them to push Macy's credit cards and tickets to the company's charity event, Shop for a Cause. He ended with a review of Macy's customer service mantra.
"Our primary focus every day is what?" Kinton asked.
"The customer," the associates responded in unison. They applauded.
"Let's show our customer how great we are. Big smiles," he said as the meeting broke up.
Today, the transformation will be complete. When stores open this morning, the Hecht's nameplate, along with those of several other regional brands formerly owned by May Department Store Co., will have been replaced by Macy's, part of a plan to create a new national department store chain.
The changeover marks the end of an era in Washington retailing, with Hecht's following local icons Garfinckel's, Woodward & Lothrop and Hechinger's into the history books.
"I think there's nostalgia from everybody," Kinton said. "We're sorry to see it go."
The bell began to toll for Hecht's a year ago, when Macy's parent company, Federated Department Stores Inc., acquired the May company in an $11 billion deal that changed the face of U.S. retailing. May owned several big-name regional department store chains with strong local ties, including Hecht's, Marshall Field's in Chicago and Filene's in Boston. Federated is converting more than 400 May stores into Macy's, while a handful will become Bloomingdale's.
In Washington, all but one Hecht's store has been renamed Macy's. The company is planning ribbon-cutting ceremonies and promotions at all local stores, along with special events at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The freestanding Hecht's store under construction in Chevy Chase will become a Bloomingdale's.
"Our organization has worked extraordinarily hard over the past year to make this enterprise successful," said Ronald Klein, chairman of Macy's East division. "It's department store history. We're turning a page in the history of retailing."
Perhaps no other store in the Washington area embodied Hecht's more than the one downtown. The chain was founded in 1857 by Samuel Hecht, a Baltimore furniture store owner. The downtown store opened on Seventh street in 1896, not the first but the most prominent Hecht's in the Washington area.
In 1985, it moved to its current $40 million marble-and granite location at Metro Center, helping to lead the East End renaissance.
The store is now Macy's flagship in the Washington area. It houses the chain's only Bobbi Brown cosmetics counter in the region and remains the only department store in downtown Washington.
The remnants of Hecht's have disappeared in spurts over the past year. There was the closing of Hecht's headquarters in Arlington in the spring, which resulted in about 600 layoffs, followed by the shuttering of some stores throughout the region. Over the summer, Macy's merchandise began filling Hecht's shelves, and Macy's signs popped up like dandelions in the front yard.
One sunny morning last month, visual director Andi Woung looked expectantly out of the large glass doors at the Metro Center store onto the corner of 12th and G streets, awaiting a delivery.
"Andi, what are you delivering?" Kinton asked.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Woung responded.
The answer became clear when an 18-wheeler parked at the busy intersection: the Charter Club collection, one of Macy's private label brands. The shipment was a day early.
"We need more deliveries," Kinton said, jokingly. "There's more stuff coming every day."
While Hecht's and other May properties relied on coupons to drive sales, Macy's focus is on fashion. Aisles have been cleared and fixtures upgraded. Mannequins are staged on "runways," and jeans are displayed hung, not folded. Employees in Macy's East division must wear all black, an effort to cultivate a chic image and to make them easy to identify.
During one morning rally at Metro Center, a team manager gave associates a rundown of looks for men from Macy's private labels. There was a black zippered jacket and woven shirt from Alfani for "Jack," the neotraditional customer. Contemporary "Eric" might like the tan suit and rumpled lime green shirt by INC, while traditional "Ken" would go for Charter Club's red button-down shirt and striped suit.
Lori Evans, group sales manager for jewelry at Metro Center who has worked at Hecht's for 28 years, said her merchandise has gotten more expensive. The glass cases now display Gucci watches and diamonds.
"It's been a big culture shock for me learning about the higher end of the merchandise," she said.
Macy's hopes the strategy will reenergize the department store sector, which has been squeezed between specialty retailers and big-box discounters. Hecht's in particular struggled to find a niche, burdened by middle-of-the-road merchandise and customers who had grown used to perpetual discounting.
Kinton, 51, remembers the glory days of department stores. Six-foot-four and perfectly polished, Kinton personifies Washington retail. He started his career as a buyer at Garfinckel's. He had intended to stay only a year and then go to law school. But his first week on the job, Garfinckel's held a fashion show of Missoni clothing, and legendary designer Halston -- who created Jacqueline Kennedy's famous pillbox hat -- made a personal appearance.
"I thought I had died and gone to heaven," Kinton said. He never made it to law school.
He joined Hecht's in 1987 as assistant store manager at Tysons Corner and rose to regional vice president, overseeing 15 stores before the merger. When Federated bought May, he was faced with a choice: Leave Washington to maintain his position or become store manager of Metro Center. He chose to stay.
Kinton was a familiar face for many employees at the store. Thalia "Pinky" Sewell even outdates him. She was hired 34 years ago at the F Street location and has worked at the downtown store ever since.
Even today, she said there are associates on every floor that she recognizes from the old days. Like the lady in luggage who was there during her training when she got hired. Sewell still remembers her Hecht's employee number, 112274. Sewell's was 112250.
Macy's has assigned everyone new numbers, but sometimes associates still use the old ones. Old habits die hard.
"Change was slow, in my opinion," Sewell said. "I guess it needed to be slow . . . [But] I feel like it's here, finally."
There have been some culture clashes along the way. On online message boards, employees at some former May stores have grumbled about the requirement that they wear all black and changes to work schedules and commission rates. Wayne Cambrel has worked at the downtown Hecht's for 36 years and said adjusting his sales pitch to customers to the Macy's pricing strategy was a challenge.
"When their [culture] came into ours, it looked like it was upside down," he said. "It's like speaking a foreign language."
It's the little things that have helped change employees' mind-set. Macy's crafted a scripted line for associates to recite when they answer the phone: the name of the department, the associate's name, and then "How can I supply you with outstanding customer service?" Cambrel said. He has perfected his delivery, drawing out the vowels in outstanding.
"Hecht's never was in the thought anymore," he said.
And that, of course, is the goal. Kinton walked through the store this week and surveyed the changes. The visual manager had dressed 53 new mannequins over the weekend, and the Bobbi Brown counter was under construction. Christmas merchandise was already in. The Hecht's name still covered store awnings, but Macy's logo was hiding underneath waiting to be unveiled.
"We are Macy's," Kinton said. "The last piece to change was the name."
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