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Marshall Field's

Slogan	"As Chicago as it gets."
Fate	locations re-branded as Macy's in 2006
Successor	Macy's
Founded	1852
Defunct	2006
Location	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Industry	Department store
Key people	Marshall Field, Levi Leiter, Potter Palmer, Harry Gordon Selfridge, John G. Shedd
Parent	Federated Department Stores (now Macy's, Inc.) (2005 - 2006) May Department Stores (2004 - 2005) Dayton-Hudson Corporation (later Target Corporation) (1990 - 2004) BATUS Inc. (1982 - 1990)
Subsidiary	The Crescent Frederick & Nelson, Halle Bros.

Marshall Field's was an iconic Chicago, Illinois, department store that grew to become a major chain before being acquired by Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores on August 30, 2005.

The former flagship store on State Street in The Loop of downtown Chicago was officially renamed Macy's on State Street on September 9, 2006, and is now the flagship store of Federated Department Stores' Macy's North division and one of three national flagship locations for Macy's.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early Years 1.2 After the Great Fire 1.3 State Street store 1.4 Shedd Era 1.5 First Branch stores and Frango 1.6 Suburban expansion 1.7 BATUS 1.8 Dayton Hudson/Target and May 1.9 Federated/Macy's Inc. 1.10 Landmark store today 1.11 Conversion to Macy's & Customer Boycott 2 Firsts, noted events, community leadership 3 Sources 4 References 5 External links

Marshall Field & Company traces its antecedents to a dry goods store opened at 137 Lake Street^[1] in Chicago in 1852 by Potter Palmer, eponymously named P. Palmer & Co.. Four years later, in 1856, 21-year-old Marshall Field moved to Chicago from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, finding work at the city's then largest dry goods firm, Cooley, Wadsworth & Co. Just prior to the Civil War, in 1860, Field and bookkeeper Levi Leiter became junior partners in the firm, then know as Cooley, Farwell & Co. In 1864 the firm, then led by senior partner John V. Farwell, was renamed Farwell, Field & Co.^[2] only for Field and Leiter to soon withdraw from the partnership when presented with the opportunity of a lifetime.^[3]

Potter Palmer, plagued by ailing health, was looking to dispose of his thriving business, so on January 4, 1865, Field and Leiter entered into partnership with him and his brother Milton Palmer. P. Palmer & Co. became Field, Palmer, Leiter & Co., with Palmer financing much of their initial capital as well as his own contribution. After Field and Leiter's success enabled them to pay him back, Palmer withdrew from the partnership in 1867 to focus on his growing real-estate interests on State Street. His brother Milton left at this time as well. The store was renamed Field, Leiter & Co., sometimes referred to as "Field & Leiter".

The buy out, however, did not bring an end to Potter Palmer's association with the firm. In 1868, Palmer convinced Field and Leiter to lease a new, six-story edifice^[4] he had built at the northeast corner of State and Washington Streets. The store was soon referred to as the "Marble Palace" due to its costly marble face. The store burned to the ground during the Great Chicago Fire in October 1871, but Field showed his resilience first by organizing a hurried rescue of some of its best merchandise, and second by establishing a temporary store within weeks in an old street railway barn at 20th and State Streets. In April 1872 Field and Leiter reopened in an unburned building at Madison and Market Streets (today's West Wacker Drive).

In October 1873, Field and Leiter returned to State Street, opening in a new five-story store at their old location they leased from Singer Sewing Machine Company, Palmer having sold the site to finance his own rebuilding activities. This store was expanded in 1876, only to be destroyed by fire again in November 1877. Ever tenacious, Field and Leiter had a new temporary store opened by the end of the month at a lakefront exposition hall they leased from the city, located at what is now the site of the Art Institute of Chicago. Meanwhile the Singer company had speculatively built a new, even larger, six-story building on the ruins of their old store, which after some contention, was personally bought by Field and Leiter. Field, Leiter & Co. reclamed their traditional location at the northeast corner of State and Washington for the last time in April 1879.

In January 1881 Field, with the support of his junior partners, bought Levi Leiter out, renaming the business Marshall Field & Co.. As Palmer had before, Leiter retired to tend his significant real estate investments, which included commissioning a department store building at State Street and Van Buren to house Siegel, Cooper & Co. In 1932 this building was leased to mail-order firm Sears, Roebuck & Co.

In 1887, the landmark seven-story Henry Hobson Richardson-designed Marshall Field's Wholesale Store opened at Franklin between Quincy and Adams. Though little remembered today, the wholesale division sold merchandise in bulk to smaller merchants throughout the central and western United States and at this time did six times the sales volume of the retail store. Chicago's juncture at the center of the country's railroads and Great Lakes shipping made it the center of the dry goods wholesaling business by the 1870s, with Field's former partner John V. Farwell being his largest rival. It was the scale of the profits generated by the John G. Shedd-led^[4] wholesale division during this time that made Marshall Field the richest man in Chicago and one of the richest in the country.

Following the departure of Leiter, the retail store began to grow in importance. Though it continued to remain a fraction of the size of the wholesale division, its opulent building and luxurious merchandise helped differentiate Marshall Field's from the other wholesale dry goods merchants in town. In 1887, Harry Gordon Selfridge was appointed to lead the retail store and headed it as it evolved into a modern department store. That same year Field personally obtained Leiter's remaining interest in the 1879 Singer building and in 1888 started buying the buildings adjoining his for additional floor space.

In 1892, the structures between the 1879 building and Wabash Avenue to the east were demolished and D.H. Burnham & Company was commissioned to erect a new building in anticipation of the influx of visitors from the World's Columbian Exposition. The nine-story "Annex" at the northwest corner of Wabash and Washington was opened under the direction of Burnham associate Charles B. Atwood^[5] in August 1893, towards the end of the exposition. In 1897, the old 1879 store was rebuilt and had two additional floors added, while the first of Marshall Field's Great Clocks was installed at the corner of Washington and State Streets on November 26.^[6]

In 1901, Marshall Field & Company was incorporated, converting from a private partnership. Spurred on by Selfridge, Marshall Field razed the three buildings north of it which had been occupied since 1888, as well as the Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan-designed 1879 Central Music Mall at the southeast corner of State and Randolph in 1901. In their place rose a massive, twelve-story building fronting on State Street in 1902, including a grand new entranceway. In 1906, a third new building opened on Wabash Avenue north of the 1893 structure, which had now become the oldest part of the store.

In the midst of all this work to build its State Street retail store, Selfridge resigned abruptly from the company in 1904, buying rival Schlesinger & Mayer, before selling it only three months later. Interestingly enough Schlesinger & Mayer in 1899 had commissioned the Louis Sullivan-designed building now known as the Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building, which is the firm to which Selfridge sold the business. After trying retirement he went on to establish Selfridges in London.

• Marshall Field's is at coordinates 41°53′02″N 87°37′38″W / 41.883799, -87.627150Coordinates: 41°53′02″N 87°37′38″W / 41.883799, -87.627150

Marshall Field died on January 16, 1906 in New York City. On the day of his funeral, all the stores along State Street, big and small, closed and the Chicago Board of Trade suspended afternoon trading in his honor.^[4] The board of Marshall Field and Company appointed John Shedd, whom Field had once called "the greatest merchant in the United States," to serve as the company's new president.^[4] Shedd became president of a company that employed 12,000 people in Chicago (two-thirds of them in retail) and was doing about $25 million in yearly retail sales in addition to nearly $50 million wholesale.^[3]

Under Shedd's leadership Marshall Field & Co. continued the rebuilding of its store, fulfilling plans approved by Marshall Field to pull down the 1879 structure later in 1906. In its stead rose a new south State Street building, a continuation of the 1902 facade. Opened in September 1907 it included a Tiffany Ceiling that is both the first and largest ceiling ever built in favrile iridescent glass, containing over 1.6 million pieces. With completion of the 1907 building, Field's now momentarily claimed the title of "largest department store" over John Wanamaker & Co. in Philadelphia and R.H. Macy & Co. in New York.

In 1912, the 16-story Trude Building at the southwest corner of Wabash and Randolph, was acquired and demolished, an act that was considered to be one of the first if not the first demolition of a high-rise.^[7] In its place rose the 1914 building by Graham, Burnham & Co., completing the present-day store and encompassing the entire city block bounded by Washington, State, Wabash, and Randolph Streets.

Also, in 1914, Graham, Burnham supervised the opening of a new twenty-story Marshall Field Annex across the street at 25 East Washington Store, which housed "Marshall Field's Store for Men" on its first six floors. These buildings recaptured its status as the world's largest department store, its many restaurants and separate men's and women's lounges becoming an important social destination for Chicago.

Shedd continued to expand Field's wholesale business and grew its manufacturing business, buying textile mills in the South in 1911 (see Cannon Mills Company), as well as overseeing the purchase of the Marshall Field Trust's interest in the business in 1917. The Field Family retained only a ten percent stake. John Shedd retired late in 1922.

James Simpson was appointed president following Shedd's retirement. Though considered to have favored the declining wholesale division, he did expand its retail operations, first buying A. M. Rothschild & Co. at State Street and Jackson Boulevard in December 1923, which Field's operated as a discount store call "The Davis Store". In 1924 the 1893-1914 buildings that the store occupied were acquired from the Marshall Field Trust.

The first branch of Marshall Field's itself opened at Market Square in Lake Forest, Illinois in May 1928.^[4] In September 1928 its first branch in Evanston, Illinois followed, before relocating to a French Renaissance-style building at Sherman Avenue and Church Street in November 1929.^[8] The Oak Park, Illinois store opened in September 1929 in a building similar to the Evanston store.^[9]

Since the early twentieth century, Field's clientèle consisted of white middle to upper class people. Unlike other Chicago department stores, Field's did not advertise in the ethnic and one-cent newspapers. The high prices deterred the working-class from the store or kept their patronage to a minimum. Amongst African-Americans, Field's was known as one of the least-inviting department stores. Black Chicagoans were often denied service or at the very least steered to the close-out department in the basement. One white reporter acknowledged in 1929, "Marshall Field's... are emphatic upon the point that they do not wish Colored patronage. One seldom finds a Colored person in the store, and never have I seen one on the upper floors.... Occasionally, I have run across a Colored woman or two in the basement, but even there they are given scant attention."^[10]

Frederick & Nelson, a department store founded in Seattle, Washington in 1890 was also acquired in 1929, with its own 1914 building at Pike Street and Fifth Avenue. Frederick & Nelson retained its name, though their logo was soon rewritten in Field's iconic script. But more importantly for Field's history, Frederick & Nelson also brought with its Frango chocolate and mints brand that became so identified with Field's. Field's candy kitchen at the State Street soon began producing the confections.

Marshall Field & Co. became a public company in 1930 just as the Great Depression hit, but needed capital due to the expense of opening the Merchandise Mart to house its flagging wholesale division. With ground broken in 1927 during the boom times, when the Mart opened in 1930 it was the largest building in the world. The 1887 Wholesale Store was closed and demolished at this time. But the new building, faced with a change in retail distribution and wholesale patterns, along with the Great Depression, could not save the division. Simpson left the company and James O. McKinsey, founder of the consulting firm was brought in to clean up the company. The wholesale division, once the core of the company was liquidated by 1936. The Davis Store was closed in 1936 as well, and its building sold to Goldblatts. And in 1939 the land underlying the main store was acquired from the Marshall Field Trust. Meanwhile, McKinsey also reorganized the company's vertically integrated operations, notably by merging the company's varied textile operations under the Fieldcrest name.

Following World War II, the Merchandise Mart building was sold to Joseph P. Kennedy in 1945, significantly improving the companies finances, enabling the store to cope with the post-war suburban boom. Marshall Field's presciently followed its customers to their new homes, with a store at pioneering developer Philip M. Klutznick's Park Forest Plaza opened in 1950.

In 1956, Klutznick and Field's jointly opened Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie, Illinois, a center Klutznick developed on land Field's already owned and including a Field' store. Mayfair Mall in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin was opened in 1959, and stores at further Klutznick-led centers came at Oakbrook Center in Oak Brook, Illinois in 1962, and River Oaks Center in Calumet City, Illinois in 1966.

In 1962, Field's acquired The Crescent department store in Spokane, Washington, and, in 1970, the Halle Brothers Co., a leading department store in Cleveland, Ohio, but continued to focus on building its hometown base, with a store at Woodfield Center in Schaumburg in 1971.

CherryVale Mall in Rockford and Hawthorn Center in Vernon Hills followed in 1973, and stores at Water Tower Place in Chicago and Fox Valley Center in Aurora in 1975. The suburban expansion continued in 1976 with a location at Orland Square in Orland Park and then came the Louis Joliet Mall store in Joliet in 1978. In 1979, Marshall Field's expanded into Texas with a store at The Galleria in Houston.

The year 1980 saw the acquisition of J.B. Ivey Co., a department store chain with roots in Charlotte, North Carolina and Jacksonville, Florida, The Union Co. in Columbus, Ohio, the Lipmans stores in Portland, Oregon and several Liberty House stores in Washington state. Field's existing Frederick & Nelson unit in Seattle absorbed the Lipmans and Liberty House stores, but after initially merging The Union with its Halle's unit, Field's decided to sell the combined chain in November 1981, the new owners quickly liquidating it.

The early 1980s was a slower growth period for building stores, with just two locations added, one in October 1980 at Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee and in 1981 at Stratford Square Mall in Bloomingdale. Another Texas store came at the Dallas Galleria, in Dallas, Texas in 1982.

In 1982, Marshall Field & Co. ceased to be a public company, being acquired by B.A.T. British-American Tobacco. As part of BATUS Retail Group, the American retailing arm of B.A.T., Field's and its Frederick & Nelson, Ivey's and The Crescent department stores and John Brueners home furnishings stores joined Gimbels, Saks Fifth Avenue and Kohl's. Field's continued to expand under BATUS, adding stores at Houston's Town & Country Mall in 1983, and at North Star Mall in San Antonio in 1986.

Only four years after buying Marshall Field's, BATUS scaled back its retail operations in 1986, selling Field's former subsidiaries Frederick & Nelson and The Crescent to a local investor group. Frederick & Nelson quickly deteriorated, and it became defunct in 1992. Its 1914 building, the one acquired by Field's in 1929 was eventually bought by Nordstrom and renovated and reopened as a replacement for their own Seattle parent store in 1998.

Gimbels was wound down at this time, and Field's used this as an opportunity to add five former Gimbels locations in Wisconsin: downtown Milwaukee, Northridge Mall and Southridge Mall in suburban Milwaukee, Hilldale Shopping Center in Madison and in downtown Appleton. The former Gimbels Northridge and Southridge locations were retained only 3 years before being sold to H.C. Prange Co. of Sheyboygan after poor performance in 1989.

The 1929 Evanston and Oak Park stores were closed as well in 1986, deemed out of date and too costly to operate. But, in 1987, a major restoration and renovation of the State Street flagship commenced.

BATUS initially retained Saks Fifth Avenue, Marshall Field's and Ivey's, but subsequently sold all its remaining U.S. retail assets in 1990 with Saks being acquired by Bahrain-based Investcorp, Ivey's being sold to Dillard's and Marshall Field's being sold to Dayton Hudson Corporation (now Target Corporation).

As part of Dayton Hudson, later renamed Target Corporation, Marshall Field's retained its nameplate, but its buying operations and Chicago headquarters merged with the Dayton's stores and the Hudson's stores under the Dayton Hudson Department Store Company, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Under the leadership of president Dan Skoda, Dayton Hudson completed the magnificent $115 million restoration of the State Street store, including the creation of the south atrium and Daniel Burnham-designed "lost fountain" originally designed but never implemented back in 1902-1907. A strategy was set in motion to enhance Marshall Field's image by bringing in more designer brands, in-store specialty boutiques and a focus on quality, service and value. Resulting sales increases were encouraging, and the customer response showed that foundation for Marshall Field's future was being built. Additional store openings included one at Columbus City Center in Columbus, Ohio in 1989, a mall built on the site of the once Field's-owned The Union Co./Halle's. Also, in 1991, the former Gimbels in downtown Appleton was closed when new sister-division Dayton's opened a mall-based store there.

A new store at Northbrook Court in Northbrook, Illinois came in 1995 with extensive use of marble and hand-tufted carpeting, the first Chicago area store in 14 years. A similar Hudson's store, later converted to Marshall Field's, was also constructed in 1998-99 at the Rivertown Crossings Mall in suburban Grand Rapids, MI. 1996 saw the building of a new full-line store at The Mall at Tuttle Crossing in suburban Dublin, Ohio as well as two stand-alone furniture galleries near its Oak Brook and Schaumburg stores. The closure of the first "modern" Field's suburban branch at Park Forest Plaza came in 1996.

In 1997, Marshall Field's pulled out of the Texas market selling its four locations at The Galleria and Town & Country Mall in Houston, Galleria Dallas and San Antonio's North Star Mall. The Houston and Dallas stores were sold to Saks Fifth Avenue and the San Antonio location to Macy's. Field's also shuttered the former Gimbels flagship in Milwaukee after negotiations to rehabilitate it collapsed.

Dayton's and Hudson's stores were renamed Marshall Field's in early 2001, an event that was received with mixed emotion in Dayton's hometown of Minneapolis and Hudson's hometown of Detroit, expanding the Field's name to 64 stores in eight states. In 2003 Marshall Field's posted $106 million in profits and sold its two Columbus, Ohio, locations to May Department Stores Company, which reopened them as Kaufmann's.

In the first quarter of 2004 Field's sales revenues grew by 6.1%. On July 30, 2004, the Marshall Field division (along with property from nine shuttered Minneapolis-area locations from Mervyn's, another unit of Target Corporation) was sold to the May Department Stores Company. The then 62 Marshall Field's store division was valued for sale at US$3.25 billion.

Prior to its acquisition by May Department Stores Co., Marshall Field's had about 25,000 employees in 62 stores. It operated in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. May Company closed a former Dayton's store at Kirkwood Mall in Bismarck, North Dakota and a Hudson's store at Glenbrook Square in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Federated Department Stores acquired May Department Stores on August 30, 2005, consolidating the last two major traditional department store holding companies. Just three weeks later, Federated announced that all Marshall Field's stores would convert to the Macy's nameplate in fall 2006 and that 6,200 former Field's and other May Company employees would be fired nationwide, a decision said to be consistent with previously announced estimates to realize approximately $175 million in cost synergies in 2006 and $450 million in annual cost synergies in 2007 and beyond.

On February 1, 2006, the Marshall Field's corporate division was renamed the Macy's North Division of Federated Department Stores. On September 9, 2006, all its operating stores were converted to Macy's.

The Former Dolce & Gabbana Collection Space
August 2006 dissassembly of the Dolce & Gabbana Collection at State Street. August 2006 dissassembly of the Dolce & Gabbana Collection at State Street.

The re-branding decision was greeted with largely negative reactions, particularly in Field's hometown of Chicago. Newspaper articles and editorials reported concerns of many customers that Marshall Field's appeal to tourists and the value of Field's State Street store as the third most popular tourist destination - attracting 9 Million customers each year and unique to Chicago - would be lost and in particular traditions, services, and products unique to a store or region would be lost. More than 59,000 signed an online petition^[11] to retain the Marshall Field name. Following the 2005 Christmas shopping season, WLS-TV in Chicago reported particularly strong sales at the chain's State Street flagship.

Marshall Field's continued to be a purveyor of Marshall Field's brand name apparel, Field's Marketplace foods and Frango confections until September 9, 2006 at which time Macy's name change and merchandise transitions were complete. The merger remains controversial among Chicagoans. Many cherish the many Field's traditions shared by generations, while others note that Macy's focus on house-brand merchandise, secondary lines and elimination of more upscale brands carried by Marshall Field's are unwelcome changes. Many of the internationally respected designer collections carried by Field's have either been eliminated completely or significantly reduced by Macy's to only cosmetic and limited accessories only, including lines by Armani, Prada, Jimmy Choo, Etro, Balenciaga, Yves St. Laurent, Dior, Narcisso Rodriguez, Chloe, Gucci, Helmut Lang, Alexander McQueen, and Dolce & Gabbana. In addition to Macy's private label brands, including INC, Alfani, Tasso Elba, and Charter Club, Macy's added collections by Donald Trump and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. Its home and furniture collections resulted in the elimination of Herman Miller and Baker furniture and the addition of the Martha Stewart Collection and Macy's house brands.

Although the conversion officially occurred on September 9, 2006, it was implemented on a phased basis by early August, as signified by such events as Macy's cars entered in the Bud Billiken Day Parade,^[12] and Macy's displays in store windows. The changes instituted by Federated were not well received by former Field's shoppers, as manifested by a drop in sales in the Macy's North division stores.^[13] Resistance was even noted in the Twin Cities.^[14]

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can (December 2007).

The Marshall Field and Company store at State and Washington Streets in Chicago was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and is part of the Loop Retail National Historic District. With approximately two million square feet of available floor space, the building is the second-largest department store in the United States. Between 1987 under BATUS ownership Field's State Street store underwent significant restoration. in 2004, while Field's was under Dayton Hudson/Target's ownership, the City of Chicago honored Marshall Field's and celebrated the completion of another, more extensive $115 Million restoration to the landmark State Street store. Renovations to the building included the installation of new lower-level shops, removal of steel grates from the upper portions of the store's historic light wells, and addition an eleven-story atrium in what had been an alley and mid-store light shaft. Customers responded well to Field's improvements and Field's posted profitable growth in 2004 and 2005, prior to Macy's takeover.

In 2004, coinciding with the grand reopening of Field's State Street store, Field's introduced significant upgrades to merchandise and introduction of innovative luxury vendor relationships in which 10% of the floor was space leased to outside vendors in a manner similar to Selfridge's in London. Selfridges was founded by a former Field's executive Harry Selfridge who based his business model on Marshall Field's. The Selfridge's building in London was based on the architecture of the Marshall Field's store.

Prior to the takeover by Federated and conversion to Macy's, the Marshall Field's State Street flagship store attracted more than 9 million visitors each year and was Chicago's third most popular tourist destination.

Following strong 2005 holiday sales in the division, as well as the exceptionally strong negative reaction to the name change, Federated claimed to examine the possibility of retaining some active use of the Field's name, including retaining the Marshall Field name on the flagship State Street store.^[15] Due to landmark status of the building, Federated was required to retain the bronze plaques bearing the Marshall Field name on the flagship State Street store, however the name of the store was officially changed to "Macy's on State Street". A Chicago Field's sports theme restaurant remains, thus allowing Federated to prove active use of the Marshall Field's name for trademark law purposes.^[16][17]

On April 27, 2006, Macy's announced that the Marshall Field name would not be retained on the State Street store,^[18] instead renaming it as Macy's on State Street, a specialized divisional flagship store with some features unique to this single location, including the continuation of certain Marshall Field's traditions under the Macy's name. Additional exterior and interior renovations are planned over the next several years to rebrand the building as Macy's and to better suit the EDV (Every Day Value) pricing strategy. Macy's also added self-service price scanners and shopping carts.

In spite of the rebranding, Federated will be required to keep the iconic Marshall Field nameplate and the famous Field's clocks due to the landmark status of the building.^[19] Much to the disappointment of many in Chicago, the traditional dark green Marshall Field's awnings (and their bronze hardware) have been replaced with Macy's black awnings featuring the bright red star logo. Marshall Field's "As Chicago as it gets" slogan has been replaced with Macy's slogan, "Way to Shop". Among the enhancements promised at the State Street location, Federated announced that limited demonstration production of Frango mints would resume; however, the majority of the production would remain in non-unionized facilities outside of Illinois.

Prior to Federated Department Stores' decision to convert Marshall Field's stores to Macy's, more than 60,000 people signed a petition in opposition to the change and to threaten to boycott if Macy's replaced Marshall Field's. Furthermore, prior to the conversion, 96% of an unprecedented 14,000 respondents to a Chicago Tribune poll voiced their opposition to the change. Nevertheless, Federated Department Stores Chairman, President and CEO Terry Lundgren defended his decision to eliminate Marshall Field's with an unsubstantiated reference to his own internal research that he claimed showed that Chicago was indifferent or positive about the change to Macy's.^{[citation needed]} Numerous news media polls, including one conducted in July 2007 by WBBM-TV (CBS 2), show that 70% of those responding are "angry" with Macy's for replacing Marshall Field's and refuse to shop at any Macy's store, an additional 10% don't like Macy's goods, services and pricing, 17% are "disappointed, but might still shop at Macy's, and only 5% are neutral about the changes. According to these results, the opinion of the general population in Chicago remains relatively unchanged almost one year after Macy's replaced Marshall Field's. 95% of those surveyed are angry and disappointed with Macy's changes and only 5% are neutral.

On September 9, 2006, a protest was held in front of the landmark State Street store. Hundreds of protesters held signs reading "Field's is Chicago!", "Boycott Macy's!" and "Give the lady what she wants... Marshall Field's!" (a reference to a now famous quote by Marshall Field). Many demonstrators cut up Macy's credit cards to demonstrate their feelings about the loss of the Marshall Field's name. Boycott proponents, via the website FieldsFansChicago.org [4], have since advocated continued feedback from Marshall Field's customers. Along with weekly leafleting sessions, FieldsFansChicago.org has also sponsored two subsequent protests in front of the State Street store on November 24, 2006 and May 6, 2007.^[20] A fourth protest sponsored by the group FieldsFansChicago.org took place on the one year anniversary of the conversion September 9, 2007. Over 200 protesters chanted "Field's is Chicago. Boycott Macy's!" ^[21] The group has also distributed over 66,000 leaflets--and almost as many buttons and lapel stickers--outside the State Street store and elsewhere asking shoppers to boycott Macy's and Bloomingdale's until Field's is restored. ^[22]

Macy's has replaced more than 30% of the merchandise formerly carried by Marshall Field's with Macy's own private label brands such as Alfani, INC, Tasso Elba and Charter Club. Macy's private label brands provide the company with higher profit margins and eliminate dependence on outside vendors. While some recognized name brand merchandise formerly carried by Marshall Field's has been retained by Macy's, in many cases only the less expensive secondary lines or a limited selection of accessories are carried by Macy's.

In November of 2007, however, Macy's announced that it would no longer try to lure angry and upset Marshall Field's shoppers to their stores this Christmas season and said they would now be trying to lure new customers. Macy's will focus primarily on the State Street store, adding an FAO Schwarz floor, a wine bar to the Walnut Room, as well as having Martha Stewart decorate the Christmas Tree in the Walnut Room. ^[23]

During Federated's 2007 annual shareholder's meeting in Cincinnati, a Federated executive told the Chicago Tribune that sales at the former Marshall Field's stores were "no better or worse" than other converted May Co. stores. However, the flagship State Street store, which the exec said was "doing badly", was an exception.^{[citation needed]}

As of August 2007, there are five class action lawsuits brought against Macy's by shareholders claiming that Macy's deceived investors by failing to disclose the poor performance of converted Marshall Field's and other May Company stores. A similar class action lawsuit was filed in June 2007 by former Macy's employees who own shares of Macy's stock.

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (January 2007)

Among the "firsts" by Marshall Field's was the concept of the department store tea room. In the 19th century, ladies shopping downtown returned home for lunch; having lunch at a downtown restaurant unescorted by a gentleman was considered unlady-like. But after a Marshall Field's clerk shared her lunch with a tired shopper (a chicken pot pie), Field's hit on the idea of opening a department store tea room, so that women shoppers would not feel the need to make two trips to complete their shopping. To this day, the Walnut Room serves the traditional Mrs. Herring's chicken pot pie.

That is just one among many innovations by Marshall Field's. Field's had the first European buying office, which was located in Manchester, England and the first bridal registry. It was the first store to offer revolving credit and the first store to use escalators. Marshall Field's book department was legendary; it pioneered the concept of the "book signing." Every year at Christmas, Marshall Field's downtown store windows were filled with animated displays as part of the downtown shopping district display.

Marshall Field was famous for his slogan "Give the lady what she wants." He was also famous for his integrity, character and community philanthropy and leadership.^[24]

Field, the store he created, and his successor John G. Shedd are largely responsible for Chicago's prominence throughout the world in business, art, culture, and education. The Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum of Natural History (In 1905, the museum's name was changed to Field Museum of Natural History to honor the Museum's first major benefactor, Marshall Field),^[25] the Museum of Science and Industry, the John G. Shedd Aquarium, and the University of Chicago all owe their existence in part to the vision, leadership, generosity, and success of Marshall Field's.^[26]

At the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, Marshall Field's leadership and generosity ensured that the 26 million visitors to Chicago from 46 different countries would be amazed and inspired to bring to their homes a vision that influenced the course of development in Chicago and throughout the world. Many people say that Marshall Field's is Chicago, because Chicago wouldn't exist as it does today had it not been for Marshall Field's.

• Jazz Age Chicago (2006) Marshall Field and Company history
• Encyclopedia Britannica Comprehensive article on Marshall Field's
• Jazz Age Chicago (1997) Main store history
• Dan Skoda and his colleagues are bringing new sparkle to Marshall Field's #148, September 1995, Illinois Retail Merchants Association, April 23, 2003
• One last stroll down memory lane before big change, KARE11.com, April 5, 2006
• Field's last days Chicago Tribune series
• FieldsFansChicago.org Marshall Field's fans blog and Macy's boycott site
• Darrid.Com A Tribute to Marshall Field's
• Bring Back Marshall Field's Desiring a Return of Marshall Field's

v • d • e Store conversions to Macy's

2006: Famous-Barr | Filene's | Foley's | Hecht's | The Jones Store | Kaufmann's | L. S. Ayres | Marshall Field's | Meier & Frank | Robinsons-May | Strawbridge's 2005: The Bon Marché | Burdines | Goldsmith's | Lazarus | Rich's    2001: Liberty House | Stern's 1996: The Broadway | Bullock's | Emporium-Capwell | The Emporium | Jordan Marsh | Weinstock's 1995: Abraham & Straus    1986: Bamberger's | Davison's    1984: LaSalle & Koch    1949: John Taylor Dry Goods Co.    1947: O'Connor, Moffat & Co.

v • d • e History of Marshall Field's
Former Parent Companies:  BATUS | Target Corporation | May Department Stores | Macy's Inc. Associated Stores:  Frederick & Nelson | The Crescent | Ivey's     Store Conversions:  Dayton's | Hudson's Related Topics:  Marshall Field | Marshall Field's Wholesale Store | Frango

v • d • e City of Chicago
History · Neighborhoods · Places and Landmarks · Parks · Architecture · Culture · Theatre · Sports · Media · Colleges and Universities · Flag · Public Schools · Economy · Government · Geography · Climate · Metropolitan Area · Hip hop Scene