''Many of them have closed or relocated, because most of the business is outside downtown,'' he said.
Exceptions can be found in the largest of cities, such as New York and Chicago. But if Federated Department Stores Inc. is going to open a store in downtown Cincinnati, Mr. Loeb said, then the store should be succinct.
Customers will determine whether it is, but executives at Federated think that the new Lazarus to open Nov. 6 is right. In fact, said Carol Sanger, a Federated vice president, the company might not have invested $28 million in the downtown project if Cincinnati were not the home of Federated's corporate offices. Such perspective makes for a carefully planned store.
That said, the new, streamlined, three-story Lazarus at Fountain Place promises to be a manifestation not just of contemporary retail but of modern culture, company executives say. Its smaller floor sizes - 184,000 square feet, compared with 213,400 square feet at Kenwood - elegant structural lines and emphasis on apparel symbolize some of the most profound changes in American lifestyles, such as the exodus from city housing and the increasing number of working women.
''The suburban shopping centers have really killed the downtown department stores,'' said Rudolph Javosky, senior vice president of design and construction at Federated. ''This (store) represents the rebirth of the downtown department store to meet the needs of the 21st century.''
In a handbag, this means that the new Lazarus will be easier to maneuver so shopping is faster, particularly for women,
who represent more than 80 percent of all of Federated's customers. This will be balanced with merchandise aimed at trigiggering across-the-board spending and impulse buying from regulars and out-of-town visitors.
As analyst Jeff Stein, with McDonald & Co. in Cleveland, put it, the trend in the past decade is to shop in the suburbs. Most people who shop downtown aren't making a day of it.
That flies in the face of institutional thinking, which dictates a design that keeps shoppers in the store longer. But the realization that most downtown consumers are office workers with less discretionary time than discretionary cash prompts efforts to just get them in.
Quality, not size
''It's not the size of the store, it's the quality of the merchandise and the service that comes with it,'' said Michael Lopez, a store designer and planner based in McHenry, Ill. ''The customer wants convenience within the store. To be able to feel comfortable in the store, to be able to shop the store conveniently.''
As such, the new Lazarus is more open and brighter than its sister stores, reflecting what Mr. Javosky calls an ''emerging era in merchandising,'' where comfort and speed are highly valued.
It goes beyond the Italian marble floors and African wood veneers. The centrally located store will employ more workers - 170, compared with 140 at the old store - and not-so-subtle elements to make it more fluid and with that, more comforting and pleasurable.
To wit: An open sight-line - creating an ability to see all departments - can quicken a spending spree for the harried lunch-time shopper. The cosmetics department will include displays of products that consumers can grab without the help of a salesperson. And lots of windows will help visitors - particularly out-of-town conventioneers - orient themselves.
Meanwhile, presentation will be designed to encourage more I've-gotta-have-it purchases - crucial in a store that relies on short shopping trips. A heavy emphasis on ''vendor shops'' or boutiques - 22 in all - will allow Lazarus to not only sell sweaters and crystal but a lifestyle. In other words, the purchase goes beyond the product to represent a certain sense of being - casual, sophisticated or earth-conscious, retail specialists say.
And by boutiquing by brand, the lifestyle can extend from underwear to housewares. Consider how Ralph Lauren has gone from tweedy jackets to bedroom linens.
More open, upbeat
Mr. Javosky calls it the look of an urban store that focuses on professional women and men.
''It's very elegant, it's more upbeat, it's more open, and (there's) a little more sophistication in it,'' he said.
Even the lack of a restaurant or cafe in the new Lazarus reflects the patterns of the downtown shopper. Mr. Javosky said a restaurant is expected to be built in the building complex housing the store, Tiffany & Co. and Brooks Brothers, which contributed to the company's decision. But Mr. Loeb, the industry analyst, said a downtown store could not justify the cost of a restaurant, since downtown shoppers typically return to the suburbs after work.
''In downtown, people want to come in, get it and get out,'' he said.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
NEW VS. OLD
HISTORY
