BY LISA BIANK FASIG
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Cincinnatians who have been complaining that they can't shop at Macy's will find this week that the major department store chain is coming to them -- in their mailbox.
Federated Department Stores Inc. this week is launching its Macy's By Mail catalog in an initial delivery of 2 million books nationally. The Queen City will be among the markets to receive the 120-page debut catalog, described as a Macy's "store without doors."
"Cincinnati is one of the markets that is getting the catalog and, in fact, is a target market for us because it is one of those major markets nationally where Macy's does not trade," said Carol Sanger, a vice president of Federated, Macy's parent.
The move is a bid to both broaden and capitalize on the world-known Macy's -- a division Federated acquired four years ago. And it is a less costly way for Federated to expand. Chief Executive James Zimmerman this year said the retailer would consider catalogs and the Internet as alternative methods of growth.
Federated in October will launch Macys.Com. It will operate as a subsidiary of Federated, controlled by its Macy's West division. William Dean, publisher of the Dean Report, a San Francisco-based catalog newsletter, said more retailers are turning to catalogs for a number of reasons:
They extend the store name to the states and locations where the store doesn't operate.
They are profit centers. As Mr. Dean put it: "They are a lot cheaper than going out."
They build brands. A catalog helps retailers extend their private brand names beyond the store walls.
Macy's By Mail will include Federated's private labels, such as I.N.C., Charter Club and Alfani. It also will include popular national names, such as Liz Claiborne, Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren and products for the home.
About 12 catalog editions will be mailed in its first year. Macy's By Mail is expected to evolve into a larger format, eventually averaging more than 200 pages. Additional lines, including children's, juniors, young men's and table top, will be added in the coming months. More than 10 million copies will be mailed in the fall, and at least 25 million are scheduled to be mailed in 1999, the catalog's first full year of operation.
Macy's By Mail will use resources from Federated's Bloomingdale's By Mail in Cheshire, Conn., Macy's East division, Federated Merchandising Group in New York and Federated Financial and Credit Services in Mason.
The catalog will operate from a Federated customer file of more than 58 million accounts. Macy's operates stores in 21 states. The closest store to the Tristate is in Washington, D.C.
