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Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Department store |
Predecessor | J.W. Robinson's May Company California Goldwaters Foley's |
Founded | February 1, 1993 |
Defunct | September 9, 2006 |
Fate | Acquired by Macy's & Bloomingdale's |
Successor | Macy's Bloomingdale's |
Headquarters | Los Angeles, California |
Area served | Southern California, Nevada, Arizona |
Products | Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares. |
Parent | The May Department Stores Company (1993-2005) Federated Department Stores, Inc. (2005-2006) |
Website | Archived official website at the Wayback Machine (archive index) |
Robinsons-May was a chain of department stores operating in Southern California, Arizona, and Nevada, from 1993 until 2006. It was created when May Department Stores combined two of its chains, May Company California and J. W. Robinson's chains. Its headquarters was at the former May Company California headquarters at its Laurel Plaza store in North Hollywood, Los Angeles. When Federated took over May Department Stores Company on August 30, 2005, Robinsons-May was dissolved, with some stores becoming branches of Macy's, while others were closed, sold, or transformed into branches of Bloomingdale's. Robinsons-May had 45 stores.
The double-barreled Robinsons-May name was created in 1993 when the former May Company California was consolidated with their corporate sibling JW Robinson's. [1] May Department Stores had acquired Robinson's with its 1986 acquisition of Associated Dry Goods Corp. J. W. Robinson's had been acquired by Associated Dry Goods in 1957, while May Company California had been established in 1923 when May acquired the then-named A. Hamburger & Sons (founded in 1881 by Asher Hamburger).
Both chains had operated exclusively in Southern California until 1989 when May Department Stores had dissolved its Goldwaters division, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, and apportioned its Phoenix metropolitan and Las Vegas, Nevada, stores between the still separate J. W. Robinson's and May Company California. In 1997 Robinsons-May absorbed the Tucson-area locations of sister division Foley's, which were themselves the remains of the former Levy's and Sanger-Harris stores. Robinsons-May was further consolidated with Portland, Oregon-based Meier & Frank in 2002, which retained its individual nameplate, but merged its primary headquarters into Robinsons-May's in North Hollywood.
On August 30, 2005, operational control of the Robinsons-May stores was assumed by Macy's West [2] (the Meier & Frank stores were transferred to Macy's Northwest). Fifteen of its California stores were offered for sale under an agreement with the California State Attorney General, though Federated has retained several of the stores covered by the agreement since satisfactory offers from competitors were not received (including stores at Woodland Hills and Northridge). During 2006, the majority of the Robinsons-May stores were converted to the Macy's or Bloomingdale's nameplate, either as replacements for existing stores, new locations or as expansions of existing locations. Prime locations at South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa and Fashion Valley Mall, San Diego where Macy's already had stores were shuttered in early 2006 and refurbished as Bloomingdale's locations. The change of store signs occurred on September 9, 2006. [3] Already existing Macy's locations in Arizona and Inland Empire regions relocated from their existing spots to Robinsons-May.
The trademark for Robinsons-May was bought by Strategic Marks in 2012 and is currently owned by them to this day, with plans to revive the brand in the future. [4] [5] [ needs update ]
The May Department Stores Company was an American department store holding company, formerly headquartered in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded in Leadville, Colorado, by David May in 1877, moving to St. Louis in 1905. After many changes in the retail industry, the company merged with Federated Department Stores in 2005.
Macy's, Inc. is an American holding company of department stores. Upon its establishment in 1929, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, Filene's, and Shillito's. Bloomingdale's joined Federated Department Stores the next year. Throughout its early history, frequent acquisitions and divestitures saw the company operate a number of nameplates. In 1994, Federated took over Macy's, the old department store chain originally founded in 1858 by American entrepreneur Rowland Hussey Macy. Despite Federated's long history of preserving regional nameplates, its acquisition of the May Department Stores Company in 2005 marked the end of those nameplates. By the following year, both the Macy's and Bloomingdale's brands had replaced them nationwide. Ultimately, Federated itself was renamed Macy's, Inc. in 2007, an acknowledgment of the old store's venerable name.
Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It has been a sister brand to the Bloomingdale's department store chain since being acquired by holding company Federated Department Stores in 1994, which renamed itself Macy's, Inc. in 2007. It is the largest department store company by retail sales in the United States as of 2023.
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Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain founded in 1861 by Joseph Bloomingdale and Lyman Bloomingdale. It was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1930, which acquired the Macy’s department store chain in 1994, when they became sister brands. Ultimately, Federated itself was renamed Macy’s, Inc. in 2007.
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Filene's is an American department store chain; it was founded by William Filene in 1881. The success of the original full-line store in Boston, Massachusetts, was supplemented by the foundation of its off-price sister store Filene's Basement in 1908. Filene's, in partnership with Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, and Shillito's, was an original member of the holding company Federated Department Stores upon its establishment in 1929.
Meier & Frank was a prominent chain of department stores founded in Portland, Oregon, United States, and later bought by The May Department Stores Company. Meier & Frank operated in the Pacific Northwest from 1857 to 2006.
Maas Brothers was a leading Tampa, Florida department store founded by Abe and Isaac Maas in 1886 that grew from a small 23-by-90-foot store to a chain of 39 stores throughout the Gulf Coast of Florida. The Maas Brothers brand went defunct in 1991 when it was consolidated into the Burdines department store chain, which in turn merged with Macy's in 2005.
F&R Lazarus & Company was a regional department store with its retail chain operating primarily in the U.S. Midwest, and based in Columbus, Ohio. For over 150 years, Lazarus was influential in the American retail industry, particularly during the early 20th century as a founding partner in Federated Department Stores, and continued until the nameplate was retired on March 6, 2005, in favor of Macy's.
Associated Dry Goods Corporation (ADG) was a chain of department stores that merged with May Department Stores in 1986. It was founded in 1916 as an association of independent stores called American Dry Goods, based in New York City.
Goldwater's Department Store was a department store chain based in Phoenix, Arizona.
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When the dust clears after the merger of Robinson's and May Co. department stores becomes official Jan. 31, shoppers may be seeing double. At six malls in Southern California, where there is a May Co. and Robinson's department store, the retailer plans to convert both stores to hybrid Robinsons-May stores. They will carry similar merchandise and will be almost identical.