I. Introduction
Present day Federated consists of both Bloomingdale's and Macy's stores and operates in 34 states as well as Guam and Puerto Rico. While Bloomingdale's and Macy's provide both private and national brands and are similar in merchandising categories (men's, women's and children's apparel, home décor, shoes, beauty, and accessories), they differ greatly in culture. Bloomingdale's, being more upscale, targets consumers that are more concerned with trend and quality than they are price. Macy's targets the more value oriented consumer and represents a broader Federated clientele. Macy's represents 423 of the 459 Federated locations while Bloomingdale's represents only 36 locations. Because I can better relate to the value conscious consumer of the Macy's division and because they represent such a large portion of Federated, I will further explore their current characteristics and behaviors that suggest that they possess qualities of both monopolistic competition and oligopolies.
II. Brief History
Federated Department Stores was founded in 1929, the same year the stock market crash signified the commencement of the Great Depression, with the merger of Abraham & Straus of Brooklyn, Filene's of Boston, F&R Lazarus & Co. of Columbus, Ohio and Bloomingdale's of New York. Recognizing economic sensitivity to the Great Depression and WWII, Federated initially focused its efforts on ground-breaking retail tactics such as accommodating credit policies. In the mid to late 1900's, Federated shifted its endeavors to growth and development, having increased its stores by 400 percent between 1964 and 1979. Although the company filed for bankru ...