Matt Freed, Post-Gazette
	Pedestrian strolls by Kaufmann's nameplate Downtown, soon to be part of the city's past. Local department store names across the country are being closed out as a result of an $11 billion retail merger. MORE COVERAGE Shoppers greet change with sadness, hope

The Kaufmann's department store name, a fixture of Pittsburgh life for more than a century, will fade away by the fall of 2006 and be replaced by Macy's.

Two Kaufmann's locations -- one in Monroeville Mall and one at South Hills Village -- will be closed by the end of next year. One Macy's location -- in Ross Park Mall -- will be closed and the nearby Kaufmann's transformed into a Macy's.

The moves are part of the $11 billion acquisition of May Department Stores, Kaufmann's parent, by Federated Department Stores, which owns Macy's.

In all, Federated said it would convert 330 stores, including Kaufmann's and Stawbridge's in Pennsylvania, to Macy's, a celebrity nameplate and national brand powerhouse the company believes can better compete with Wal-Mart, Target, J.C. Penney's and other national retailers.

Federated's decision was not unexpected, but it seemed the end of an era to at least one Downtown Kaufmann's employee.

"Kaufmann's is a landmark in Pittsburgh, and people are a little disappointed that the name will change," said Shirley Sarver, 61, a sales associate in housewares at the Downtown store. "It doesn't sound right to say, 'Meet me under the Macy's clock.' "

Nationally, Federated said it would close 68 stores in 66 malls, beginning after the holiday shopping season. But it pledged not to eliminate any jobs before March. The retailer said it employs 274 at Kaufmann's in Monroeville, 284 at Kaufmann's in South Hills Village and 220 at Macy's in Ross Park Mall.

"We will be as sensitive and caring as possible throughout this process," said Terry J. Lundgren, Federated chairman, president and chief executive officer. "We will honor the pledge made previously to May Co. associates that there will be no work force reductions or job eliminations as a result of the merger prior to March 1, 2006."

Sanger said the company anticipated retaining all store managers and expected to eliminate positions through attrition rather than layoffs.

In addition to the locations being sold, a small number of former May stores are being studied for potential conversion to Bloomingdale's, an upscale Federated-owned chain that is retaining its name and identity. "That's down the road yet," Sanger said.

Kaufmann's is not the only regional name to disappear in the move. Strawbridge's, a longtime fixture in Philadelphia, will become Macy's, as will all the Hecht stores in Pennsylvania. Some of the stores to be sold also operate under the names Famous-Barr, Filene's and L.S. Ayres.

All of May's nameplates except Lord & Taylor and Minneapolis-based Marshall Field's will be discarded. Federated said it planned to keep the Lord & Taylor name, currently on 58 stores, and would study what to do with the Marshall Field's name, which is on 60 stores.

The $1 billion decision to expand the Macy's brand was based on research on customer preferences in the communities where the May chain operates, Sanger said. Federated acquired the May chain in February.

The store closings are not expected to hurt Federated's sales numbers since shoppers will probably go to other company-owned stores at the same malls, analysts speculate.

"What we have learned about the whole process is that the customer really cares about what is in the stores more than the name that is on the stores," Sanger added.

The combination of Federated and May is another major shift in retailing, where department stores have lost dominance over to big box stores and specialty retailers.

Still, change can be difficult in Pittsburgh. Kaufmann's has been selling clothing and household goods to Pittsburgh residents since the 1870s.

"In Pittsburgh it's always tough to bring in a new name. The Kaufmann's name is tried and true. It's just embedded into the psyche of this market," said Michael Kolbrener, whose small Pittsburgh company, Kolbrener USA, is a brand adviser.

After the Horne's name disappeared in 1994, becoming Lazarus, then Macy's, local shoppers seemed to cling to the familiar Kaufmann's, faithfully turning out for midnight and weekend sales with coupons in hand.

Kolbrenner predicted that the change would be met with some skepticism and disappointment among shoppers.

"As a branding adviser, I would certainly consider retaining the old name," he said. "But from a corporate standpoint, you have to do it. You've got a big brand. It has a lot of equity, national equity, international equity. You cannot make exceptions for every little market."

Consumers may not really be bothered by the change despite the longtime loyalty to the Kaufmann's name, said Gayle Marco, an associate professor of marketing at Robert Morris University.

"It's not going to be a real problem," Marco said. "Three or four months from now it will be water over the dam. They're easing themselves into the market, and when they do make the change, some people won't even realize it."

Lazarus stores already have been converted to the Macy's style. Marco said they were often brighter and better located than the spots owned by Kaufmann's, which got into the mall scene late after having stand-alone stores.

Federated has had the advantage of being able to compare the stores in malls where both Federated and May operated, choosing the locations with the best layouts and consumer traffic patterns.

Macy's also has differentiated itself from Kaufmann's with its house brands that were developed by Federated in recognition that consumers shop for the cheapest price among retailers that carry the same brands, such as Tommy Hilfiger, Liz Clairborne and Sag Harbor.

Federated also has experimented with changes such as adding shopping carts to its stores, installing central checkout stations and adding department signs.

"Macy's has a lot of its own brands, quality brands, good brands and I think they're moving that way," Marco said. "But Pittsburgh is such a price-driven market that I say they will still do their sales."

The merger of the Federated and May chains was approved by shareholders on July 13. Federated said it expected the deal to close in the third quarter pending antitrust approval.

The combined company will operate about 1,600 stores, including some 730 with the Macy's name, in almost every major U.S. market. Annual sales are expected to be about $30 billion.