Macy's 2003 Annual Report Download - page 9

FIVE
Bloomingdale’s is sharpening its edge with improved stores, new locations,
enhanced tools for building customer
relationships, and an ongoing obsession
with offering unique and differentiated
merchandise.
These factors are driving a renewed energy
at Bloomingdale’s, already known globally
for being “like no other store in the world.”
Bloomingdale’s serves a special type of
fashion-forward customer, one that enjoys
the trend of the moment while still
appreciating the classics of the past. She
wants what’s new and hot, and she easily
spots and latches onto emerging fashion
trends. Bloomingdale’s customer is as
comfortable wearing a Chanel suit as she is
in a Marc Jacobs jacket with blue jeans.
She expects and demands top quality.
Being the first with fashion and exclusive
merchandise is what Bloomingdale’s is all
about. Its customers regularly see new
designers, as well as the latest collections
and shops from established names such as
Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Burberry,
David Yurman, Chanel and Armani.
Bridge sportswear and Young East
Sider (YES) are particular strengths of
Bloomingdale’s, and we are continuously
resetting these stages – as well as our entire
stores – with new shops, looks and designer
fashion. Stores today have less signage,
brighter lighting and clearer sight lines to
increase the ease of shopping. In response
to customer research, we are enhancing
store amenities such as lounges, fitting
rooms and seating areas.
YES departments have been upgraded in
selected Bloomingdale’s locations. In
downtown Chicago, for example, junior’s
and young men’s collections have been
combined in an environment of more
eclectic visual presentation, more congenial
departmental layouts and eye-catching
entertainment carried on plasma screens.
Bloomingdale’s will continue to
selectively open new stores to expand its
reach to targeted market niches. In 2003,
it opened two new stores in prime locations
in Atlanta – Bloomingdale’s first presence
in that market – as well as two new home
stores in the Chicago area. Upcoming are
a focused new fashion store in the Soho
section of Manhattan in spring 2004, as well
as a new West Coast flagship in downtown
San Francisco to open in fall 2006.
To its customer, Bloomingdale’s
represents a unique experience in catering
to her individualized needs. We engage
this customer through a philosophy
called “the B-way of courtesy,” which
demonstrates Bloomingdale’s eagerness to
serve. Sales associates regularly contact
our top customers personally to announce
new merchandise of interest, invite them
to store events and follow-up to ensure
satisfaction with purchases.
As part of the customer experience
at Bloomingdale’s, a new point-of-sale
system to be tested in 2004 will provide
sales associates information on a
customer’s previous purchases so additional
items can be suggested while a transaction
is processed.
Overlaying this approach is sophisticated
advertising that reflects a distinctive flair
and sense of humor that separates
Bloomingdale’s from other upscale retailers.
In 2003, Bloomingdale’s introduced an
exclusive new lifestyle magazine – called
“B” – which offers dazzling four-color
fashion spreads, as well as advice on travel,
entertaining and decorating.
LIKE NO OTHER
STORE IN THE WORLD