Macy’s California Chairman to Head Bullock’s Division

Hal Kahn, chairman and chief executive of Macy’s California in San Francisco since 1985, has been named chairman and chief executive of the Atlanta-based division of R. H. Macy & Co. that oversees Bullock’s.

He replaces Robert N. Friedman, 48, who was appointed vice chairman for merchandising for Macy’s Northeast division, based in New York.

Daniel Finkelstein, the 34-year-old son of Macy’s Chairman Edward S. Finkelstein, was promoted to chairman and chief executive of Macy’s California. He has been senior vice president-merchandising for the 25-store chain. He joined the chain in September, 1977, as part of the executive training squad and worked his way up through the merchandising ranks.

Another son of Finkelstein, Mitchell, runs the retailer’s Hong Kong office.

For Kahn, 43, the move to Atlanta will be a homecoming. Before joining Macy’s California, he spent four years as president of the Davison’s division (now Macy’s South).

Kahn joined Macy’s in 1975 as a merchandise administrator in New York and worked in various merchandising posts.

The 47-store division that he now heads, called Macy’s South/Bullock’s, was created last year after Macy’s bought Bullock’s from Federated Department Stores and merged it with the Atlanta division. It encompasses 25 Macy’s stores in the Southeast and Texas plus 22 Bullock’s department stores in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, Las Vegas and Scottsdale, Ariz.

The changes occur as Macy’s has been suffering from lackluster sales.