Campeau Advertising Plans Unchanged
When many Florida residents pick up their newspapers this morning, they will see a full-page advertisement for the Burdines department store chain. This ad isn’t about some sale on cosmetics, but it is Burdines’ attempt to put on its best face.
“Dear Friends and Customers,” begins the ad in the Miami Herald and more than a dozen other Florida newspapers. “For over 91 years, Burdines has been serving Florida. Some things will never change.”
This letter, signed by Howard Socol, chairman of the chain, will explain why Burdines’ customers shouldn’t worry about the decision by parent company, Campeau Corp., to keep Federated Department Stores Inc. and Allied Stores Corp. afloat by filing for their protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. “It’s important that everyone knows it will be business as usual,” said Carey Watson, senior vice president of marketing at Burdines.
Except for that one ad, it will generally be advertising as usual for most other Campeau-owned stores. In New York, Bloomingdale’s was plowing ahead on Monday with plans to advertise its wares rather heavily this week in its most important display case of all--the New York Times. Bloomingdale’s was also churning out two costly advertising catalogues--one to be mailed this week to credit card holders and the other to be inserted in the New York Times.
“Nothing of this nature has ever happened before in retailing,” said Gordon Cooke, Bloomingdale’s executive vice president of sales promotion. “But in the short term, we plan to stick with our current advertising plans.” Under those plans, the 1990 advertising budget at Bloomingdale’s would increase 5% over that of 1989, to nearly $50 million.
Even with financial problems at Campeau, and a 2-year-old softness in newspaper retail advertising nationwide, at least one top analyst is predicting that newspaper retail advertising may actually improve considerably as early as next year.
“It’s no longer a question of how low it will go, but when it will turn around,” said Peter Appert, a media analyst at the New York brokerage firm C. J. Lawrence, Morgan Grenfell. “I expect you’ll see a gradual recovery in retail ad spending this year. And by the end of 1991, you may see double-digit growth again.”
Appert doesn’t make this prediction hastily. The way he sees it, some of the stronger retail chains--such as Nordstrom--may try to exploit perceived weakness among some rivals by advertising heavily in newer markets. “Over the next few years, I expect you’ll see a substantial recovery,” said Appert. “The smart ones will spend more on advertising, not less.”
Other analysts concurred. “Does a big advertiser have to keep advertising? Of course it does,” said Cornelius Sewell, research analyst at the New York investment firm, Argus Research. “Logically, some of the other stores may step up their advertising.”
But representatives of R. H. Macy & Co. and Saks Fifth Avenue said they had no immediate plans to increase ad spending in order to take advantage of any perceived weakness at rival Bloomingdale’s. “All I can tell you is, we’ve made no changes,” said Elizabeth Holland, publicity director at Saks Fifth Avenue.
