No. 2 Executive of May Co.’s California Division Retires

Edgar S. Mangiafico, second-in-command at May Co. California for the past eight years, is retiring and will be replaced by an executive from a sister chain in Pennsylvania, the company said Wednesday.

The new No. 2 executive is Gerald A. Sampson, 50, who now is chairman of Pittsburgh-based Kaufmann’s department stores. May Co. California and Kaufmann’s are owned by May Department Stores of St. Louis, Mo.

Although May Department Stores is one of the nation’s biggest and most successful retailers, its Southern California chain is among its weaker divisions. Analysts suggested that Sampson’s appointment reflects an effort to revitalize May Co.

The company gave no reason for the retirement of the crusty 59-year-old Mangiafico, a native of Lynchburg, Va., who has spent the past 38 years in retailing. He joined May Co. as chairman in 1983, after having served in the same job at another May Department Stores chain, the Washington-based Hecht’s stores.

The chairman’s job is the No. 2 position at May Co., with responsibility for finance, security and other store operations.

May Co. President and Chief Executive David P. Mullen will stay in the top spot. He oversees merchandising and marketing.

May Co.’s slump is reflected in recent market research, which found that consumers from 20.3% of the households in Los Angeles and Orange counties regularly shopped at May Co. stores last year, down from 25% in 1985.

The same survey found that May Co. ranked third among department store chains in Southern California in 1985 but slipped to fifth--behind the Broadway, Mervyn’s, Nordstrom and J. C. Penney--by 1990.

May Co.’s relatively poor service and the declining condition of some of its stores have hurt it competitively, said Jacquelin M. Fernandez, a retailing specialist with the accounting firm Deloitte & Touche. Along with other Southern California retailers, she added, May Co. has been hit by the recession.

But Fernandez lauded May Co. for its broad assortment of merchandise and its low prices, and she said its parent company has the financial muscle to bolster the chain.

“They’re hanging in there,” Fernandez said. “They do have loyal customers.”

Sampson joined May Department Stores in 1975 and worked his way through the ranks. He was named chairman of its May D&F; stores in Denver in 1985 and became chairman of Kaufmann’s in 1987.

Neither Mangiafico nor Sampson could be reached for comment.

May Co. California has 37 stores, almost all in Southern California. Revenue in 1990 totaled $987 million.