California Retailing Shake-Up : Shoppers Give Their Regards to The Broadway--and Buy on Sale : Consumers: Some lament the passing of a Southland institution. But others aren’t as sentimental.

Shopping won’t be the same for Dory Levi once the Broadway department stores disappear from the Southern California retailing scene.

“I’m very sad,” said Levi, a 57-year-old Beverly Hills resident, as she took advantage of the latest in a seemingly endless string of sales at the three-story Broadway in Century City on Tuesday. “This is the nicest store with the most competitive prices. When they say something is on sale, it’s on sale.”

News that Los Angeles-based Broadway Stores Inc. will be swallowed by Federated Department Stores Inc., owner of Bullock’s and other chains, will change the shopping habits of countless residents in the latest retail shakeup to hit the region.

But although many, like Levi, will be saddened by the Broadway’s departure, others say it will make no difference in an era of look-alike chains. And still others like the idea.

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Under the terms of the deal, Federated plans to convert most Broadway locations to Bullock’s and a small number to Bloomingdale’s, the trendy New York-based retailer Federated also owns. In Northern California, it will convert some of the Broadways to Macy’s. Federated will also try to sell an undetermined number of stores.

“It will be the same as [the merger between] May Co. and Robinsons,” said Carol Stark, a 54-year-old legal secretary who was shopping for infant clothing at the Century City Broadway. “Bullock’s will probably carry the same lines. It will be just the same thing.”

But many shoppers say they will welcome a Bloomingdale’s or a new Bullock’s in their favorite shopping malls.

“I think all the department stores out here are lousy,” said Fen Woo, a stylish 31-year-old public relations agent who was unable to find a suitable dress on a shopping trip at Newport Center Fashion Island in Newport Beach.

“I prefer to shop in New York,” Woo said. “At least with a Bloomingdale’s . . . I can find what I want.”

Although Broadway and Bullock’s have generally catered to the same type of middle-class customers, shoppers and retail experts said Broadway has developed a reputation for lower prices by having frequent sales. Bullock’s, on the other hand, has fewer promotions and more snob appeal.

“I think there is a distinct difference between the two,” said Jacquelin M. Fernandez, director of the Southern California retail services group for Deloitte & Touche. “Broadway is trying to have the customer believe that they have everyday value pricing. Bullock’s is probably more fashion-forward than The Broadway.”

Many customers complained that Broadway, despite a recent campaign to remodel stores and improve merchandise, had fallen behind Bullock’s and other competitors.

“I think other stores have superior quality,” said Kandy Neale, a 42-year-old Costa Mesa housewife who was shopping at Fashion Island on Tuesday. “I always thought both the interior and exterior [of Broadway] were very dated.”

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Other shoppers, however, expressed loyalty.

“I grew up with Broadway and there’s nothing like it,” said Wendy Wolff, a Huntington Beach junior high school teacher who went to the Fashion Island store with her husband Tuesday to pay her respects to a place they love. “I like it because it’s venerable and you don’t get radical trends. By and large, it means California ready-to-wear.”

Many customers also said they found Broadway less intimidating than Bullock’s. “It seems more relaxed here, more comfortable,” said Jeff Womack, 25, who was shopping for pocket watches at the Century City Broadway. Bullock’s, which also has a store in Century City, has a “hoity-toity” image, he said.

West Los Angeles resident Donna Beck, who was shopping for children’s clothes with her granddaughter at the Century City Broadway, said she also shops at Bullock’s but that “some of the Bullock’s people are kind of snooty. My mother-in-law refuses to shop at Bullock’s for that reason.”

It’s the sales that many Broadway customers say they will miss the most. On Tuesday, the Century City Broadway was ablaze with bright red “Sale” signs sprouting from the clothing racks and display cases.

“Every time I come in here, there is a sale,” said Michael DeGano, a 28-year-old physical therapist who was looking for pants and a jacket for an upcoming vacation. He found them at 25% off.

“I’ll miss it,” DeGano said.