Posh Names Fail to Impress Many at Malls

The Bullock’s and Broadway department stores may be giving way to the posh, nationally known names of Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, but Ventura County shoppers and salespeople don’t seem too impressed.

“It doesn’t make a difference to me,” said 25-year-old Sabrina Bryant of Oxnard as she shopped for underwear in the county’s only Bullock’s at The Oaks mall. “Just as long as they carry the stuff I like.”

The possibility of a Macy’s generated a bit more enthusiasm in Ventura, where the store could replace Broadway and prove an upscale addition to the expanding Buenaventura Mall.

“I’m not wild about the Broadway,” said Peggy Law of Camarillo, while making her way into the store. “The stuff seems to stay the same year after year. Macy’s costs a little more, but the clothing is nicer.”

In a move to consolidate its holdings under the names of its most high-profile chains--Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Stern’s--Federated Department Stores announced Thursday it will convert its 21 Bullock’s stores into Macy’s.

Also, the Cincinnati-based retail giant now plans to convert most of the 82 Southern California Broadway stores it acquired in August into Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s. The rest will be closed.

Federated executives have yet to announce their plans for the Broadway department stores in Thousand Oaks and Ventura, but said all Bullock’s are to be converted by July.

Officials from The Oaks mall, which has both a Bullock’s and a Broadway, say they have been told both stores will continue to operate. Barbara Teuscher, general manager of The Oaks Shopping Center, L.P., the mall owners, said she anticipates both stores will become Macy’s.

The change will take some getting used to, but will have a positive impact, she said. “Southern Californians are not particularly familiar with Macy’s,” she said. “Other than they know the Macy’s Day Parade.”

Although she’s only visited Macy’s in New York, Mary Jane Ford of Thousand Oaks said she would welcome the store if it offered higher-quality merchandise. “I’m hoping,” she said, standing outside Bullock’s.

But most shoppers at The Oaks were indifferent to the change.

While her father raved about the Macy’s in Santa Cruz where he lives--there are 25 of the department stores in Northern California--Cheryl Cohen of Agoura Hills pooh-poohed the stores’ reputation.

“Macy’s, Bullock’s. What’s the difference, “ she said while passing through the Broadway. “They are already the same. It’s only a name change.”

But, shoppers at the Buenaventura Mall, where officials say the Broadway has a good chance of becoming a Macy’s, said the change could have a big impact.

“It’s different,” said Daniel Cruz, 19, a clerk at Miller’s Outpost in the Buenaventura Mall. “Everyone’s been to Broadway. But they’ll want to see what kind of merchandise Macy’s offers and to compare prices.” That will increase foot traffic throughout the shopping mall, he said.

Christine Wimpee, who owns a flower stand outside the entrance to Broadway, said a new Macy’s will only add to the interest already surrounding the proposed expansion of the Buenaventura Mall.

The change will have no effect on plans to begin a 100,000-square-foot expansion of the mall early next year, said David A. Jones, a spokesman for the developers.

“It will be a wreck during the expansion,” Wimpee said. “But the whole thing will be a great improvement.”