L.A. Trying to Persuade Federated to Keep Stores

Los Angeles city officials say they are negotiating with Federated Department Stores Inc. to persuade the Cincinnati-based company to continue operating several Broadway and Bullock’s stores whose fates are still undecided.

Federated has said it plans to convert most of Southern California’s Broadway and Bullock’s stores into Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s and to sell or close nearly all of the others. Federated recently bought Broadway Stores Inc.

Of particular concern to city officials is the Broadway store at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, an area of the city that lacks major retailers, and the Bullock’s in the Seventh Street Marketplace downtown, where a lease agreement would allow the Robinsons-May department store to pull out of the mall should Bullock’s leave.

Rocky Delgadillo, acting deputy mayor for economic development, told the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday that there have been several meetings among Federated officials and members of the mayor’s office and the L.A. Business Team, which works with companies to keep them in L.A.

Broadway and Bullock’s stores in Los Angeles together employ about 3,300 people, generate annual taxable sales of about $485 million and make annual payments to the Department of Water and Power of about $4.5 million, he said.

Federated has postponed a decision on the stores until early next year, in part because the company is working with the city to avoid closing stores, Delgadillo said. Landlords also are involved in the discussions, he said. Delgadillo declined to say what sort of concessions or incentives are being offered to keep the stores open.

But Federated spokeswoman Carol Sanger said the company may announce its decisions earlier than anticipated, possibly about Jan. 1.