Name Change to Macy’s in Store for 2 More Local Sites

The Orange County retail scene will look a bit different on Friday as Federated Department Stores converts two more Broadway department stores into Macy’s locations.

Broadway stores at the Brea Mall and the Laguna Hills Mall will join dozens of other Broadway locations around the state that previously played the name-change game. Federated also is eliminating the Bullock’s nameplate at malls around Southern California in favor of the Macy’s name.

No decision has been made yet, Macy’s executives said, on the fate of Broadway stores at Crystal Court in Costa Mesa and at the Huntington Beach Mall. Federated indicated earlier that Crystal Court would get a Macy’s. But Macy’s spokeswoman Merle Goldstone said: “We’re still in discussion about those stores.”

There could be more sign-changing in the future for Orange County shoppers, given St. Louis-based May Department Stores’ recent announcement that it will spend $2 billion over the next five years to open as many as 125 new stores nationwide--including an undisclosed number in California.

Retail analysts note that May, which operates the Robinsons-May chain, and Federated will be the two dominant department store chains in California, now that Federated is completing its acquisition of the Broadway chain.

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Greg Johnson covers retail businesses and restaurants for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-5950 and at greg.johnson@latimes.com.