Storied stores

RE the two “So Long, Everyday Glamour” stories by Robin Abcarian and Valli Herman, Aug. 6: Bullock’s Wilshire, I. Magnin, Joseph Magnin, Bonwit Teller and even Robinson’s were the grand dames of the world of department stores. They are a reflection of a time when life was slower. Shopping there was a way to pass the time, buy something special -- maybe even stop and have lunch in the tea room with your mom and your sisters for a real treat!

Watching them slowly disappear one by one has been sad. People today are in a big hurry, and the kind of utility stores that have replaced the old ones are giant supermarkets with checkout stands and shopping carts big enough to put the entire store into. I guess progress will always win out. That doesn’t always mean it is for the better in the long run. You will never look back with gentle reflection about Target or Best Buy and smile, that is for sure!

FRANCES TERRELL LIPPMAN

Los Angeles

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As a former retail executive, I take issue with your articles’ premises that the demise of many Southern California department store institutions was primarily because they became “dinosaurs.” They did not die because they failed to modernize and update stores, selections or images.

What killed Bullock’s, Robinson’s and equally distinguished department stores in other American cities were, primarily, leveraged buyouts, arbitragers, junk bonds and other Wall Street greed-related terms remembered from the late 1980s.

These L.A. department stores were only regional components of national retail corporate giants that got caught up in Wall Street’s net.

MARSHALL BASKIN

Tarzana