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Finkelstein started his campaign in Macy's basement, one of the first bargain basements in U.S. retailing. He abolished it and created the Cellar, actually a tiled "street" lined with spacious shops for gourmet food, cutlery, stationery and kitchenware and an art gallery. At one end is a reasonably accurate replica of P.J. Clarke's, the Irish pub in midtown Manhattan that stands just as it was built in the 1890s. Demonstrations run continually: a potter handcrafts vases in the pottery shop. On upper floors came other changes: a massive children's store on six, divided into separate shops for each age group; an "arcade" on the ground floor with numerous boutiques, one of them a candy shop that will sell 27 kinds of jelly beans.
Analysts praise Finkelstein and crew for slipping Macy's into the modern mainstream of U.S. retailing, and for brightening an important slice of a weary urban America. Financially, the effort is paying off. Business this year—boosted by Sunday openings—could reach nearly $200 million, up more than 10% from last year. Finkelstein anticipates a record Christmas. That speaks loudly to other retailers again looking at once-laggard Macy's Herald Square. It has something to show off these days. -
* Under one roof. It has 1 million sq. ft. of selling space.