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Nordstrom, and perhaps Von Maur and Lord & Taylor, are upper-middle end.
Macy's and Dillard's are middle-end.
JCPenney, Sears, and Kohls are lower-middle end.
Target, Kmart, and Walmart, if considering a traditional department store, are low-end.
The hiearchy from high-end to low-end correlates with the number of locations each brand of store has.
Macy's confuses a lot of folks because the brand name has historical prestige and well, a lot of history. Nowadays, though, I don't think you can get any more middle of the road than Macy's, and I think Macy's can appeal to just about everybody.
Actually Macy's sells many of the same brands as Nordstrom. I bought a nice dress at Nordstrom's to wear to an evening wedding and found out it was at Macy's. I spent a fortune at Nordstrom's a few years back but will not do it again.
Actually Macy's sells many of the same brands as Nordstrom. I bought a nice dress at Nordstrom's to wear to an evening wedding and found out it was at Macy's. I spent a fortune at Nordstrom's a few years back but will not do it again.
Nordstrom - lower high end Lord & Taylor - lower high end - The one on Fifth Avenue in NYC is lower high end; it has lots of high-end clothing/shoes, and a very good selection of fragrances/beauty products.
Macy's - mid level to lower high end, depending on the location. The Herald Square location in NYC is lower high end. It has a very wide selection of clothing/shoes/jewelry/fragrances/beauty products.
JC Penny - low end Sears - low end
Walmart - mostly disposable clothing. Okay for things like cotton socks, cotton underwear, flannel pajamas, etc.
Ultra-Luxury Market:
Bergdorf Goodman
Barneys New York
Saks 5th Avenue NYC Flagship
Luxury Stores:
Saks Fifth Avenue
Neiman Marcus
Upscale Stores:
Nordstrom (most upscale of this list)
Hudson’s Bay Trading Corporation Flagship Locations (Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, etc.)
Lord & Taylor NYC Flagship in some categories but not all
Macy’s NYC Flagship
Macy’s/Marshall Field’s Flagship in some categories but not all
Mid to Upscale Stores:
Bloomingdales (more upscale than the rest of this list without a doubt, but less upscale than Nordstrom)
Lord & Taylor
Von Maur
Middle Market Stores:
Dillards
Macy’s - some locations
Belk
Hudson’s Bay Trading Corporation
Lower-Middle Market Stores
Bon-Ton/Carson’s, etc.
Macy’s - some locations
One of the hardest things to understand when comparing department stores is the difference between their A doors, B doors, and C doors and also where their product matrix fits into them. For example, Macy’s NYC Flagship sells Louis Vuitton, Burberry and other high end designers which are not carried in Von Maur. However, a typical Macy’s store carries a less high-end product mix than your typical Von Maur.
Additionally, the retail market is continuing to redefine these labels. Lord & Taylor had moved more upscale over the past two years - incorporating and expanding higher end lines like MaxMara, Armani, Stuart Weitzman, Eleventy, St. John, Vince, Theory, Diane Von Furstenberg, as well as adding a designer dress department with off the rack dresses retailing in the $10,000 range. However, while their top stores have upgraded their inventory in this way many of their other stores have added more “affordable” merchandise as well emphasizing brands like Eddie Bauer, Brooks Brothers Red Fleece, Toms, H by Halston, and others. I am uncertain how successful their strategy has been. They recently announced the NYC location will downsize and the most recent catalogues have not featured as much upscale merchandise.
Nordstrom has moved more upscale trying to grab a bigger piece of the luxury pie over the past couple of years as well. Nordstrom does have some designer concessions, but they tend to be restricted to specific retail markets and locations. Nordstrom is also entering the NYC market over the next year or two, which will create an incredibly saturated retail landscape in the city. Many stores are reporting already that the past few years have been rough in the NYC market due to decreased tourism and the strong dollar.
There are many other stores that sell apparel but they are what used to be referred to as “discount stores” - Kohl’s, Target, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Sears, etc. They would all be lower on this list than any of the mentioned above. Not to say they are bad stores, they are just less upscale than Macy’s.
Off-price is another category which includes stores like Stein-Mart, T.J. Max, Ross, Burlington, Nordstrom Rack, Saks Off Fifth, etc. They are a whole other industry.
I shop at all of these stores depending on what I'm purchasing. High end and middle end for clothing. Been to Walmart twice in my life. Once to shop, the next time to return the junk (3 out of 5 items broke within a week).
I seriously wonder if Penney's and Sears will make it through next year. I used to like JCP - they went the way of trying to be "trendy" and buying really low quality and trendy - Sears did as well (and Macy's to be honest) - the quality of the stuff (crap) they are selling isn't above Kmart quality IMO for the most part - you MIGHT luck out and find something that is actually cotton, etc. but since Macy's went to the "last chance" dept. and doesn't accept coupons for that - prices are higher.
I just wish store would stop stocking low-quality crap that they overprice - I'd rather shop for better made/quality things - not stuff that caters to teens (do they really think teens are going to keep them in business?)
I seriously wonder if Penney's and Sears will make it through next year. I used to like JCP - they went the way of trying to be "trendy" and buying really low quality and trendy - Sears did as well (and Macy's to be honest) - the quality of the stuff (crap) they are selling isn't above Kmart quality IMO for the most part - you MIGHT luck out and find something that is actually cotton, etc. but since Macy's went to the "last chance" dept. and doesn't accept coupons for that - prices are higher.
I just wish store would stop stocking low-quality crap that they overprice - I'd rather shop for better made/quality things - not stuff that caters to teens (do they really think teens are going to keep them in business?)
Sears probably won't. JCPenney has a chance though. JCPenney at least has some quality brands like IZOD, and their third quarter performance beat expectations. Let's see how they do in the fourth quarter.
I have found a lot of good quality clothing at JC Penney's without spending a fortune. Walmart is obviously really low quality. I got a pair of 70 dollar pants once from a store at the Stanford Mall (back in 1997 when I guess that was a lot of money) and they just weren't really any better than pants from Penney's. Meh.
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