Robinsons-May, Galleria at Tyler (2006-05-27)

Robinsons-May was a chain of

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

s operating in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, from 1993 until 2006. It was created when

May Department Stores The May Department Stores Company was an American department store holding company, formerly headquartered in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded in Leadville, Colorado, by David May in 1877, moving to St. Louis in 1905. After many c ...

combined two of its chains,

May Company California May Company California was a chain of department stores operating in Southern California and Nevada, with headquarters in North Hollywood, California. It was a subsidiary of May Department Stores and merged with May's other Southern California s ...

and J. W. Robinson's chains. Its headquarters was at the former May Company California headquarters at its

Laurel Plaza NoHo West is a mixed-use complex in North Hollywood, Los Angeles. Developed on the of the former Laurel Plaza regional shopping mall, the development includes residential units, commercial offices and pedestrian-oriented shops and restaurants. ...

store in North Hollywood, Los Angeles. When Federated took over May Department Stores Company on August 30, 2005, Robinsons-May was dissolved, with some stores becoming branches of

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

, while others were closed, sold, or transformed into branches of

Bloomingdale's Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the business. It became a div ...

. Robinsons-May had 45 stores.

History

May Company and JW Robinson's

The double-barreled Robinsons-May name was created in 1993 when the former

was consolidated with their corporate sibling

JW Robinson's J. W. Robinson Co., ''Robinson's'', was a chain of department stores operating in the Southern California and Arizona area, previously with headquarters in Los Angeles, California. History Joseph Winchester Robinson was a merchant from Waltham, ...

had acquired Robinson's with its 1986 acquisition of Associated Dry Goods Corp. J. W. Robinson's had been acquired by Associated Dry Goods in 1957, while May Company California had been established in 1923 when May acquired the then-named A. Hamburger & Sons (founded in 1881 by Asher Hamburger). Both chains had operated exclusively in

until 1989 when May Department Stores had dissolved its Goldwaters division, based in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

, and apportioned its Phoenix metropolitan and

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, stores between the still separate J. W. Robinson's and May Company California. In 1997 Robinsons-May absorbed the Tucson-area locations of sister division

Foley's Foley's was a chain of department stores owned by May Department Stores and headquartered in Downtown Houston, Texas. On August 30, 2005, the division was dissolved and operation of the stores was assumed by Federated's Macy's West and Macy's ...

, which were themselves the remains of the former Levy's and Sanger-Harris stores. Robinsons-May was further consolidated with

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

-based

Meier & Frank Meier & Frank was a prominent chain of department stores founded in Portland, Oregon, and later bought by The May Department Stores Company. Meier & Frank operated in the Pacific Northwest from 1857 to 2006. History Summary Meier & Frank was f ...

in 2002, which retained its individual nameplate, but merged its primary headquarters into Robinsons-May's in North Hollywood.

Conversion to Macy's

On August 30, 2005, operational control of the Robinsons-May stores was assumed by

Macy's West Macy's West is a longtime division of Macy's, Inc. (formerly Federated Department Stores), representing one of the New York-based department store chain's earliest notable acquisitions and westward expansions. Headquartered in San Francisco, Ca ...

(the Meier & Frank stores were transferred to Macy's Northwest). Fifteen of its California stores were offered for sale under an agreement with the California State Attorney General, though Federated has retained several of the stores covered by the agreement since satisfactory offers from competitors were not received (including stores at Woodland Hills and Northridge). During 2006, the majority of the Robinsons-May stores were converted to the

nameplate, either as replacements for existing stores, new locations or as expansions of existing locations. Prime locations at

South Coast Plaza South Coast Plaza is a regional shopping mall in Costa Mesa, California. The largest shopping center on the West Coast of the United States, its pre-COVID sales of over $1.5 billion annually were the highest in the United States. Its 275 retail ...

, Costa Mesa and

Fashion Valley Mall Fashion Valley (also referred to Fashion Valley Mall) is an upscale, open-air shopping mall in Mission Valley in San Diego, California. The shopping center has of leasable floor area, making it the largest mall in San Diego and one of the large ...

, San Diego where Macy's already had stores were shuttered in early 2006 and refurbished as

locations. The change of store signs occurred on September 9, 2006. Already existing Macy's locations in Arizona and Inland Empire regions relocated from their existing spots to Robinsons-May. The trademark for Robinsons-May was bought by Strategic Marks in 2012 and is currently owned by them to this day, with plans to revive the brand in the future.

References

{{Macy's history Macy's American companies established in 1993 Retail companies established in 1993 Companies based in Los Angeles Defunct department stores based in Greater Los Angeles Retail companies disestablished in 2006 Defunct companies based in California 1993 establishments in California May Department Stores