The May Department Stores Company was an American

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

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

founded in 1877 by David May. It operated several regional department stores throughout the United States, which were managed as distinct business divisions with limited interconnectivity between them. May was acquired by

Federated Department Stores Macy's, Inc. (previously Federated Department Stores, Inc.) is an American holding company of department stores. Upon its establishment in 1929, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus (departm ...

in 2005, and the remaining May-owned stores were converted to

Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...

in 2006.

History

In 1877, the May Department Stores Company was founded in

Leadville Leadville ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory city, statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only List of municipalities in Colorado, incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado, Lak ...

during the

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

silver rush A silver rush is the silver-mining equivalent of a gold rush, where the discovery of silver-bearing ore sparks a mass migration of individuals seeking wealth in the new mining region. Notable silver rushes have taken place in Mexico, Chile, the U ...

. In 1889, the headquarters moved to

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. In 1899, May acquired the E. R. Hull & Dutton Co. of Cleveland, renaming it the May Company, Cleveland, later named the

May Company Ohio May Company Ohio was an American department store chain that was headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio. It originated with the purchase and renaming of the E. R. Hull & Dutton Co. by David May (merchant), David May in 1899, and expan ...

. In 1905, the headquarters moved to

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

.The Drive to Differentiate - Macy's, Inc.
In 1910, the business was officially incorporated as the May Department Stores Company. In 1911,

The Famous Clothing Store The Famous-Barr Co. (originally Famous and Barr Co.) was a division of Macy's, Inc. (formerly Federated Department Stores). Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, in the Railway Exchange Building, it was the flagship store of The May Department S ...

(owned by May) and the William Barr Dry Goods Company merged to create

Famous-Barr The Famous-Barr Co. (originally Famous and Barr Co.) was a division of Macy's, Inc. (formerly Federated Department Stores). Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, in the Railway Exchange Building, it was the flagship store of The May Departmen ...

. In 1912, May acquired the M. O'Neil Co. (O'Neil's) department store of

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

. In 1923, May acquired A. Hamburger & Sons Co. in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and renames it

May Company California May Company California was an American department store chain founded in 1881 as A. Hamburger & Sons by Asher Hamburger. It was renamed after its acquisition by The May Department Stores Company in 1923. Its flagship store and headquarters wer ...

. In 1946, May acquired the

Kaufmann's Kaufmann's was a department store that originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The store was owned in the early 20th century by Edgar J. Kaufmann, patron of the famous Fallingwater house. In the post-war years, the store became a regional chain ...

chain based in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, retaining it as a separate division. In 1947, May acquires Strouss-Hirshberg Co. based in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

, retaining it as a separate division and changing the name to

Strouss Strouss was a department store serving the U.S. states of Ohio and Pennsylvania. History The company was founded as Strouss-Hirshberg Co. by Isaac Strouss and Bernard Hirshberg, two young Americans of American Jews, Jewish descent. It was long ...

. In 1956, May acquired the Daniels & Fisher Company of Denver, merging it with May stores in the area to create a new

May-Daniels & Fisher May-Daniels & Fisher (doing business as May–D&F) was an American department store chain headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It was established by David May with the 1957 merger of The Daniels & Fisher Co. (founded in 1864 in Denver) and the M ...

division.The Drive to Differentiate - Macy's, Inc.
In 1958, May acquired the

Cohen Brothers Jacob Elias Cohen (April 1, 1862 – June 1, 1927) was an American businessman who served as president and CEO of Cohen Brothers department store in Jacksonville, Florida. He was nicknamed "Wanamaker of the South" after John Wanamaker the propr ...

Department Store in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, turning it into the May Cohens chain. In 1959, May acquired the Hecht Company of

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, adding it as a new division. In 1965, May acquired G. Fox & Co. of

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. In 1966, May acquired the

Meier & Frank Meier & Frank was an American department store chain founded in 1857 by Aaron Meier. He partnered with Emil and Sigmund Frank in the early history of the company, and opened the Meier & Frank Building flagship store in Portland, Oregon, Portland ...

chain based in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, adding it as a new division. David's grandson

Morton May Morton David May (25 March 1914 – 13 April 1983) (known as Buster to his friends and colleagues) was an American philanthropist and art collector. He was also at various times director, chairman of the board, and chief executive officer of ...

became the chairman in 1951 and headed the company for 16 years. Morton May was active in St. Louis civic affairs and was a patron of the

St. Louis Art Museum The Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) is an art museum located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. With paintings, sculptures, cultural objects, and ancient masterpieces from around the world, its three-story building stands in Forest Park in ...

. In 1968,

Venture Stores Venture Stores, Inc., was a chain of retail stores aimed at the discount department-store market. John Geisse, formerly of Target Stores, and May Department Stores' executive vice president, Dave Babcock, founded the chain in 1968. Venture Store ...

was founded when Target co-founder John F. Geisse went to work for May Department Stores. Under an antitrust settlement reached with the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, May was unable to acquire any more retail chains at the time, and the department store company needed a way to compete against the emerging discount store chains. In August 1978, May sold the 70-store Consumers chain of catalogue merchants to the Canadian

Consumers Distributing Consumers Distributing (known in Quebec as Distribution aux Consommateurs, and informally as Consumers) was a catalogue store in Canada and the United States that operated from 1957 to 1996. At its peak, the company operated 243 outlets in Cana ...

. It closed its stores in 1996. In 1986, May acquired the

Associated Dry Goods Associated Dry Goods Corporation (ADG) was a chain of department stores that merged with May Department Stores in 1986. It was founded in 1916 as an association of independent stores called American Dry Goods, based in New York City. History ...

holding company and its chains (including J. W. Robinson's and its Florida division, Loehmann's,

Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was an American department store chain founded in 1826 by Samuel Lord. It had 86 full-line stores in the Northeastern United States at its peak in the 2000s, and 38 locations at the time of its liquidation in 2021. The Lord & Tay ...

, Caldor,

Joseph Horne Company The Joseph Horne Company, often referred to simply as Joseph Horne's or Horne's, was an American department store chain based in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The store was one of the oldest in the country being founded on February 22, 18 ...

, The Denver Dry Goods Company,

Goldwater's Goldwater's Department Store was a department store chain based in Phoenix, Arizona. History Michael Goldwater, a Polish Jewish immigrant and the grandfather of U.S. Senator and 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, established a tradin ...

, Hahne and Company,

L. S. Ayres L. S. Ayres and Company was a department store based in Indianapolis, Indiana, Indianapolis, Indiana, and founded in 1872 by Lyman S. Ayres. Over the years its Indianapolis flagship store, which opened in 1905 and was later enlarged, became kn ...

, H. & S. Pogue Company,

Stewart Dry Goods The Stewart Dry Goods Company—alternately known as Stewart Dry Goods, or Stewart's—was a regional department store chain based in Louisville, Kentucky. At its height, the chain consisted of seven store locations in Kentucky and Indiana. The ...

, and

Sibley's Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Company, known informally as Sibley's, was a Rochester, New York–based department store chain with stores located exclusively in the state of New York. Its flagship store, at 228 East Main Street in downtown Rochester, a ...

), the largest-ever retail acquisition in history at that time. In 1987, May renamed the five-unit May-Cohens as May Florida and sold the ten stores from Robinson’s of Florida to

Maison Blanche Maison Blanche (, ''White House'') was a department store in New Orleans, Louisiana, and later also a chain of department stores. It was founded in 1897 by Isidore Newman, an immigrant from Germany. Maison Blanche is perhaps best remembered f ...

so as to give them a foothold in the Floridan market. Stores at Tyrone Square,

Orlando Fashion Square Orlando Fashion Square is a split one-story, two-story indoor shopping mall located in Orlando, Florida. Opened in 1973, it features 31 stores in over one million square feet of shop space. The mall's anchor stores are Macy's, Floor & Decor, and ...

, WestShore Plaza, Altamonte Mall, University Square Mall, Countryside Mall, Southgate Plaza, Edison Mall, Coastland Center, and The Florida Mall were included in the deal along with a proposed 11th store at Lakeland Square Mall. May acquired

Foley's Foley's was a regional chain of department stores owned by Federated Department Stores (1947–1988, 2005–2006), later owned by May Department Stores (1988–2005) and headquartered in Downtown Houston, Texas. On August 30, 2005, the divisi ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and

Filene's Filene's was an American department store chain founded in 1881 by William Filene. The historic Filene's Department Store in the Downtown Crossing district of Boston, Massachusetts housed the flagship store and headquarters, while branch store ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

from

whereas May Florida was also acquired by Maison Blanche. As a result, May withdrew from Florida by closing the Gateway location and converting those at Roosevelt Square, Regency Square, Volusia Mall, and

Orange Park Mall Orange Park Mall is a shopping mall located in Bellair-Meadowbrook Terrace, an unincorporated suburban area just west of Orange Park, Florida, United States. It features Dillard's, JCPenney, Belk, Dick's Sporting Goods, and AMC Theatres as an ...

under the Maison Blanche nameplate. In 1993, May Company California and J.W. Robinson's merged to form

Robinsons-May Robinsons-May was an American department store chain founded in 1993 with the merger of J. W. Robinson's and May Company California. It retained the former May headquarters in Los Angeles, California, and operated in Southern California, Arizo ...

. In that same year, Filene's absorbed the G. Fox division, Kaufmann's absorbed the May Company Ohio division, and Foley's absorbed the May D&F division. In 1995, May acquired the

John Wanamaker John Wanamaker (July 11, 1838December 12, 1922) was an American merchant and religious, civic and political figure, considered by some to be a proponent of advertising and a "pioneer in marketing". He served as United States Postmaster General ...

chain based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. In 1996, May acquires the

Strawbridge's Strawbridge's, formerly Strawbridge & Clothier, was a department store in the northeastern United States, with stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The Center City Philadelphia flagship store was, in its day, a gracious urban empori ...

chain based in Philadelphia.The Drive to Differentiate - Macy's, Inc
In 1998, May acquired The Jones Store chain based in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. In 1999, May acquired Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution based in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, folding it into the Meier & Frank subsidiary. In 2000, May Department Stores purchases

David's Bridal David's Bridal is a clothier in the United States that specializes in wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses, prom and homecoming dresses, ''quinceañera'' dresses, flower girl dresses, other formal wear, and alterations. Until filing for bankruptc ...

., title=32 The May Department Stores Company to Acquire David's Bridal, Inc. , website= PR Newswire , date= July 3, 2000
In 2001, Meier & Frank absorbed the ZCMI name, entering the Utah marketplace. In that same year, Hecht's acquired five

Proffitt's Proffitt's was a department store chain based in Alcoa, Tennessee. The chain was founded in 1919 by David W. Proffitt and James Ellis. In 2006, the Proffitt's and McRae's stores were converted into Belk after Belk had acquired the two chains in ...

stores in Nashville TN, entering the Nashville marketplace. In 2002, Meier & Frank operations consolidated with the Robinsons-May division while Kaufmann's operations consolidated with the Filene's division, yet both retaining the Meier & Frank and Kaufmann's names. In 2004, May Department Stores took over the

Marshall Field's Marshall Field & Company (colloquially Marshall Field's) was an American department store chain founded in 1852 by Potter Palmer. It was based in Chicago, Illinois and founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, ...

chain from

Target Corporation Target Corporation is an American retail corporation that operates a chain of discount department stores and hypermarkets, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh-largest retailer in the United States, and a component of th ...

.The Drive to Differentiate - Macy's, Inc.

Acquisition of May by Federated

On February 28, 2005,

, Inc., announced that they would acquire the May company for $11 billion (~$ in ) in stock. To help finance the May Company deal, Federated agreed to sell its combined proprietary credit card business to

Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, t ...

. The merger was completed on August 30, 2005 after an assurance agreement was reached with the State Attorneys General of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. By September 2006, all of the May regional nameplates, except for the Lord & Taylor chain, ceased to exist as Federated consolidated its operations under the

mastheads including the most famous store names

, and

, as well as the last nameplate to still have the May name (

). All locations that were not sold off were rebranded as Macy's, except for one

Hecht's Hecht's was an American department store chain founded in 1857 by Samuel Hecht, Jr. It was headquartered in Washington, D.C., and operated in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and Southern United States. The family business was acqui ...

location in

Friendship Heights Friendship Heights is an urban commercial and residential neighborhood in northwest Washington, D.C., and southern Montgomery County, Maryland. Though its borders are not clearly defined, Friendship Heights consists roughly of the neighborhoods ...

. That was rebuilt and rebranded as

Bloomingdale's Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain founded in 1861 by Joseph Bloomingdale and Lyman Bloomingdale. It was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1930, which purchased the Macy's department store chain in 1994, ...

. In advance of the retail consolidation, May's credit call center in

Lorain, Ohio Lorain () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located in Northeast Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River (Ohio), Black River about west of Cleveland. It is the List of cities in Ohio, ninth-most populous city in O ...

, ceased operations on July 1, 2006.

, the lone department store division not to be largely converted to the Macy's nameplate, was sold to a group of investors at NRDC Equity Partners, LLC for $1.2 billion (~$ in ) in October 2006. David's Bridal and After Hours Formalwear were sold in November 2006.

May Centers

Around the beginning of the twentieth century, the May Department Stores Company created a real estate division that handled the purchase of land and the construction of the buildings that would house their new stand-alone department stores. Starting in 1947, when they wanted to open a new store for their May Company California division, May entered the new open-air shopping center development business with the construction of what would later become the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles. After that time, May became a major shopping center, and later mall developer when they began to develop new malls to house their newly proposed department stores. During the mid-1980s, the company noticed that their stock was vastly undervalued and therefore was at risk of becoming a hostile takeover target. May Department Stores needed to re-purchase some of its company's stock to increase the share price. To accomplish this, they needed to obtain cash quickly, which they did by making a deal with Prudential Insurance in which the insurance company gave May $550 million in exchange for 50% ownership of May Centers. In 1992, Prudential purchased the rest of May Centers and renamed the company CenterMark.

References

External links

May Company
(archived) * {{DEFAULTSORT:May Department Stores Company Retail companies established in 1877 American companies established in 1877 Clothing retailers of the United States Defunct department stores based in Missouri Companies based in Colorado Lake County, Colorado Macy's, Inc. Companies based in St. Louis Retail companies disestablished in 2005 Defunct companies based in Missouri 1877 establishments in Colorado May Department Stores 2005 mergers and acquisitions Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange