 For Chicagoans and many other Midwesterners, yesterday was a sad day: the conglomerateurs of Federated Department Stores completed their nefarious conversion of our Marshall Field stores to the Macy’s brand.  The change from the old soothing dark green to the new garish red is just one element of Federated’s Macyfication of retailing from coast to coast:  Boston’s Filene’s and the Washington region’s Hecht Company, among others, suffered the same fate.
But losing Field’s is the worst.
The clock outside its flagship store in the Loop;Â Â Â 
 the life-changing Frango Mints; 
 the One True Santa Claus. Under pressure from an outraged populace, Federated will retain some of the trappings of Field’s. But it won’t be the same. They’ve stolen a piece of Chicagoland’s collective experience, and they’ll pay the price. Mark my words: this will go down as the most misguided marketing mistake since New Coke.
Del. Brink, it is sad indeed. As a native of the Chicago suburbs I remember going to fields with my parents in December to see their Christmas decorations. I think a lot of people have the same fond memories of that holiday tradition and it is a shame that the next generation of Chicagoans won’t have the same opportunity.
Those of us who lost the World’s Greatest Department Store, Dayton’s (which became Marshall Fields, which became … well, you already know that) have already done our grieving. As far as we were concerned, the only good thing about the switch from Dayton’s to Marshall Fields was the arrival of Frango Mints. Which truly are life changing.