Macy's shifts Chicago focus

CHICAGO (AP) -- More than two years have passed since Federated Department Stores bought May Company for $11 billion and started shifting shoppers nationwide to the Macy's brand.

Nowhere has the task proved more difficult than Chicago, where anger at the loss of the iconic Marshall Field's chain stubbornly refused to recede.

That's why this holiday season, Macy's has all but given up wooing the Field's faithful.

Instead, executives are campaigning to bring in new shoppers who lack a deep-rooted Field's connection.

Changes include a wine bar in the store's Walnut Room. There's also free Wi-Fi, the city's only FAO Schwartz toy store and college nights.

Macy's executive Frank Guzzetta says the store has worked so hard not to disappoint the old Field's customers that it didn't focus on making sure the store was what everyone wants.