We are down to a very limited number of department stores today. The most dramatic event to happen in our industry, in many years, was Federated’s acquisition of May Department Stores in 2005. At that point, Federated had edited down its own nameplates—Macy’s, Rich’s, Burdines, Lazarus, and The Bon—from seven to two: Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s. Then it acquired 480 May stores, sold off 80 and renamed the remaining stores Macy’s. The theory behind this was to take full advantage of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, the fireworks, the Macy’s Flower Show, and Macy’s institutional value across the country, creating a national brand. It all makes great good sense. However, thus far, the program is not meeting all expectations.