One Year Later, Customers Hold Protest Rally for the Return of Marshall Field’s

September 5, 2007 - (CHICAGO) On Sept. 9, 2006, all "Marshall Field's" stores were converted to "Macy's," including the iconic Marshall Field's flagship store on State Street. On that day, hundreds of Field's supporters converged at State and Washington under the great clock to demonstrate their outrage over the conversion.

One year later, at 1:00 pm on Sun., Sept. 9, 2007, supporters of Marshall Field's will again rally under that same iconic clock to demonstrate that they still want the return of Marshall Field's.

For the past year, a grassroots boycott has been in effect against Macy's and Bloomingdale's stores. The business community has since noted a significant decline in sales at Chicago-area Macy's while sales at Macy's competitors have significantly increased. Macy's most recent quarter showed a 77% decline in profits. Field’s Fans assert that this demonstrates the effectiveness of this boycott, showing that Chicagoans have a deep resistance to the loss of the Marshall Field's name, way of doing business, and levels of quality merchandise and service.

In the past year, the grassroots organization FieldsFansChicago.org has sponsored multiple leafleting and protest efforts in support of the return of Marshall Field's. These have included two additional protests at State and Washington on "Black Friday," Nov. 24, 2006, and on May 6, 2007, in advance of Macy’s, Inc.'s annual shareholder meeting.

Since last fall, Field's Fans have distributed over 66,000 leaflets insisting Field’s can come back as the result of a sustained customer boycott of Macy's. Over 63,000 lapel stickers and pin-on buttons with slogans like “I Want My Marshall Field’s” have been distributed to Field's Fans worldwide, as have thousands of bumper stickers that say "Field's Is Chicago/Boycott Macy's. These activities have received international media attention, with coverage by Reuters, Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, New York Post, CBS Sunday Morning, WGN, National Public Radio, Chicago Public Radio, the local and the national television news reports of ABC, CBS, FOX.

FieldsFansChicago.org organizers maintain, "As we continue our grassroots efforts to bring back Marshall Field's, it is good to keep in mind that in corporate America, anything can happen. After seven years as part of Daimler, Chrysler is again an independent American auto company. 'AT&T' became 'Cingular' only to reverse course back to 'AT&T.' The Ford Taurus, was resurrected. With the widespread perception that Marshall Field's loss is a huge corporate blunder, we look unflinchingly to the future and keep emphasizing that although Field's is gone for now, it can indeed come back—just as Coke did when consumers rejected New Coke. It is only a matter of time until those visionary business and civic leaders with the needed clout come forward to do what needs to be done."