Oct. 11, 1999
In 1877, what would become The May Company Department Stores opened in Leadville, Colorado.
In 1905, May moved its headquarters to St. Louis.
Over the years it built its empire, the first major acquisition being Kaufmann's in 1946.
In 1959 May picked up Hecht's, with stores in Washington and Baltimore.
May acquired Lord and Taylor...in 1986.
In the '90's, it went on an acquisition spree, including the Strawbridge and Clothier stores in 1996.
Now, Eyewitness News has learned that the May Company has set its sights on Utah's venerable department store, ZCMI.
The talk has been around for a while but ZCMI literally put out the word itself with this statement a few weeks ago.
David Hardman/ZCMI/Sept. 17: "AS OUR CORPORATE OFFICERS HAVE SAID, WE'RE EXPLORING ALL OPPORTUNITIES."
Sources said that was the first time ZCMI admitted it may be up for sale.
And evidently, the retail world thought so too.
Since that statement, Eyewitness News has learned St. Louis based May Company has recently come calling.
The May Company is a giant-- 400 stores and $14 billion in annual sales.
In September alone, sales hit a billion dollars.
To put that in perspective, ZCMI's total revenues for 1998 were $250 million.
The May Company also has a presence in most western states, but not yet in Utah.
All parties are keeping quiet, but one source close to ZCMI told us the May Company is putting together a buy-out plan.
But there could be a major obstacle-- the ZCMI name.
Some sources say May wants to drop the name. ZCMI's majority owner, the LDS Church, may not want the name changed.
Despite that, there are indications a sale of America's first department store isn't inconceivable.
The store is losing money, and LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley -- without mentioning any business in particular-- recently said churchs' businesses are to be profitable businesses.
President Gordon B. Hinckley/ L.D.S. Church: "ARE THESE BUSINESSES OPERATED FOR PROFIT? OF COURSE THEY ARE. THEY OPERATE IN A COMPETITIVE WORLD. THEY PAY TAXES. THEY ARE IMPORTANT CITIZENS OF THIS COMMUNITY."
May Company and ZCMI both have no comment. But as a possible sign of how rife the rumors are, a spokesperson for ZCMI said 'No comment' before we asked any questions.
Those close to the deal say another factor would be the ZCMI Center downtown and what would become of it.
As for a timeline, some predict a deal by the first of the year.
Others say it could be sooner or later than that.
