Jan. 27, 2000
Friday, ZCMI begins laying off upper level management and administrative staffers.
Those dismissals are a result of ZCMI's purchase by the May Co., which will re-open the stores Monday under the new management.
News Specialist Scott Light has more.
It's a bittersweet point in history for this historic department store.
The layoffs affect ZCMI executives.
Store employees and warehouse employees keep their jobs.
Ironically, those folks are being trained right now as employees of Meier and Frank.
At least for one shopper, closed doors at ZCMI came as a surprise.
Actually, doors re-open Monday.
Over the past two weeks, ZCMI stores have been re-wired and re-inventoried by the new owner-- the May Company.
The stores will eventually be named Meier and Frank, a Portland-based store that's owned by May.
When ZCMI stores reopen Monday, don't expect drastic changes.
None of the stores has undergone a major makeover on the inside.
In fact, the ZCMI signs will stick around for a while.
The timeline goes like this:
Meier and Frank can use the ZCMI name for up to two years.
And as long as ZCMI is on the storefront, that store is not open on Sunday.
Once the Meier and Frank name is up, it's shopping seven days a week.
The one exception is the downtown store. Under the ownership agreement, it'll never be open on Sunday.
Some shoppers we talked to hope new ownership doesn't change some old traditions.
"IT WAS NICE TO GO TO THE BASEMENT AND GO TO THE BAKERY. IT WAS KIND OF FUN TO TAKE A NUMBER AND GET SOMETHING. I SUPPOSE I'LL MISS THAT A LITTLE BIT."
"I THINK IT WOULD BE NICE IF THE THEY KEEP THE TEA ROOM AND A FEW THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN ZCMI TRADITIONS."
But other shoppers actually echo some of the problems ZCMI had to begin with.
Before the ownership change, retail experts said ZCMI needed to open on Sundays, needed more merchandise, and better customer service.
"I'M REALLY HAPPY ACTUALLY. HOW COME? I JUST DIDN'T THINK THEY HAD THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE SO I THINK IT'LL BE GREAT TO HAVE SOME NEW THINGS IN SALT LAKE."
"I THINK ZCMI IS OVER-PRICED AND OVER-RATED."
It turns out Meier and Frank is a lot like ZCMI.
The Portland based chain began in 1857.
It too has long standing traditions and the company told me it wants to keep the ZCMI traditions.
They also told me they'll come in quietly and observe the market for the first year.
