Macy's Herald Square Giving Beauty a Face Lift

Macy's Herald Square, their icnonic flagship store on of 34th Street, is in the beginnging stages of redoing the beauty department. "Herald Square is going to be America's beauty flagship," said Jeff Gennette, chief merchandising officer for Macy's.

Industry executives appear to agree. "It's definitely a game-changer," said John Demsey, a group president at the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. "It's one of the handful of the great beauty floors of the world, rivaling not only Bloomingdale's 59th Street and Saks Fifth Avenue, but Selfridges and Harrods in London, Galeries Lafayette and Printemps in Paris and Isetan in Tokyo."

"They can change that whole neighborhood by doing it right," said Don Loftus, president of Parlux Ltd. and executive vice president of Perfumania Inc. "It's the second-largest tourist site in Manhattan and possibly in the country. It's almost all out-of-towners. It's a real stage for our category. It can have an impact. When I shop Harrods, I remember specific departments like the pet department and food hall for the experience - it's memorable. And I think that is what Macy's is creating: a very memorable experience. I hope it makes everyone say, 'How can we do that on a smaller scale in our city? How do we bring back the fun theatrics of retailing, what it used to be?' Because right now, it's pretty dull."

"It's such a beautiful historic building, which wasn't taken advantage of as a luxury shopping space," said Carol Hamilton, president of L'Oréal Luxe USA. "They're bringing it back to its full glory. It's a fantastic move for Macy's. The way they designed it, I believe, is going to showcase our brands in a much better way than before. It will have the latest installations and the greatest thinking from everyone in beauty at the same time, which makes a huge difference. And the way they've organized the space, with the women's fragrance department and the use of the balcony, will be quite celebratory and luxurious. We're going to be in there with Kiehl's, which was a major decision - it's really because we feel it is the most important retail door in the world. We know that there's a global shopper at Macy's - and they will attract a lot more as a result of this installation."

The entire beauty floor will not be done until Nov. 1, but the revamped women's fragrance department opened June 18 and a men's department and a series of shops (on the 34th Street side) are due to open this weekend.