Macy’s tests new home-furnishings store

Jennifer Kho

SOUTH COAST PLAZA--Macy’s West is using Costa Mesa as a testing ground

for a new home store design concept.

The new Macy’s Home store, the first of its kind in the country,

opened this week at South Coast Plaza. Company officials said if the

prototype does well, it could be used as a model for renovation of Macy’s

Home stores throughout the nation.

The three-level store on Bear Street has been set up like a home

without interior walls, a concept that company officials said will help

make interior decorating easier for customers.

“Everything for the room is in one place. It’s laid out just like a

house, which solves the interior decorating problem,” said Elizabeth

Krogh, vice president of public relations for Macy’s West.

“If you buy a table, you don’t have to ask yourself, ‘What dishes

would look fabulous on that table?’ Retailers have done a great job

showing women how to get a complete look with their clothes. Now we’re

trying to show people how to have that complete look with their home.”

In other Macy’s Home stores, the furniture is all in one department,

separate from the bedding or kitchenware, Krogh said.

The bedding departments, for example, each have a bed for display

purposes but not for sale, she said.

In the new store, the beds are with the bedding and next to the

bathroom department, and the dining room furniture is with the china,

crystal and silverware and next to the living room department.

The kitchen department includes tables as well as kitchenware and a

working kitchen for weekly cooking demonstrations.

The company plans to open a restaurant in the department, Krogh said.

“We didn’t use props in the displays,” said Rich Burford, fashion

director for Macy’s Home.

“Almost everything on display is on sale. It’s a real lifestyle

experience. There’s a natural flow between the departments and they all

work together.”

Diane Palm, a Newport Beach resident and South Coast Plaza shopper,

said she thinks the levels are well-organized.

“I think it’s nice,” she said. “You don’t have to walk around looking

for things.”

The South Coast Plaza store has become the company’s flagship, with

every element of Macy’s represented, from the men’s store to the fashion

and home stores, Krogh said.

The home store is near another South Coast Plaza home-furnishings

store, Crate & Barrel, which opened in November.

Bette Kahn, a spokeswoman for Crate & Barrel, said the company does

not expect to lose business because of the new Macy’s Home store.

“We’re delighted that Macy’s will have a home-furnishings store so

close to us,” she said. “We don’t think it hurts us.

“We believe in the concept of a destination shopping experience, where

people who are looking for furniture can come to one place and find a lot

of different choices.

“People these days are short on time and we feel we are saving them

time by being with other retailers that sell like products.”

Debra Gunn-Downing, a spokeswoman for C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, which

owns South Coast Plaza, said Orange County is fast becoming a huge market

for home furnishings.

“The growth in population and housing in Orange County has fueled the

huge demand for home furniture,” she said.

“People need beautiful things to furnish their home with and this

store speaks to that demand for furniture in high-end homes. With this

opening, I think we’ll only see the home furniture market continue to

expand.”