The May Department Stores Company
A major American department-store holding company that operated regional retail chains until its acquisition by Federated Department Stores in 2005.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
The May Department Stores Company was an American department-store holding company founded by David May in 1877 during the Colorado silver rush. It began as a retail business in Leadville, Colorado, and developed into one of the largest department-store groups in the United States. Rather than operating a single nationally uniform chain, May organized its business around regional divisions and preserved many local store identities, including May Company, Famous-Barr, Kaufmann's, Hecht's, Filene's, Foley's, Meier & Frank, Robinsons-May, Strawbridge's, The Jones Store, and Lord & Taylor. The company's growth combined internal expansion, acquisitions, real-estate development, and the use of distinct regional merchandising organizations. Its headquarters moved from Leadville to Denver in 1889 and then to St. Louis in 1905. May was formally incorporated in 1910. During the first half of the twentieth century, it expanded through purchases of established local retailers, including the May Company operation in Cleveland, O'Neil's in Akron, A. Hamburger & Sons in Los Angeles, Kaufmann's in Pittsburgh, Strouss in Youngstown, Daniels & Fisher in Denver, Hecht Company in Baltimore, G. Fox in Hartford, and Meier & Frank in Portland. May also developed a substantial property and shopping-center business. Its real-estate arm acquired sites and built department stores, and from the late 1940s the company participated in the development of open-air shopping centers and later enclosed malls. May Centers became a significant property operation, although May eventually sold its interest to raise capital and address concerns that its stock was undervalued. In the late 1960s, the company also entered discount retailing through Venture Stores, created in response to the growth of discount competitors and restrictions associated with an antitrust settlement. The company's acquisition program accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, May bought Associated Dry Goods, at that time described as the largest retail acquisition in history. The transaction added chains such as Lord & Taylor, Caldor, Loehmann's, Joseph Horne Company, L. S. Ayres, Hahne and Company, and other regional retailers. May later acquired or absorbed John Wanamaker, Strawbridge's, The Jones Store, ZCMI, David's Bridal, and other businesses. Divisional consolidation produced names such as Robinsons-May, while other divisions absorbed predecessor chains and continued using familiar local brands. May's strategy remained strongly regional, but this structure also created challenges as national department-store competition increased. In 2004, the company acquired Marshall Field's from Target Corporation. On February 28, 2005, Federated Department Stores announced an agreement to acquire May for approximately $11 billion in stock. The transaction closed on August 30, 2005 after regulatory and state-attorney-general assurances. Federated subsequently consolidated most May nameplates under Macy's. By September 2006, the remaining May regional brands had largely disappeared, with selected properties sold, converted to Bloomingdale's, or transferred to new owners. Lord & Taylor was sold to NRDC Equity Partners, while David's Bridal and After Hours Formalwear were divested. The May Department Stores Company therefore ceased to operate as an independent corporate group, although its former divisions and stores continued to influence the U.S. department-store landscape.
History
David May founded the business in Leadville, Colorado, in 1877, where the company benefited from the commercial activity generated by the Colorado silver rush. The headquarters moved to Denver in 1889 and to St. Louis in 1905. The enterprise became formally incorporated as The May Department Stores Company in 1910. Its early growth relied on buying established local retailers and integrating them into a broader holding-company structure while allowing the acquired stores to retain strong regional identities. Important early additions included the E. R. Hull & Dutton Co. of Cleveland in 1899, which became the May Company operation in that market; the creation of Famous-Barr through the 1911 combination of The Famous Clothing Store and William Barr Dry Goods; O'Neil's of Akron in 1912; and A. Hamburger & Sons of Los Angeles in 1923. After the Second World War, May expanded more aggressively, acquiring Kaufmann's in 1946, Strouss in 1947, Daniels & Fisher in 1956, Cohen Brothers in Jacksonville in 1958, Hecht in 1959, G. Fox in 1965, and Meier & Frank in 1966. These businesses generally operated as separate divisions rather than as one standardized national chain. May's real-estate activities became an important part of its operating model. The company established a property division to secure sites and construct department-store buildings. In 1947, its May Company California division entered open-air shopping-center development through a project that later became Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles. May subsequently participated in the development of shopping centers and enclosed malls designed to accommodate its department stores. In the 1980s, management considered the company's share price undervalued and used a transaction with Prudential Insurance to raise $550 million in exchange for a 50 percent interest in May Centers. Prudential acquired the remaining interest in 1992 and renamed the business CenterMark. In 1968, May created Venture Stores after John F. Geisse joined the company. The discount chain gave May a way to compete with emerging mass-merchandise retailers at a time when an antitrust settlement limited its ability to acquire additional retail chains. May later sold its 70-store Consumers catalog-merchant operation in 1978. The 1986 purchase of Associated Dry Goods substantially broadened May's geographic reach and portfolio. The acquired group included Lord & Taylor, Caldor, Loehmann's, Joseph Horne Company, L. S. Ayres, Hahne and Company, The Denver Dry Goods Company, Goldwater's, Stewart Dry Goods, Sibley's, and other regional operations. May subsequently acquired Foley's and Filene's from Federated, although it also reduced or reorganized some regional holdings. In 1993, May Company California and J. W. Robinson's combined as Robinsons-May; Filene's absorbed G. Fox; Kaufmann's absorbed May Company Ohio; and Foley's absorbed May-Daniels & Fisher. During the 1990s and early 2000s, May acquired John Wanamaker, Strawbridge's, The Jones Store, ZCMI, and David's Bridal. Meier & Frank absorbed the ZCMI identity in Utah, while other divisions consolidated operationally without immediately abandoning their local names. In 2004, May acquired Marshall Field's from Target Corporation. Federated Department Stores announced its purchase of May on February 28, 2005. The transaction, valued at approximately $11 billion in stock, closed on August 30 after state-level regulatory assurances. Federated then pursued a large-scale nameplate consolidation. By September 2006, most former May stores had become Macy's stores, one Hecht's location became Bloomingdale's, Lord & Taylor was sold to NRDC Equity Partners, and David's Bridal and After Hours Formalwear were divested. The May company consequently disappeared as an independent department-store group.
- 2006
Regional May nameplates largely eliminated
[1]Most remaining May stores were converted to Macy's, while Lord & Taylor and specialty businesses followed separate ownership paths.
- 2005
Acquisition by Federated announced and completed
[1]Federated announced the acquisition in February and completed the merger on August 30.
- 2004
Marshall Field's acquired
[1]May took over the Marshall Field's chain from Target Corporation.
- 1986
Associated Dry Goods acquired
[1]May acquired Associated Dry Goods and its portfolio of regional department-store and specialty chains.
- 1968
Venture Stores founded
[1]May established Venture Stores to compete in discount retailing.
- 1947
Entry into shopping-center development
[1]May Company California became involved in developing an open-air shopping center in Los Angeles, later known as Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza.
- 1910
Formal incorporation
[1]The business was incorporated as The May Department Stores Company.
- 1905
Headquarters move to St. Louis
[1]May relocated its headquarters to St. Louis, Missouri.
- 1889
Headquarters move to Denver
[1]The company's headquarters moved from Leadville to Denver.
- 1877
Company founded in Leadville
[1]David May founded the business in Leadville, Colorado, during the Colorado silver rush.
Products and positioning
A large, multi-division American department-store group combining regional upscale and middle-market retail chains with shopping-center development and specialty retail operations.
Department-store retail · 1877
Regional department stores
May's principal business was a portfolio of regional department stores selling apparel, footwear, cosmetics, accessories, jewelry, household goods, home furnishings, and related merchandise. The company generally preserved local identities and management structures, allowing names such as Kaufmann's, Hecht's, Filene's, Foley's, Meier & Frank, and Robinsons-May to maintain regional recognition while benefiting from centralized ownership and capital.
Shopping-center development · 1947
May Centers
May Centers handled property acquisition and development connected with the company's department stores. Its activities included stand-alone store construction, open-air shopping centers, and later mall development. The property business supported May's retail expansion but was eventually separated from the department-store company when Prudential acquired the remaining interest and renamed it CenterMark.
Discount retail · 1968
Venture Stores
Venture Stores was a discount-store chain created by May in 1968. It was intended to give the company a response to emerging discount competitors at a time when an antitrust settlement restricted May's ability to expand by acquiring more department-store chains.
Bridal specialty retail · 2000
David's Bridal
May acquired David's Bridal in 2000, extending the group beyond traditional department stores into bridal apparel and related specialty retail. The business was later sold in November 2006 after the May acquisition by Federated.
Department-store retail · 1986
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor was among the prominent chains added through May's acquisition of Associated Dry Goods. It was the principal May department-store nameplate not broadly converted to Macy's after the Federated transaction and was sold to NRDC Equity Partners in 2006.
Brand decisions
2006
Consolidate regional nameplates under Macy'sStrategyBackground
After completing the May acquisition, Federated sought to operate a more unified national department-store brand.
Action taken
Most remaining May regional stores were converted to Macy's, with limited exceptions and separate divestitures.
Aftermath
The May corporate identity and most of its regional department-store names ceased to operate independently.
2005
Accept acquisition by Federated Department StoresM&ABackground
May operated a large but complex portfolio of regional chains as department-store competition and consolidation intensified.
Action taken
Federated agreed to acquire May in a stock transaction announced on February 28, 2005; the merger closed on August 30.
Aftermath
Federated consolidated most former May stores under Macy's, sold Lord & Taylor, and divested David's Bridal and After Hours Formalwear.
Announced stock transaction value. $11 billion (2005 announcement)
1986
Acquire Associated Dry GoodsM&ABackground
May sought substantial geographic and format expansion through the purchase of an established department-store holding company.
Action taken
May acquired Associated Dry Goods and its collection of regional and specialty retail chains.
Aftermath
The transaction significantly enlarged May's national footprint and added Lord & Taylor, Caldor, Loehmann's, and numerous other divisions.
1968
Enter discount retailing through Venture StoresStrategyBackground
May faced growing competition from discount chains and was constrained by an antitrust settlement from acquiring additional retail chains.
Action taken
The company created Venture Stores as a separate discount-retail operation.
Aftermath
The move gave May a vehicle for competing outside its traditional regional department-store format.
Recent events
- 2006
Former May regional nameplates are consolidated under Macy's[1]
M&A
Federated converted most remaining May-operated stores to Macy's, while selected assets and divisions were sold or assigned other outcomes.
- 2005
Federated Department Stores agrees to acquire May[1]
M&A
Federated Department Stores announced an approximately $11 billion stock acquisition of The May Department Stores Company.
- 2005
May acquisition closes after regulatory assurances[1]
M&A · Regulation
The merger was completed on August 30, 2005 following an assurance agreement involving several state attorneys general.
Sources1 sources
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