Bye-bye, Bon Marche

The final Bon Marche signs should be gone from the department stores in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene market by the end of this week, replaced with the lowercase Macy’s signs with their bright red stars.

On Monday morning, workers began installing the Macy’s sign on the Main Avenue side of the downtown Spokane store. Signs at the NorthTown, Spokane Valley and Silver Lake Mall stores already have been changed.

The final sign to be changed on the downtown store is high up on the building’s north-facing side. That sign should be replaced by the end of this week, said store manager Gayle Stanley.

“The plans are for that to be a lit-up Macy’s sign,” Stanley said.

The Bon Marche originated in Seattle and entered the Spokane market in 1946. The stores became Bon-Macy’s in 2003 as parent company Federated Department Stores moved to connect all its chains with the Macy’s name. The company’s final step has been to drop the hyphenated names in favor of Macy’s, one of the oldest and best-known names in retail sales.

The same change has occurred at Federated’s other department stores: Burdine’s in Florida, Goldsmith’s in Tennessee, Lazarus in the Midwest and Rich’s in the Southeast. The 184 stores converting to the Macy’s name will join 239 department stores that already operate under that name in 19 states, Guam and Puerto Rico.

But the changes will not affect Bloomingdale’s stores, also owned by Federated.

Company officials have said the change gives Federated the ability to advertise nationally under one brand name, important in an increasingly competitive retail market.

However, in Spokane, one piece of local history will remain: the ornate “B” and “M” on top of the downtown store, topped with a crown.

“Everybody’s happy to hear the crown is staying,” Stanley said.