Macy's embraces a different style of red

If there's one surefire way to drive customers to your store in this town, it's to sell Cardinals gear.

After all, that is St. Louis' favorite fashion statement.

When I moved here several years ago, I quickly learned that there are few — if any — places in St. Louis where Cardinals jerseys are not acceptable garb. And seemingly everyone — no matter if man, woman or child — has several shirts and hats in his or her collection.

So I was amused when I heard that the downtown Macy's was boosting its selection of Cardinals apparel as part of its recent remodeling of the store. As if this town doesn't already have enough red in its wardrobe. But apparently you can't have too much.

From a business perspective, it seems like a smart move, especially for a store that is rarely teeming with customers. And it makes geographic sense. The only other place I know of to buy Cardinals gear downtown is at Busch Stadium itself.

The store now carries about 40 percent more Cardinals apparel than it did before the remodel, which was completed last month, said Melinda Nichols, the store manager.

And get this: The downtown store is poised to rank third in the nation among Macy's in the amount of licensed athletic apparel it offers. The store that takes top honors in this category is the chain's flagship store in Herald Square in New York.

The Redbirds strategy already seems to be paying off. There is an uptick in traffic on game days, Nichols said.

"It is one of the best businesses in the store right now," she added.

(Besides a new paint job and carpet, the store was also downsized from seven floors to three as part of the remodel. The store's merchandise mix was also tweaked to include swimwear to appeal to tourists, an expanded women's shoe selection and Polo Ralph Lauren in the men's department.)

And if selling Cardinals gear isn't enough, then having Matt Holliday sign autographs in the store is another guaranteed way to bring customers through your door. Macy's did that, too, over the lunch hour on Friday.

Some fans showed up before the store opened at 9 a.m. — an hour earlier than usual — to snag a spot in line. Of course, there was a catch: They had to buy at least $30 worth of licensed apparel at Macy's to get Holliday's signature on those items.

So as they stood in line, everyone was carrying a Macy's bag with a bright red star on it.

Just after noon, a fairly nonchalant Holliday walked up to the table. He took a decidedly casual approach to the affair, wearing flipflops and shorts as well as a gray Hurley baseball cap. Adding to his youthful appearance was the pink gum he occasionally blew bubbles with.

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