(The following story by Kelly-Jane Cotter appeared on the Asbury Park Press website on November 21.)
Give thanks for Macy’s this Thanksgiving.
As more and more companies fall victim to this rotten economy, Macy’s hangs on. The department store celebrates an astonishing 150 years in business this year. Think of all Macy’s has weathered since 1858, when founder Rowland Hussey “R.H.” Macy opened his store on Manhattan’s fashionable Sixth Avenue and 14th Street.
In 1902, Macy’s moved to its current headquarters, at 34th Street and Herald Square. Local Macy’s branches can be found anchoring many a mall, including Monmouth Mall in Eatontown, Freehold Raceway Mall, Ocean County Mall in Toms River, Menlo Park Mall in Edison, Brunswick Square Mall in East Brunswick, Quakerbridge Mall in Lawrenceville and Bridgewater Commons.
It’s seldom easy to maintain an empire, and Macy’s has not been immune from economic woes. The Associated Press reported this month that Macy’s has slashed its budget for 2009 capital expenditures by almost half, and Macy’s warned that the upcoming holiday season would be “a nail-biter.”
History, at least, is on Macy’s side. After all, the department store survived the Great Depression and is, in the words of Elina Kazan, Macy’s director of media relations, “a destination,” rather than just a store.
Macy’s has earned a place in consumers’ hearts not only through its merchandise, which Kazan said is varied enough to attract shoppers of many income levels, but also because of its mega-events. From flower shows to the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks, which have sparkled above Manhattan since 1976, Macy’s has a promotional event for every season.
The best-known sponsored event is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, a tradition that began in 1924 as a way to nudge consumers toward the holiday shopping season.
As always, the mood on Thanksgiving morning will be bright, as Macy’s presents its 82nd annual Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade, broadcast live on NBC from 9 a.m. to noon, marches through the West side of Manhattan and ends at Herald Square. It’s a huge production, presumably at great cost to Macy’s.
“It’s priceless,” Kazan said, responding by e-mail to a reporter’s questions. “This is our gift to the nation, so we do not disclose costs.”
The parade is certainly a masterstroke of marketing and public relations, but it also is an integral part of American culture.
“There is no way to quantify or put a dollar amount on the memories the parade has ingrained in the minds of children and the countless holiday celebrations it has kicked off in homes across the country,” Kazan said.
At the Macy’s “Kidz Zone” annex in Monmouth Mall, the youngest shoppers on Monday afternoon were too little to speak about the balloons. But the adults in the store were big fans of the parade.
Virginia Yakow of Farmingdale said that watching the parade on TV is one of her family’s Thanksgiving traditions.
“One year, years ago, we went in to see it,” Yakow said, “and it was fabulous.”
Laura Valenzuela of Holmdel also watches the parade on TV every year. She could not pick a favorite balloon.
“They’re all amazing,” Valenzuela said.
In addition to the character balloons, holiday themes abound. Tom Turkey and harvest motifs are prominently featured in the parade, but so is Santa Claus. Hint, hint.
Nowadays, when holiday decor can be found in some stores well before Halloween and some misguided souls put up Christmas trees in their homes before Thanksgiving, we need no reminder of the upcoming shopping blitz.
But Macy’s takes no chances.
The company first started decorating its windows for Christmas in 1870, and the lavish scenes continue to attract sightseers to the Herald Square store. The Thanksgiving parade still kicks off the holiday season, and is greatly anticipated by Macy’s employees as well as by spectators.
“I work the parade. This will be my 13th,” said Kazan. “Each year is different, but the balloons are always a high point. I march along with the parade and it is great to hear people screaming, “Happy Thanksgiving,” to us and us back to them for 2.5 miles. It is also very exciting to see people on rooftops, gathered by windows, balconies, etc., in their apartments watching the parade go by.”
About 8,000 Macy’s employees are involved in producing the parade, Kazan said, including a team of event specialists who work exclusively on the parade, and the staff at the parade’s studio in Hoboken, where the balloons and floats are created.
The big helium balloons debuted in 1927. New this year are Buzz Lightyear, from “Toy Story,” a superhero whose balloon is 67 feet long and 34 feet tall; Horton the Elephant, from the Dr. Seuss classic, “Horton Hears A Who,” measuring 43 feet tall and about 60 feet long; and a 47-foot-tall Smurf balloon, to celebrate the blue creatures’ 50th anniversary.
The class of 2008 also includes Abby Cadabby of “Sesame Street,” Dora the Explorer and Sponge Bob Squarepants, of the eponymous Nickelodeon series; the Energizer Bunny, mascot of the brand of batteries; the Japanese cartoon character Pikachu, fast-food icon Ronald McDonald, animated monster Shrek, Snoopy of “Peanuts,” this time as a World War I Flying Ace; and a balloon intriguingly described as “Super Cute Kitty.”
POP CULTURE SNAPSHOT: One of the many cool things about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is that it serves as a snapshot of contemporary pop culture. This is most apparent in the selection of featured performers. Miley Cyrus, Trace Adkins and The Clique Girlz are among the of-the-moment acts who will perform on floats. Perennials such as Kermit the Frog and the cast of “Sesame Street,” Broadway star Kristen Chenoweth, James Taylor, Andy Williams and, of course, Santa and Mrs. Claus will participate.
Ten marching bands and lots of clowns will add rhythm and zip to the proceedings.
The parade begins at 77th Street and Central Park West, proceeds to Columbus Circle, turns onto Broadway, turns West onto 34th Street, goes past Herald Square and finishes at Seventh Avenue.
Macy’s recommends the following as the best viewing locations:
Central Park West, on the West side, from 70th Street to Columbus Circle; or on the East side from 70th to 65th streets.
Columbus Circle, on the West side.
Broadway, between 58th and 38th streets.
34th Street, on the South side, between Broadway and Seventh Avenue.
GETTING THERE: Take the easy way, go by subway! Take NJ Transit trains to Penn Station, near Herald Square, or buses to Port Authority/42nd Street. Elude the crowds by hopping on the 1, 2 or 3 train to 72nd Street at Broadway, or the 1 train to 50th Street. Subway fare is $2.
IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT into the city on Thanksgiving morning, consider a visit on Inflation Eve. All the big balloons will be inflated and tethered for up-close viewing along Central Park West on Wednesday, Nov. 26. This used to be a tradition known only to locals, but in the past 10 years or so, Inflation Eve has become a widespread attraction unto itself. For traffic control, therefore, the only entrance to the viewing area will be at 79th Street and Columbus Circle. Viewing begins at 3 p.m. and ends promptly at 10 p.m.