Target Corp.’s Dayton-Hudson line of department stores has done a fine job over the years serving the company’s market areas. But those areas were not Chicago, and the quality of the stores is not equal to Marshall Field’s as we remember it. Target’s takeover of Marshall Field’s has resulted in the steady deterioration of a local treasure. Field’s may have been a little stodgy at times, but the merchandise and service were always top-notch. That’s not true today.
Existing markets for Dayton’s and Hudson’s have no direct connection with the Field’s name. There is no indication they plan to bring the store quality up to previous Marshall Field’s levels, so why change? A better strategy would be to rename the entire chain. Call it Average Stores or something like that. That’s what they have become.
Chicago has lost a treasure, and the likely replacement will be another outsider, Nordstrom. Target Corp. hasn’t done Chicago any favors with the name change.
