Macy’s Opens A Bargainless Basement Store Targeting Millennials

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Filene’s Basement started its existence as the literal basement of the Filene’s department store, with fewer amenities but lower prices. Now the Filene’s Basement brand is back (online) and Macy’s is trying out a basement concept of its own, but it’s not for bargain-hunters. It’s for the younger half of the Millennial generation, who are currently in high school or in their twenties.

This literal basement is called One Below, and finally opened this week. It’s not to be confused with Five Below, a discount store that sells items for $5 or less. The new Macy’s basement, which the company will test as a concept first at their Herald Square store in Manhattan, is designed to keep young adults in the store, buying the latest junior fashions, getting their hair blown out, and charging their smartphones.

The store’s offerings sound like a list of “things that young people probably like” from a marketing executive, with the stated goal of keeping customers inside the store as long as possible, as is the department store tradition. You want a blow-out bar, kids? It’s there. (That’s where someone blow-dries and styles your hair without cutting it.) 3-D printed accessories? Sure! A way to print your own face on a genuine Fossil watch? It’s Kayleigh O’Clock!

The new subterranean millennial lair will be an “incubator” for Macy’s, and the company says that they plan to take whatever they learn there about attracting and keeping young shoppers to stores nationwide

Macy’s Hopes to Attract Millennial Shoppers with ‘One Below’ [Racked NY]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist