Major Change to Downtown Crossing?

The on-again off-again relationship (they've been creating rumors for months) between Macy’s owner Federated Company and Filene’s owner May company has solidified a merger deal. Federated will buy May company stores for $11 Billion. Macy’s has greater reach nationwide while Filene’s has fewer stores, most of them in New England. News sources expect that the Filene’s name will be slowly phased out. The merger will give Federated more buying power, positioning them better to compete with the likes of Wal-Mart. Of course there are many malls in the area that will be affected but Bostonist worries about the fate of Downtown Crossing where Macy’s and Filenes are separated by Summer St.

The 1979 rebirth of Downtown Crossing into the current pedestrian friendly shopping mecca with street meat, roasted nuts, and other various push carts strewn around the sidewalks is in danger of losing an icon. The saving grace of the deal: Filene’s Basement is a separate company. After opening its doors in 1908, Boston fell in love with the bargain basement. We got to taste the deals before anyone else; it was the first of its kind. Without Automatic Markdowns it’s likely that Bostonist wouldn’t even have a wardrobe. We will watch for updated plans from the merged company, but rest assured that you can still take the Red or Orange line to Downtown Crossing and walk into the Basement before making it to the surface.