613. Dying Is Easy. Retail Is Hard.

11/28/24 • 61 min

8 Listeners

Macy’s wants to recapture its glorious past. The author of the Wimpy Kid books wants to rebuild his dilapidated hometown. We just want to listen in. (Part two of a two-part series.)

SOURCES:
- Mark Cohen, former professor and director of retail studies at Columbia Business School.
- Will Coss, vice president and executive producer of Macy’s Studios.
- Jeff Kinney, author, cartoonist, and owner of An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café.
- Tony Spring, chairman and C.E.O. of Macy’s Inc.
RESOURCES:
- "Macy’s Discovers Employee Hid Millions in Delivery Expenses," by Jordyn Holman and Danielle Kaye (The New York Times, 2024).
- "NBC Ready to Pay Triple to Gobble Up Thanksgiving Parade Broadcast Rights," by Joe Flint (The Wall Street Journal, 2024).
- "How Macy’s Set Out to Conquer the Department Store Business — and Lost," by Daphne Howland (Retail Dive, 2022).
- An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café.
EXTRA:
- "Can the Macy's Parade Save Macy's?" series by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

Macy’s wants to recapture its glorious past. The author of the Wimpy Kid books wants to rebuild his dilapidated hometown. We just want to listen in. (Part two of a two-part series.)

SOURCES:
- Mark Cohen, former professor and director of retail studies at Columbia Business School.
- Will Coss, vice president and executive producer of Macy’s Studios.
- Jeff Kinney, author, cartoonist, and owner of An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café.
- Tony Spring, chairman and C.E.O. of Macy’s Inc.
RESOURCES:
- "Macy’s Discovers Employee Hid Millions in Delivery Expenses," by Jordyn Holman and Danielle Kaye (The New York Times, 2024).
- "NBC Ready to Pay Triple to Gobble Up Thanksgiving Parade Broadcast Rights," by Joe Flint (The Wall Street Journal, 2024).
- "How Macy’s Set Out to Conquer the Department Store Business — and Lost," by Daphne Howland (Retail Dive, 2022).
- An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café.
EXTRA:
- "Can the Macy's Parade Save Macy's?" series by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

Previous Episode

612. Is Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade Its Most Valuable Asset?

The 166-year-old chain, which is fighting extinction, calls the parade its “gift to the nation.” With 30 million TV viewers, it’s also a big moneymaker. At least we think it is — Macy’s is famously tight-lipped about parade economics. We try to loosen them up. (Part one of a two-part series.)

Please take our audience survey at freakonomics.com/survey.

SOURCES:
- John Cheney, carpenter at Macy’s Studios.
- Will Coss, vice president and executive producer of Macy’s Studios.
- Jeff Kinney, author, cartoonist, and owner of An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café.
- Kevin Lynch, vice president of global helium at Messer.
- Jen Neal, executive vice president of live events and specials for NBCUniversal Entertainment
- Tony Spring, chairman and C.E.O. of Macy's Inc.
- Jessica Tisch, commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation; incoming commissioner of the New York City Police Department.
- Dawn Tolson, executive director of Citywide Event Coordination and Management and the Street Activity Permit Office for the City of New York.
RESOURCES:
- Macy's: The Store. The Star. The Story., by Robert M. Grippo (2009).
- History of Macy's of New York, 1853-1919: Chapters in the Evolution of the Department Store, by Ralph M. Hower (1943).
- Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
EXTRA:
- The Economics of Everyday Things.

Next Episode

614. Is the U.S. Sleeping on Threats from Russia and China?

John J. Sullivan, a former State Department official and U.S. ambassador, says yes: “Our politicians aren’t leading — Republicans or Democrats.” He gives a firsthand account of a fateful Biden-Putin encounter, talks about his new book Midnight in Moscow, and predicts what a second Trump term means for Russia, Ukraine, China — and the U.S.