Talk about a trip down memory lane.  I remember all of those old TV ads in the vid!

I was going to explain the history of Dayton's but somebody beat me to it!

There's one clarification though.....the department store division was sold to May Company but even as that was in the works, Federated (owner of Macy's) was working a deal to purchase May so that in one fell swoop they could make Macy's a national brand.

I lived through the whole sordid affair and left the company one year after joining the soviet union of Macy's.  (yes, I'm still a little bitter)

Back on topic.........that's a great Eureka ad!

was in front of Dayton's.  There is a statue of her on that spot.

You're right.  I watched an episode tonight and saw Donaldson's right before (or after, I forget) the shots in the IDS Center. 

Those details are probably meaningless except to people who worked there.  The effect of those details are not lost on the customers though.  Instead of locally controlled stores selling quality merchandise tailored to the tastes of the particular region, where customer service and a "wow" shopping experience were unmatched, there is now a dumbed-down, one size fits all approach to merchandising.  Customer service has gone from "give the lady what she wants" to "we'll tell you what you need" and the sales person's sole responsibility is no longer the customer's satisfaction but to make money for the company by increasing the customer's credit debt as much as possible. 

Neil