Robinsons-May fallout

J.C. Penney and Kohl's appear to be picking up some former Robinsons-May customers who might not be all that happy about those stores being converted to Macy's. That seems to be the upshot of a $3 million third-quarter net loss by Macy's parent Federated Department Stores. Part of the problem is that Macy's prices are a little higher than they were at Robinsons-May, but the bigger issue is Federated's ability to swallow not only Robinsons-May, but all the other chains in the May Department Store universe. Federated won't even begin including the former May stores in its same-store sales figures until next spring. The early defections to Penney and Kohl's had been expected, but this being holiday shopping time they carry an extra sting. J.C. Penney Co. Inc. this morning reported third-quarter net income of $287 million, compared with $234 million a year earlier. Kohl's result are due out later today.