photo by steed media service

Chicago is, irrefutably and incontrovertibly, one of the nation’s most dynamic cities — replete with a peerless downtown, world-class accommodations, institutions, museums, and amenities. However, many of its citizens believe they must migrate to the coasts in order to manifest their artistic dreams, particularly when it comes to the fashion industry. Ralph Hughes, regional vice president of corporate communications with Federated Department Stores, Inc., Macy’s parent company, seeks to retain that homegrown talent.

“We believe, as Mayor [Richard] Daley does, that in order for Chicago to truly be a global city, that the fashion industry should really be supported. So, we have an initiative where we’re encouraging designers to stay in Chicago. We’re purchasing merchandise from Chicago-only designers,” Hughes explains, adding that this sentiment applies to diverse consumer sects, as well. “We feel that Chicago has great talent in terms of minority and women contractors. And we think that as good corporate citizens, we should share and should make opportunities for those businesspeople.”

Hughes and Macy’s have long since recognized that their customer base wasn’t homogeneous, and have instituted programs to ensure that all citizens in the community Macy’s serves feel included and welcomed in both the stores and in the offices. “We feel that our employee base and our vendor base should be representative of the people that we serve, and we’ve always believed as a company that the health of our company is really dependent upon the health of the community,” he says. “If we can share with the community and it helps to build the community, it comes back to us in business.” –terry shropshire For more information, log onto www.macys.com. -terry shropshire

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