Macy’s is wedging itself into a popular novel based on women who shaped the department store business and adapting the bestseller by Julie Satow into a scripted television series.
As Retail Dive reports, Satow’s book, “When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion,” features executives like Dorothy Shaver, a chief merchant at Lord & Taylor in the mid-20th century who eventually led the company and whose signature became its sweeping cursive logo, as well as Hortense Odlum from Bonwit Teller and Geraldine Stutz from Henri Bendel.
Long before women had a seat at the corporate table, these trailblazers transformed retail, redefining the way fashion was sold, marketed and experienced. Their innovations laid the foundation for modern shopping culture and challenged the limits of what women could achieve in business.
Margaret Getchell, the trailblazing executive who transformed Macy’s in the 19th century, will be added to the adapted story. “These are stories of resilience, ambition and creativity — women who understood the power of storytelling and branding long before it was a business strategy,” said Otterman. “When Women Ran Fifth Avenue celebrates all of the pioneering women who helped shape retail fashion and their enduring legacy, women like Macy’s Margaret Getchell,” said Satow. “I can’t wait to see these trailblazing stories reach a wider audience, inspiring the next generation of innovators in fashion and business, and bring When Women Ran Fifth Avenue from the page to screen.”
Brands are increasingly leveraging their history and IP for various projects, epitomized in recent years by the blockbuster success of the Barbie movie in 2023.
The project is in its early stages, with a showrunner and cast yet to be attached. It is part of a wider content strategy that includes Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and 4th of July Fireworks, which attract not just attendees but also TV viewers. The retailer recently signed a 10-year rights deal with NBCUniversal, for both events to be featured on NBC, Peacock and Telemundo. Last year, the 98th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade reached a record 31.7 million viewers and the fireworks drew 7.6 million viewers, the company said.
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