It's Not Easy Staying Green

This may be the most boring week in sports. The only sports news to come out is all Super Bowl blather. Sure, the NHL, NBA and college basketball still have games. But no one I know watches the NBA and the NHL, and college hoops is in that no-longer interesting period that comes between non-conference play and conference tournament time (also known as simply, "conference play").

So, before we get to the next "After the Rental," this interesting tidbit popped up in my in-box.

Strong holiday sales at the State Street store have given Federated Department Stores Inc. bosses second thoughts about their controversial decision to deep-six the Marshall Field's name.

"We are looking for ways to continue the Marshall Field's name and keep the name alive,"says a spokesman ..."

Sounds like someone in New York realized that there was still some equity in the Field's brand.

I've never understood why some companies choose to throw away the value in the name of companies they acquire. My first employer, American National Bank, was absorbed by Bank One and the name was retired. Why wouldn't they just sell the name to another bank? Wouldn't that benefit the shareholders more than simply retiring the name?

Sounds like a smart decision may be forthcoming from Macy's and green Frango boxes may be in our future.