Additional store conversions slated for Macy's, Bloomingdale's in California; Future determined for eight former Broadway Stores locations.

Stores, Inc. today announced the third wave of store conversion plans for properties acquired from Broadway Stores, Inc. in October 1995.

Federated already has announced plans to convert 46 stores to Macy's and four to Bloomingdale's in markets throughout California and four other western states. In addition, the company has said it plans to sell nine properties to Sears and to close or seek buyers for a number of others. In today's announcement, Federated said it intends to:

o convert the Beverly Center Broadway in Los Angeles to

Bloomingdale's, adding to the locations previously

identified for Bloomingdale's entry into California;

o trade two larger Weinstock's stores in Fresno and

Modesto for existing, smaller Gottschalk's stores in those

communities, and to convert the acquired Gottschalk's

properties to Macy's;

o convert the Valley Fair Emporium store in Santa Clara 

to Macy's;

o close the Hilltop Emporium store in Richmond; and,

o operate three additional stores as Broadway clearance

centers on an interim basis.

Broadway's Beverly Center store previously had been slated for closing in mid-March. With today's announcement, uncertainty about the future of that location has been resolved. Following an extensive renovation, Bloomingdale's plans a Fall 1996 or Spring 1997 opening of the Beverly Center store; the exact schedule still is to be determined. A fall opening would coincide with Bloomingdale's store openings in Century City, Los Angeles; Fashion Island, Newport Beach; Stanford and Sherman Oaks.

In Fresno, Federated today notified approximately 170 employees of Weinstock's that the store would be closing effective April 8, in preparation for turning the property over to Gottschalk's. Once Gottschalk's completes the transfer of merchandise from its exiting store into the Weinstock's space, Federated will initiate an extensive renovation and remodel of the current Gottschalk's store, with plans to reopen it as a Macy's in early fall. Weinstock's employees will be given preference in applying for positions in the new Macy's, in addition to receiving severance and other benefits at the time of the Weinstock's store closing.

In Modesto, the trade with Gottschalk's will be accomplished on an expedited schedule. The existing Weinstock's store is slated to close on March 4, and Macy's plans to remerchandise and reopen the current Gottschalk's store as Macy's on March 26. As a result, most of the approximately 160 current Weinstock's employees will be transferred to the new Macy's store, and store renovations will take place while the store remains open.

In Santa Clara, Federated said it plans to convert the existing Valley Fair Emporium store to a Macy's men's and home furnishings store, effective April 10. Macy's plans to open the store initially only in the men's area, while the portion of the store slated to become home and furniture areas undergoes an extensive remodel that is expected to take several months. Most of the approximately 325 Emporium store employees will be offered positions in the new Macy's.

In Richmond, where Macy's already operates a store in the same mall, the approximately 180 employees of the Hilltop Emporium store were notified today that the store would be closing in mid-April. Employees at that location will be eligible to receive severance and other benefits as a result of the planned closing.

The three stores that Federated plans to convert to Broadway clearance centers on an interim basis include the Broadway stores in Pasadena and Hawthorne, and the Weinstock's store in Stockton. The Pasadena and Stockton stores will operate as clearance centers through June of this year. Sears has agreed to delay its previously announced acquisition of the Pasadena store in the interim, and Federated said it will be seeking buyers for the Stockton store, which it does not plan to retain. The company said it will continue to evaluate the potential of the Hawthorne location.

With today's announcement, decisions have been made regarding the future of all but four former Broadway Stores properties. Those stores for which no determinations yet have been made are:

o Solano Emporium, Fairfield

o Huntington Center Broadway, Huntington Beach 

o Fashion Center Broadway, Northridge

o Weinstock's, downtown Sacramento 

(Note: A decision was made in December to close the Emporium store in downtown San Francisco, which is why it is not on this list. A decision about the future of that location, however, has not yet been made.)

Federated, with corporate offices in Cincinnati and New York, is one of the nation's leading department store retailers, with annual sales of more than $15 billion. Federated currently operates more than 400 department stores and 150 specialty stores in 37 states. Federated's department stores now operate under the names of Bloomingdale's, The Bon Marche, Broadway, Bullock's, Burdines, Emporium, Goldsmith's, Jordan Marsh, Lazarus, Macy's, Rich's, Stern's and Weinstock's. -0-

(NOTE: Information on Federated and its operating divisions, including copies of past press releases and corporate background data, also is available by calling Fax-On-Demand at 1-800-853-9150.)

CONTACT: Federated Department Stores, Inc., Cincinnati

Media - Carol Sanger, 513/579-7764

Investor - Susan Robinson, 513/579-7780