Littman Jewelers Tennessee Stores to Become Fred Meyer Stores

Makes cost-effective sense to switch nameplates to the dominant/stronger one. I bet they want to eventually phase out Littman\'\'s as a nameplate as it will basically cut in half the cost and double in effectiveness any advertising, and position the chain to more effectively compete with Zales/Kay/Helzberg. I can think of a few reasons they would keep the Littman name: 1)Kroger is already a specialist at regionally-branded grocery chains and they know the advantage of a regional nameplate, especially regarding community image and goodwill. 2)Several Littman stores have higher-end or prestige watch brands that may be yanked if the watch company doesn\'\'t like the Fred Meyer nameplate and image (I\'\'ve found conflicting research whether Littman is considered a \"better\" jewelery store in customer\'\'s eyes). 3)Tennessee was a weak/extended market for Littman and most core Littman markets outperform FM markets. I am betting this is a \"test\" to see how the switched nameplates effect sales and customer perception. If they\'\'ve strengthened the FM brand and/or weakened the Littman brand they can pull it off. Good example: Kay (minimal fallout from regional nameplate changes). Bad example: Macy\'\'s (massive PUBLICIZED fallout from May Co. nameplate changes). I can easily see this going the Kay way because Littman has been molded to mirror FM in every way, and there would be no changes regarding merchandise, advertising, or policies.

Makes cost-effective sense to switch nameplates to the dominant/stronger one. I bet they want to eventually phase out Littman''s as a nameplate as it will basically cut in half the cost and double in effectiveness any advertising, and position the chain to more effectively compete with Zales/Kay/Helzberg.

I can think of a few reasons they would keep the Littman name: 1)Kroger is already a specialist at regionally-branded grocery chains and they know the advantage of a regional nameplate, especially regarding community image and goodwill. 2)Several Littman stores have higher-end or prestige watch brands that may be yanked if the watch company doesn''t like the Fred Meyer nameplate and image (I''ve found conflicting research whether Littman is considered a "better" jewelery store in customer''s eyes). 3)Tennessee was a weak/extended market for Littman and most core Littman markets outperform FM markets.

I am betting this is a "test" to see how the switched nameplates effect sales and customer perception. If they''ve strengthened the FM brand and/or weakened the Littman brand they can pull it off. Good example: Kay (minimal fallout from regional nameplate changes). Bad example: Macy''s (massive PUBLICIZED fallout from May Co. nameplate changes). I can easily see this going the Kay way because Littman has been molded to mirror FM in every way, and there would be no changes regarding merchandise, advertising, or policies.