Macy’s has a big presence on TV through coverage of its 4th of July Fireworks celebration and Thanksgiving Day Parade — and it’s about to get bigger.
America’s department store has acquired an exclusive option to develop a fictionalized television series based on the bestselling biography “When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion” by award-winning author and journalist and Julie Satow. The book is about women who shaped some of the most iconic department and specialty stores in America, including Dorothy Shaver who led Lord & Taylor, Hortense Odlum who led Bonwit Teller and Geraldine Stutz, who ran Henri Bendel. All three of those stores are no longer in business but not forgotten. Margaret Getchell, the trailblazing executive who transformed Macy’s in the 19th century, will also be added to the adapted story. The women in their day were retail trailblazers in an industry always dominated by men.
Geraldine Stutz
WWD Staff
Getchell started as a cash clerk but rose up the ranks to become influential in broadening Macy’s assortments into categories not previously sold, innovating marketing and window displays, and even cleverly getting Macy’s to install a soda fountain at the back of the store so shoppers would have to pass by a range of merchandise and often select an item before getting a refreshment.
Under the television deal, which was led by Macy’s chief marketing officer Sharon Otterman, Macy’s is currently in the process of securing a showrunner and attaching talent for the lead roles. Such details, including the timing of the series and how many episodes, will be revealed at a later date, Macy’s indicated.
“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 in a statement.
“’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 in a statement. “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.” The biography made the bestseller lists of The New York Times and USA Today.
Macy’s got the rights to the project through “a competitive bidding situation,” the company said in its statement Tuesday morning. Recently, Macy’s signed a new 10-year rights deal with NBCUniversal, for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks on NBC, Peacock and Telemundo. The 10-year agreement will include broadcast and streaming rights to a Macy’s Parade-eve special and a new special program to be announced at a later date, as well as the 4th of July Fireworks and Thanksgiving Day Parade. Macy’s other big annual event is its spring flower show. The retailer expects to build audiences for these events, which are designed and created by Macy’s Studios. In 2024, the 98th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade reached 31.7 million viewers and the 48th Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks drew 7.6 million viewers.
