Macy's and Amazon cannot share the famous billboard in New York: it came to court
'01.10.2021'
Nurgul Sultanova-Chetin
The two largest US retailers cannot share space in New York City's premier advertising space. Department store chain Macy's says online retailer Amazon plans to advertise on huge billboards right outside Macy's flagship department store in Herald Square. And the company really does not like this, reports with the BBC.

The retailer is suing the owner of the billboard to prevent Amazon from using this advertising space.
This billboard has always featured a Macy's advertisement for the past 60 years. The company says it will suffer "immeasurable" damage if a direct competitor takes over.
Amazon declined to comment, while billboard owner Kaufman Realty denied it was in talks with the online shopping giant.
Macy's filed a lawsuit in New York State last week. In the complaint it says: in May, the company learned that Kaufman was in talks with a "well-known online store" about a possible lease of advertising space. And they “have little doubt” that it's Amazon.
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"It is impossible to calculate the damage to the reputation, image and customer loyalty Macy's will suffer if a well-known online store (especially Amazon) advertises on this billboard," the lawsuit says.
The complaint said that the 204-square-meter billboards that go around the corner of his shop "are clearly visible and left behind." Especially during annual parade Thanksgiving Macy's.
'Protection of rights'
The lease of this shield by Macy's expired in August 2021. However, the deal, signed in 1963, permanently prohibits Kaufman from giving the billboard to rival Macy's.
“We expect to exercise these rights and asked the court to protect them,” the statement said.
Kaufman Realty, commenting on the lawsuit, said: “Although the decision to accept the restriction will depend on the judge, we want to make it clear that we did not have any negotiations with Amazon about advertising space on Broadway 1313 ".
Like many retailers, Macy's has closed hundreds of stores in the US over the past five years as more people shop online.
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Still, analysts say traditional US department stores are slowly grappling with the problems this year. After all, consumers rushed to stores after the lockdown. Macy's sales rose 59% in the second quarter and Kohl's rose 31,4%. Both companies exceeded their fiscal year sales projections.
In August, the Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon was planning to open several large traditional department stores in the US. The online shopping giant called these claims "rumors and speculation."