Further consolidation in the department store channel

Saks sold its midwestern department stores, as expected, to Bon-Ton yesterday, for $1.1 billion, reported here by the Chicago Tribune. You have to admire Bon-Ton's courage, if not their brains. If I had a billion lying around, I sure wouldn't spend it on department stores.

This is clearly a dying (if not dead) channel. I suppose there may be a little cash still to be squeezed out of this old cow, but how long will it take Bon-Ton to generate a billion in incremental profits to offset this purchase? They'd do better to put the money in a savings account. Heck, they'd probably do better stuffing it in a mattress.

By the way, I want it on the record that I had similar comments on May's purchase of Marshall Fields a couple years ago. All that buy did was put them out of business.