In a free society as eclectic and ethnically varied as ours, customers expect and demand a range of choices that meet their individual needs and fashion preferences. In our role as retailers we recognize that it is the consumer who ultimately will determine what products will continue to be viable retail offerings. Those decisions are made daily at the cash register by individual consumers and function as a singularly effective barometer for determining what will and will not be sold by retailers in a free and open marketplace. Varied and conflicting viewpoints about what should or should not be sold underscore our belief that factors unrelated to the workings of a free economy are inappropriate determinants of retail offerings. For example, while we respect the views of individuals who choose not to buy or wear fur, we also respect the wishes of many others who are our customers and who want to make such choices for themselves.

Macy's, Inc. is involved in other crucial issue areas as well. Over the last several years the company has initiated and completed an extensive, readily achievable upgrading of stores and facilities to comply with the Americans With Disabilities act. The company also has actively participated in facilitating consumer product recalls, in industry efforts to safeguard consumer privacy, and in preventing credit fraud and abuses of personal bankruptcy laws that cost American families millions of dollars annually.