Macy's Sues To Stop Amazon's Ad On Herald Square Billboard

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Macy's is going to court to block Amazon from putting up a giant billboard in Herald Square, alarmed that a "direct competitor" could soon be advertising practically on top of its flagship department square.

Since 1963, Macy's advertising has covered 1313 Broadway, a small, five-story building on ther corner of West 34th Street that is nestled within the enormous Macy's flagship building. Most recently, the signage consisted of a giant billboard shaped like a shopping bag, inviting customers inside "The World's Largest Store."

But Macy's right to advertise on the building ended on Aug. 31, when it failed to agree to an extension with the landlord, the Kaufman Organization.

Now, Kaufman is considering handing the billboard over to a new company: Amazon.

"To the naked eye, the Billboard is on Macy's department store and in its own right iconic," Macy's wrote in a lawsuit filed in state court last week.

Macy's lawsuit contends that the 1963 agreement giving the store access to the billboard included a restriction banning any other retailer from advertising on it, "forever." The billboard, Macy's notes, measures about 2,200 square feet, is seen by "millions" of residents and tourists, and is visible during each year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

"The damages to Macy's customer goodwill, image, reputation and brand, should a 'prominent online retailer' (especially, Amazon) advertise on the Billboard are impossible to calculate," the company wrote.

Macy's first learned about the landlord's plans in May, when a Kaufman executive told the store during a meeting that a very "prominent online retailer" was in discussions to take over the billboard. Within weeks, talks between Macy's and Kaufman broke down.

The lawsuit seeks a court order barring Kaufman from violating the 1963 agreement by letting Amazon advertise on the billboard.

The Kaufman Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment.