Перевести текст us department stores launch counter-attack as consumers demand better value and a more interesting and stimulating experience while shopping, department stores face a clear choice: adapt or die. 'my concern is that they will become retail museums' says britt breemer, chairman of america's research group 'the bottom line is that they have to admit they are in trouble and figure out some way to reinvent themselves. this may help to explain why four times as many households visit discount stores as department stores. department stores face mounting competition from specialty retailers and discounters, such as wall mart and target. their steady loss of market share may be partly because the concept was born in a different era, a time when, for families, a trip to stores combined shopping with entertainment. what is needed, say retail experts, is a new approach. a typical example of this approach working is seen at selfridges. this uk group has recast itself from a sleepy 1970s style department store into a retailing experience fit for the 21st century, says wendy liebmann, president of wsl strategic retail. one of the main changes is that more floor space is rented to vendors, in what is sometimes referred to as the showcase business model: vendors design their own booths and are encouraged to be creative. the selfridges model, says peter williams, ceo of selfridges, is about creating an experience that is new, interesting and different where it is not just the product that is different. he says the problem with us department stores is that they all look the same. arnold anderson, management consultant believes selfridges could be a prototype for failing us department stores 'it has brought back excitement and novelty and it is really seducing customers by developing the right merchandise, in the right quantities at the right time. federated, which owns macy's and bloomingdale's appears to be moving in the right direction. forty two stores are being upgraded with the latest components of its reinvent strategy, including enhanced fitting rooms, convenient price-check devices, comfortable lounge areas, computer kiosks and shopping carts. the challenge department stores face is how to develop in a sector that is, essentially, not growing. but if they adapt, many industry observers believe they will survive. 'the department store is not dead it will live on' said robert tamilia, professor of marketing at the ubivercity of quebec. but it will not be the same animal it was before.