BUSINESS MEMO: JONES NAME TO REMAIN

KANSAS CITY -- May Department Stores Co., making its first cross-state foray out of St. Louis, will retain the Jones Store name when it buys the Kansas City-based chain from Dillard's Inc.

The Jones Store Co.'s fate was put in doubt three months ago when Dillard's Inc. announced it was buying Ohio-based Mercantile Stores, owner of the seven Jones outlets and 112 other stores.

Little Rock-based Dillard's said at the time it would probably sell or swap 26 Mercantile-owned stores whose markets and customers overlapped with existing Dillard's stores. There are eight Dillard's in the Kansas City area and Topeka, including four that share malls with Jones.

Dillard's said last week it had reached agreements to sell the seven Jones Stores and four other department stores to May, and 15 to Proffitt's Inc.

May, which also owns such retailers as Lord & Taylor and Foley's, plans to place the Jones outlets in its Famous-Barr division.

May hopes to complete the Jones stores purchase no later than Sept. 4.