Losses to Specialty Stores But that strategy backfired, according to investors. Older customers were alarmed by a spate of higher price tags, and younger buyers were indifferent. ''They changed the merchandise, but the new customers didn't show up,'' said Cyril W. Draffin Jr., a venture capitalist who participated in financing the Raleigh's acquisition of Garfinckel's. As a result, the store continued to lose market share to specialty stores like the Limited, to an influx of new department stores, like Macy's and Seattle-based Nordstrom, and to local lower-priced department stores like Hecht's and Woodie's. Garfinckel's problem was highlighted today by a woman who said: ''A store like Nordstrom's offers wonderful service, so I'm willing to pay higher prices. Hecht's and Woodie's offer lots of variety at good prices, but you do more self-shopping. I didn't want to go to Garfinckel's, pay higher prices and still have to do self-shopping.''