Macy’s will close another 100 stores next year as the department store aims to become more nimble in a competitive market. One hundred stores comprise about 14 percent of the entire chain, which consists of 728 locations, including 675 larger “full-line” stores and 53 smaller stores.
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Macy’s and other major apparel-heavy retailers such as Kohl’s and Nordstrom are grappling with declining foot traffic at shopping malls as consumers increasingly shop online and spend less on apparel.
The closures are generally seen as a good idea by analysts who follow the company, because they’ll allow the company to focus more on digital investments and improving the better-performing stores.
The company lists seven Macy’s stores in the Baltimore region on its website.
In a sign of how dramatically the retail shopping landscape is changing, Macy’s is closing 100 of its stores nationwide.
“It’s all about creating the experience in the store”, said Saks Fifth Avenue president Marc Metrick.
Macy’s closures represent $1 billion in sales that will be up for grabs by its competitors.
Department stores have been struggling with stiff competition from online and off-price retailers.
In January, the company said it would be closing 40 stores, including three California locations in Irvine, Los Angeles and Sacramento, but Thursday’s announcement expands that number.
A spokesperson for the retailer, Elina Kazan, says “Unfortunately, we can not confirm any stores at this time as the affected stores are still being determined by the company, and will be finalized and announced by the end of the fiscal year”. It’s also personalizing its online services – this fall, it’s testing a mobile feature that lets customers reserve products online and try them on at the store.
“We believe that this reduction of 100 locations in the short term will result in a more appropriate store portfolio for Macy’s in the longer term and help us to accelerate our progress in building a vibrant omnichannel brand experience”, he said.
The closures represent almost 15 percent of the stores under the Macy’s brand.
Macy’s said it will invest in improvements at the stores that remain open.
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With corporate offices in Cincinnati and New York, Macy’s Inc. operates a about 880 stores total in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico under the names of Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Bloomingdale’s Outlet, Macy’s Backstage and Bluemercury. The plans are for that operation to be combined into its main Union Square store.
