Macy’s employed 157,900 full-time and part-time workers at the end of January.
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She explained that the announcement of 100 store closures was to inform people of the company’s “strategy to recreate the physical footprint of Macy’s stores”. The department store was the mall’s largest tenant.
“We do not have a list of stores as we have not finalized decisions on stores to be closed”, she said. However, sales fell less than feared and the company said it’s “encouraged” by recent sales trends. Its shares rose 17 percent, or $5.80 to $39.80 in midday trading. “The company will act to remain connected to customers of the stores it will be closing by supplementing merchandise assortments in surrounding locations, as well as through the company’s online site and mobile app”.
“We operate in a fast changing world”, Macy’s chairman and chief executive, Terry Lundgren, stated in a press release issued on Thursday. Macy’s hasn’t announced which locations will close, but said they represent about $1 billion in annual sales, excluding sales the company expects to retain online or at nearby stores.
It’s not clear how many jobs will be impacted by these moves. Most of the closures are expected in early 2017. Macy’s said the upcoming store closings would not affect its Bloomingdale’s division. However, Macy’s board has not yet finalized which stores will eventually shut down, a decision that will see most stores make it until the end of the fiscal year. Many of those malls risk losing a major source of revenue and a loss of traffic that is likely to hurt other stores.
Macy’s the iconic retailing brand and America’s largest department stores, with the store closing, Macy will have 666 stores Nationwide.
There is a Macy’s store at the Shops at Nanuet on Route 59 and also at the Palisades Center in West Nyack. It’s also looking at Herald Square in New York, State Street in Chicago and downtown Minneapolis, Hoguet told analysts. Macy’s revealed it’s also in talks to sell its Men’s Store on Union Square in San Francisco for redevelopment. The company said it has not yet decided which locations will be closed. In addition to the announced closure of 175 North American stores in 2015 and the 53 Old Navy subsidiary stores in Japan and 20 global Banana Republic stores already announced in 2016, Deutsche Bank analyst Paul Trussel believes another 175 North American stores need to be shuttered to help make the store competitive.
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The closures are Macy’s latest effort to adapt to shifting consumer preferences for online shopping, CNNMoney reported.
