Gennette will take the baton from long-time Macy’s chief Terry Lundgren, who helped create the modern-day Macy’s as its CEO since 2004.
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Macy’s shares, which have lost more than half their value in the past year, were trading at US$33.82 at midday. Gennette began his retail career in 1983 as an executive trainee at Macy’s West in San Francisco.
On Thursday, shares of department store giant Macy’s Inc. Starting as trainee, he also served as a store manager for FAO Schwarz, held merchandise positions for its men’s and children’s businesses, and eventually took executive responsibility for various regions.
Macy’s said Lundgren, who has been CEO since 2003, will continue with the company as executive chairman. But the full board ultimately decided Mr. Gennette “has the courage” to make the big shifts needed, this person said. In the face of declining sales and profit, Lundgren has been cutting costs and closing stores, but a turnaround has been elusive. On top of that, the company is under pressure from investors to wring more money from its real estate portfolio.
Said Gennette in the press release: “We have successfully navigated our way through changing customer trends in the past and there is no doubt that Macy’s will need to be a significantly different retailer in the future in the way we operate and approach the marketplace”.
Lundgren’s 13-year tenure at the helm of the $27 billion chain has been marked by massive consolidation, including the acquisition of May Department Store in 2005, doubling Macy’s size.
Besides its namesake stores, Macy’s owns upscale department store Bloomingdales and makeup seller Bluemercury.
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The company saw sagging sales throughout 2015.
