For the November and December period, Macys.com and bloomingdales.com filled almost 17 million online orders, up 25 percent from the same year-ago period. The retailer faced one of the worst possible holiday sales seasons in many years.
Advertisement
The department store often pulls shoppers into malls, and when it shuts its doors, traffic can fall for the remaining retailers, Barclays Plc analysts said Thursday.
The letter, signed by Chanel Bracey-Davis, the vice president of labor and stores employee relations, said it was informing workers that “job eliminations are expected to be permanent…and will occur between April 6, 2016 and April 19, 2016”.
About 2,110 of the job cuts at Macy’s will come from reducing staffing at stores, eliminating duplications in back-office operations and consolidating regional store groups.
Macy’s announced Wednesday it is going to layoff over 4,350 employees across the country, closing 36 stores in the spring.
Macy’s shares were up more than 3% in after-hours trading as investors digested the news of the cost savings. The store in Valley Mall, which employs 59 people, will close in “early 2016”, the company announced. Hhgregg, the consumer electronics and home furnishings merchant, reported an 11 percent plunge in sales in the fourth quarter at stores open for at least a year. The current shakeups at Macy’s also proved that the firm has been struggling to attract customers.
In a release, Cincinnati-based Macy’s said it will cut three to four sales jobs in each of its 770 Macy’s and Bloomingdale stores nationwide, for a total of about 3,000 jobs.
Sales at existing stores in November and December fell 4.7%, and the company said it expects the decline to continue this month.
Chief Executive Officer at J.C. Penney, Marvin Ellison said in a statement that in spite of unprecedented warm weather that considerably affected apparel sales, the company’s focus on private brands, improved omnichannel execution and attractive gift giving selection drive the sales during the holiday period. The company’s shares were two percent up at 36.89 when the market closed for the day.
Advertisement
The company expected a 4.7% decline in comparable sales on an owned plus licensed basis for the fourth quarter and a drop of 2.7% for the full fiscal 2015.
