The chain business will pour focus its concentration and money into its online business, after a hard 18 months.
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(WANE) – Following the release of its second quarter earnings report, Cincinnati-based Macy’s announced plans to close 100 of its 728 stores.
The retailer also said that comparable sales on an owned plus licensed basis fell 2%, while on an owned basis, comparable sales fell 2.6%.
The next wave of closures will leave Macy’s with 666 stores overall, including 38 Bloomingdale’s locations – down almost a quarter since its peak in January 2007.
Investors have been pressuring Macys to sell some of its real estate as the company has struggled to attract shoppers to its vast footprint of brick-and-mortar stores. Macy’s is investing heavily to expand its spa retail concept Bluemercury and discount concept Macy’s Backstage in freestanding sites and those inside existing stores. Macy’s did not disclose which stores it will close.
That’s because many USA malls are changing, at least in one major way: Macy’s, one of America’s most iconic department stores, is now closing 100 more of its locations ― in both malls and elsewhere ― nationwide. “We recognize that these locations do not yield an adequate return on investment and often do not represent a customer shopping experience that reflects our aspirations for the Macy’s brand”, Macy’s president Jeff Gennette said in a statement. It now operates 675 full-line stores.
The company said it will communicate its store closing decisions directly with the employees in the affected locations prior to making a public announcement.
Macy’s shares surged on Thursday after the retailer’s second-quarter earnings topped analysts’ expectations, as it announced the closure of 100 stores. Excluding one-time items, per-share earnings were 51 cents, topping the 48 cent estimate of analysts. Shares surged 14% in morning trading.
Officials at retail companies from Gap to Fossil have sounded alarms this year about traffic declines potentially leading to weak sales. Total sales in the quarter fell almost 4 percent to $5.9 billion.
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The move will bring down the number of Macy’s stores in the U.S.to 628.
