Macy’s posts stronger than expected holiday sales, announces 29 store closures

By

Robin Driver

Published
Jan 8, 2020

Cincinnati, Ohio-based department store operator Macy’s, Inc. reported slight declines in same-store sales over the holiday period on Tuesday, and announced the upcoming closure of 28 Macy’s locations and one Bloomingdale’s store.

 
The retailer posted a 0.6% decrease in comparable sales during November and December 2019, reassuring analysts, who had expected a larger decline of around 1.8%, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
 
Analysts’ optimism had faltered in November, when Macy’s cut its annual profit outlook for the second time in the fiscal year, following a weak third quarter which saw comparable sales in the retailer’s owned and licensed locations fall 3.5%.

After the announcement of the company’s holiday sales results, shares in Macy’s rose as much as 5% on Wednesday.
 
In a press release, Macy’s chairman and CEO Jeff Gennette highlighted the strong results seen in the company’s digital business and at its top 150 performing stores over the holiday period, praising the success of the retailer’s gifting assortment and marketing strategy.
 
“The entire organization committed to delivering Holiday 2019, and it showed up in our execution,” he added.
 
As reported by Reuters, Macy’s has also announced that it will be shuttering a total of 29 stores in the coming weeks. A spokesperson from the company said that the closures are part of a routine review of the retailer’s store portfolio but did not provide any further details.
 
Since 2016, the company has closed a string of brick-and-mortar locations as it has increasingly focused its investments on developing its e-commerce platform, as well as its 150 top-performing stores.
 
Macy’s currently operates around 680 locations across the U.S. under the Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s banners, as well as 190 specialty stores under the Bloomingdale’s The Outlet, Bluemercury, and Macy’s Backstage brand names. The company employs approximately 130,000 people.