(WECT) – Macy’s will close 150 unproductive namesake stores over the next three years including 50 by year-end, the department store operator said Tuesday after posting a fourth-quarter loss and declining sales.
As part of the strategy, Macy’s aims to upgrade its remaining 350 stores, with plans to add more salespeople to fitting areas and shoe departments, while adding more visual displays like mannequins. At the same time, the company signaled a pivot to luxury, which has fared better overall. It said it would open 15 of its higher end Bloomingdale’s stores and 30 of its luxury Bluemercury cosmetics locations.
The Macy’s stores set to close account for 25% of overall square footage but less than 10% of its sales, the company said. Macy’s did not provide a list of planned closures, but San Francisco’s Mayor, London Breed, confirmed that the retailer’s sprawling store in the city’s Union Square downtown shopping district would be shuttered. While not among the first 50 to be closed, Breed said she was told by Macy’s that it is seeking a buyer for the San Francisco property.
