Macy's to shutter 150 stores, expand Bloomingdale's

America’s largest department store operator, Macy’s, announced on Tuesday it would close 150 of its stores as part of a strategic shift under new CEO Tony Spring. The company, facing challenges, will focus on expanding Bloomingdale’s, aiming to create a more modern Macy’s, Inc. The move is seen as an effort to enhance customer relationships through improved shopping experiences, relevant product assortments, and compelling value propositions. 50 stores are expected to close by the end of the year.

Tony Spring stated, “It challenges the status quo to create a more modern Macy’s, Inc. We are making the necessary moves to reinvigorate relationships with our customers through improved shopping experiences, relevant assortments, and compelling value.” He added, “Our teams are energized by the work ahead as we accelerate our path to market share gains, sustainable, profitable growth, and value creation for our shareholders.”

Macy’s growth strategy focuses on three key areas: refreshing its product assortment, modernizing the shopping environment with a multi-channel approach, and closing underperforming locations while prioritizing investment in approximately 350 go-forward locations and the continued expansion of small-format stores.

As part of its luxury expansion, Macy’s plans to open 15 new Bloomingdale’s stores and at least 30 Bluemercury stores. Over the next three years, the company said it aims to "rationalise and monetise the supply chain asset portfolio, streamline fulfilment, improve inventory planning and allocation, and deliver a scalable technology platform."