Macy’s has reaffirmed its fourth-quarter financial expectations, forecasting adjusted diluted earnings per share to fall within the previously announced range of 1.40 dollars to 1.65 dollars. The company also anticipates net sales to be near the lower end of its prior guidance, ranging from 7.8 billion dollars to 8 billion dollars.

In a trading statement, Macy's noted that comparable sales were roughly flat overall, with the company’s non-first 50 locations—including those that are not part of the company’s go-forward strategy—underperforming expectations and posting negative comparable sales growth.

Positive comparable sales trends continues at Macy’s first 50 locations

Speaking at the NRF Big Show in New York City on January 13, Macy's Inc. Chairman and CEO Tony Spring highlighted recent improvements: “We’ve seen three consecutive quarters of growth in our net promoter scores, along with three straight quarters of positive comparable store sales at our first 50 locations,” as reported by Retail TouchPoints.

Macy’s first 50 stores continue to drive positive results, with the company’s go-forward business posting quarter-to-date comparable sales growth. In addition, Macy’s digital channel also experienced comparable sales growth during the period.

“Our Bold New Chapter strategy is gaining momentum, and we’re on track to achieve our second consecutive quarter of comparable sales improvement,” Spring said. “The strong response to our first 50 locations gives us confidence as we plan to expand this initiative to an additional 75 Macy's locations in fiscal 2025.”

Macy's CEO addresses Bloomingdale’s spin-off rumours

During the conference, Spring also addressed ongoing speculation about the future of Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury, reaffirming that Macy’s does not intend to spin off these brands or pursue a private transition.

When asked about potential spin-offs, Spring said: "We remain confident in the synergies that exist between Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury.

“These brands benefit from shared resources in areas like warehousing, legal, finance, back-end operations, and joint brand negotiations. We see significant opportunities to leverage the scale of our portfolio," he added.

Spring emphasised that the key to Macy's continued success lies in offering customers unique and differentiated experiences across its brands. "Our goal is for customers to find something special and distinct at Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury, while demonstrating to the market that our three-brand portfolio holds more value than it may currently be reflecting," he said.