Will Macy’s 100 Store Closings Help the Retailer Open a New Door?
Aug 17, 2016 | Neil Stern and Brian Dondanville | National Real Estate Investor
In an effort to refocus resources on high-performing stores and improve its online shopping experience, Macy’s announced recently that it will close 100 stores, thus reducing the retailer’s total brick-and-mortar footprint by about 15 percent.
The company will shutter these stores—whose specific locations they have yet to identify—by early 2017.
While the Macy’s announcement comes at a time when many other retailers are closing shop, this is big. For perspective, the department store will close more stores in 2017 than it has in the last six years, a period in which 90 doors closed. Also, Macy’s, despite its recent struggles, has been considered one of the better performing companies in the retail sector. This announcement sent shockwaves through the industry and will likely have other retailers reconsidering their long-term real estate strategies.
The company’s dramatic change in channel strategy is indicative of two key retail themes.