Last week, Macy’s Inc. announced plans to close 100 of its 728 locations—or a whopping 14 per cent of its stores—early next year.
The retail giant has not revealed which stores will close down, but has disclosed that they are all full-line (non-outlet) Macy’s locations. Once the company makes its final decision, employees at the stores in question will be notified before the public.
Macy’s has experienced difficulties in recent quarters, finishing 2015 with a 5 per cent drop in same-store sales in November and December, closing 41 stores and laying off thousands of workers.
In coming years, the retailer wants to position itself as “America’s preferred omnichannel shopping destination.” To do this, Macy’s plans to invest heavily in its digital businesses and best-performing stores while shedding physical locations with slow sales.
To further improve its in-store shopping experience, the company wants to expand its “high-potential businesses, such as fine jewelry.” As such, Macy’s has already has begun rolling out renovated fine jewellery departments.
As such, independent retailers in the U.S. may have to rethink their marketing and sales initiatives in order to compete with Macy’s convenient locations and strong deals. Moreover, as the company improves its e-commerce platforms, retailers across the border must consider improving their in-store experience to prevent the loss of customers to the online world.
