Macy's to Aggressively Push Off-Price Strategy

Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette, who succeeded Terry Lundgren just last month, announced plans to grow the department store chain's off-price brand, Macy’s Backstage. "We're hoping that by the end of this year, we have a scaleable [off-price] model to aggressively roll out in the future," Gennette said during the company’s earnings call on Thursday. Macy’s has 26 Backstage locations within its stores and plans to open 19 more by the end of this year.

Total Retail’s Take: Gennette wants to make Macy’s more of a competitor with off-price chains like Ross Stores and T.J. Maxx. By bringing this model into malls, Macy’s may be able to stabilize its faltering brick-and-mortar business.

"Seventy percent of millennials shop off-price on a monthly basis," said Gennette. "What we find with this … where we have [Backstage] in a free-standing store, in a Macy's full-price store, the entire building is lifted by a very nice level.”

With Amazon.com's push into fashion, Macy’s needs to coax shoppers into stores — the off-price model may do just that.