Macy's to Close 29 Stores Following Holiday Sales Drop
Macy's announced Wednesday its plans to close 29 stores in the coming weeks, reports The Washington Post. The closures include 28 Macy's department stores and one Bloomingdale's location, following a reported 0.6 percent decline in same-store sales during the holiday season. That compares with the 1.1 percent growth recorded during November and December last year. Macy's has not yet specified the locations of the store closures.
Total Retail's Take: Macy's, for the most part, has been able to hold on during a tumultuous time for traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, particularly department stores. However, the holiday season is a critical sales period for all retailers, and Macy's 2019 numbers are disappointing. Neil Saunders, managing director of research firm GlobalData Retail, said this performance shows that Macy's "is still losing customers and market share at a rapid clip.” This isn't the first time that lackluster holiday sales forced the department chain to close stores, as job cuts and store closures were announced in 2017 after a slow 2016 holiday season. Macy's continues to face many challenges in its turnaround journey, but hopefully we'll see 2020 end better than it started for the retailer.
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Kristina Stidham is the digital content director at Total Retail and sister brands Women in Retail Leadership Circle and Women Leading Travel & Hospitality at NAPCO Media. She is passionate about digital media and handles video, podcast and virtual event production for all brands. You can often find her at WIRLC, TR, WLT&H or industry events with her camera and podcasting equipment—or at home on Zoom—recording interviews with thought leaders and business executives.
Kristina holds a B.A. in Media Studies and Production from the Temple University Klein College of Media and Communication in Philadelphia. Go Owls! When she's not in the office, she loves to go on long walks, sing around the house, hangout with her family and two pet guinea pigs, and travel to new places.
