NEW YORK (AFP) – The iconic but struggling United States (US) department store Macy’s announced plans on Tuesday to close almost a third of its eponymous locations by 2026 while building up its upscale Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury brands.
In a new strategy aimed at breathing life into the 166-year-old retailer, the company said it would shut 150 “underproductive” Macy’s locations.
The plan, dubbed a “Bold New Chapter”, said around 50 stores would be closed by the end of the current fiscal year, without mentioning how many employees would be impacted.
The plan comes a week after Arkhouse Management unveiled a proxy challenge to replace nine members of the Macy’s board.
The challenge follows a rejection by Macy’s in January of an unsolicited takeover proposal from Arkhouse and Brigade Capital Management.
The company, which had also announced in January it would pare its workforce by 3.5 per cent, said in a statement that the new strategy would prioritise investment in the remaining 350 Macy’s locations.
It also plans to open 15 Bloomingdale’s stores and at least 30 Bluemercury stores in new and existing markets over the next three years, along with 30 remodelled Bluemercury sites.
Department stores have seen their results suffer for years as consumers increasingly move online, and have been forced to reduce in size – a dynamic exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
