Macy’s Is Closing 150 Stores, Leaning Into Small-Format Locations
Macy’s Inc. announced a plan to close more of its namesake stores across the country as part of a new strategic plan to grow business.
The department store retailer said on Tuesday it would close about 150 “underproductive locations” through 2026, with 50 of these closures set for 2024. The company also said it would invest in 350 other Macy’s locations and would open 30 new small format Macy’s stores over the next two years.
As for its other banners, Macy’s Inc. said it plans to continue leaning into its luxury labels, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury, which it described out “outperformers.” Throughout 2026, Macy’s Inc. plans to open 15 new Bloomingdale’s stores and at least 30 new Bluemercury stores. The company also expects to remodel 30 Bluemercury stores and open a combined 15 new Bloomie’s and Bloomingdale’s the Outlets stores over three years.
The news comes a month after Macy’s announced a decision to lay off about 2,300 employees, or 3.5 percent of its total workforce, and close five stores and two furniture galleries. The five Macy’s stores that closed were located in Arlington, Va.; San Leandro and Simi Valley in Calif.; Lihue, Hawaii, and Tallahassee, Fla.
In addition to store closures, the new strategic plan — dubbed “A Bold New Chapter” — seeks to “rationalize and monetize the supply chain asset portfolio, streamline fulfillment, improve inventory planning and allocation, and deliver a scalable technology platform,” Macy’s said in a release.
Starting in 2025, Macy’s expects to achieve low-single-digit annual comparable owned and licensed marketplace sales growth, annual SG&A dollar growth below the historic rate of inflation of 2 to 3 percent, and annual adjusted EBITDA dollar growth in the mid-single-digit range.
“A Bold New Chapter serves as a strong call to action. It challenges the status quo to create a more modern Macy’s, Inc. We are making the necessary moves to reinvigorate relationships with our customers through improved shopping experiences, relevant assortments and compelling value,” said Tony Spring, the newly minted chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc. “Our teams are energized by the work ahead as we accelerate our path to market share gains, sustainable, profitable growth and value creation for our shareholders.”
For the fourth quarter, Macy’s posted a net loss of $71 million compared to a profit of $508 million in the same quarter the prior year. For the year, Macy’s Inc. net income was $105 million and sales were just over $23 billion, compared to a net of $1.18 billion and sales of just over $24.4 billion in 2022.