Macy’s is closing 150 stores as part of a major turnaround effort

Macy’s is getting a new, smaller, but more luxurious look designed to turn around the troubled retailer and keep the century-and-a-half old brand relevant to rapidly changing demands from shoppers.

Macy’s is getting a new, smaller, but more luxurious look designed to turn around the troubled retailer and keep the century-and-a-half old brand relevant to rapidly changing demands from shoppers. First, Macy’s will have to downsize. The company is closing 150 underperforming stores over the next few years. By 2026, it will prioritize its investment in just 350 Macy’s stores, the company announced. Second, the company will focus on its successful Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury brands – luxury stores that have outperformed the Macy’s brand. It will open more, smaller versions of those stores over the next several years. It is part of a turnaround effort the store is calling a “bold new chapter,” designed to fend off activist investors and boost the company’s moribund stock price and sales. Macy’s and the entire department store sector have been hit on all sides. Department stores have been pressured by the rise of Amazon, the growing strength of discount chains such as TJ Maxx, and online brands. Macy’s stock price has dropped 75% from a peak of $73 a share in 2015. Since then, it has closed nearly 300 stores — almost one third of its locations — but still operates about 700 across its brands.