Just last month, Macy’s announced that it would be shutting down 68 stores across the country. Today, the retailer clarified its previously disclosed plans to eventually close a total of around 100 locations by confirming that 34 Macy’s stores will be tossed on the garbage pile “over the next few years.”
Macy’s included the news in its fourth-quarter earnings report, but didn’t give any other information about where those stores would be or when, exactly, they’ll close for good.
The company says it was a complicated decision choosing which stores to close, because none of them were cash flow negative, CFO Karen Hoguet told analysts (via CNBC). Instead, Macy’s looked at factors like demographics and household incomes in each region, whether or not the population was growing, and if there was already a Macy’s nearby.
Like fellow retailers Sears and Kmart, Macy’s has been struggling to attract customers in a marketplace that is increasingly shifting toward online shopping. Its earnings report presents a skeptical outlook, with projected comparable sales predicted to fall between 2% and 3% for the 2017 fiscal year.
“Clearly customers are choosing to purchase less in stores and more through digital means,” Hoguet said.
When Macy’s first announced its plan to close 100 stores, the company said the move would result in “a more appropriate store portfolio for Macy’s in the longer term and help us to accelerate our progress in building a vibrant omnichannel brand experience.”
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist