Macy's Is Planning 5,000 Job Cuts, More Store Closures

[appalachiablue]

USA Today, Jan. 4, 18

Macy's is planning 5,000 job cuts, including closure of seven previously unidentified stores and other cuts at remaining locations, as it seeks stability in a tumultuous climate for physical retail.

Macy's will shutter seven locations it had previously not identified for closure:
Miami (Downtown), Miami
The Oaks, Gainesville, Fla.
Novato (Furniture), Novato, Calif.
Honey Creek Mall, Terre Haute, Ind.
Birchwood Mall, Fort Gratiot Township, Mich.
Fountain Place, Cincinnati
Burlington Town Center, Burlington, Vt.

The retailer also said Thursday it is moving ahead with four other store closures previously announced:
Laguna Hills Mall, Laguna Hills, Calif.
Westside Pavilion, Los Angeles
Stonestown Galleria, San Francisco
Magic Valley Mall, Twin Falls, Idaho

The moves are part of a plan announced in August 2016 to close 100 stores. Altogether, the company has now revealed 81 of the 100 locations. Net job cuts, including the closures and reductions at remaining locations, will total about 5,000, Macy's spokesman Blair Rosenberg said in an email. The company also said it would add jobs in certain locations to properly staff stores. Liquidation sales are likely to begin Jan. 8 and continue for eight to 12 weeks.
“Looking ahead to 2018, we are focused on continuous improvement and will take the necessary steps to move faster, execute more effectively and allocate resources to invest in growth," Macy's CEO Jeff Gennette said in a statement.

The company has been struggling with its massive real estate footprint and traditional retail model, as Amazon.com soars and physical competitors such as treasure-hunt retailers T.J. Maxx and Marshall's offer alternatives. The company has been struggling with its massive real estate footprint and traditional retail model, as Amazon.com soars and physical competitors such as treasure-hunt retailers T.J. Maxx and Marshall's offer alternatives.

More, incl. *'17 RETAILERS ON THE 2018 DEATH WATCH" Extra,
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/macys-announces-5000-job-cuts-more-store-closures/ar-BBHRtZV

[Irish_Dem]

1. Will bricks and mortar stores exist at all in the near future? nt

[appalachiablue]

12. Not so many given the trends. Maybe a return to a Company or Camp Store,

with scrip for employees who lack credit, or for convenience. Stranger things are happening!

[Irish_Dem]

14. Yes, this could land anywhere when the dust settles. nt

[LisaM]

2. Unfortunate. I like Macy's and get almost all my clothes there.

They already closed the one in downtown Minneapolis (formerly a Dayton's) that I really liked and shopped at whenever I was there.

I can't keep brick and mortar stores afloat by myself, but I hate, hate, hate this trend. Online shopping is awful, I hate it, it costs retail jobs, and basically this is just really sucky news.

[Baitball Blogger]

4. +1

[The Genealogist]

5. I very much agree with what you say

I FAR prefer to go to a physical store to do my shopping. I personally prefer to examine what i am buying, and to just take it home and use it. Too, I hate to see all the people losing their jobs.

[LisaM]

19. I'm not large, but I have wide shoulders and it's hard to find clothes.

I absolutely have to try them on; even at my skinniest in my early 20s, I couldn't trust that clothes would fit me.

Plus, I like seeing things I can notice myself, instead of waiting for a predictive sell (same with books). I didn't know I was going to find a black velvet vampy Donna Karan dress to wear over the holidays, or that I even wanted one, but about three weeks ago I was riding the escalator in Macy's and there it was, and it turns out I wanted it all along and it was waiting for me!

[appalachiablue]

25. Agree, I like to see what to buy and the job losses are major.

> MAP of Sears, Kmart and Macy's Store Closing. Not pretty!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/heres-a-map-of-where-the-sears-and-macys-stores-are-going-dark/ar-BBHSHEZ?li=BBnb7Kz

[LisaM]

26. I really, really miss our KMart.

I realized how much I shopped there after they closed, mostly for household items like laundry soap, cleaners, shampoo, garbage bags, etc. Target is just not the same.

We used to live in an affordable rental house, we had two dogs, and we often would make a shopping trip to KMart, the PetSmart that was there (which the dogs loved), and the grocery store. It might sound really lame, but it was a fun family outing for all of us.

We were "evicted" from the house because the landlord got old and her daughter wanted to fix it up and jack up the rent, we had to move to an apartment (they took dogs, but after our last one passed on, we couldn't really get a new one because of the lack of a yard and our work schedules), and basically our whole lives changed. I think about just ten or fifteen years ago, how we had an affordable lifestyle (in Seattle), we had our beloved dogs, a nice-sized yard, and a lot of stores and restaurants and other businesses that I liked - and frequented - that were open and available to us. I have a decent job, and we're doing okay, but our quality of life has really diminished overall, and it's hard to take in sometimes. I really miss how it was and it's within recent memory, too, not in the distant past.

I don't even know where to put the blame. It's just a series of unfortunate occurrences, a perfect storm if you will, but when I see people who absolutely want to do everything online, take Uber everywhere, order food from GrubHub, and so on, I have to wonder if they even care that they've changed my lifestyle so much. And I wonder why they don't want to live that lifestyle, too.

[gvstn]

27. Dayton's was a better store.

Macy's bought everyone and just got too generic. No point of view like smaller chains. I still miss the old Bloomingdale's, they had some interesting stuff at relatively reasonable prices for higher end department store.

[LisaM]

28. Hudson's was a better store than either Dayton's or Macy's.

The Hudson's in my home town became a Marshall Field's for a while. That was so, so terrible (I think just that particular location for Field's) that the Macy's was an immeasurable improvement and when I'm in town, I shop there.

I do still miss Hudson's. When the brand was Dayton-Hudson's, they got rid of a lot of the local brands like the Woodward Shop. They merged with Target, too, for a while. That was the beginning of the end for my beloved Hudson's.

I did shop at the Minneapolis Dayton's a long time ago, and I liked it, but I liked Hudson's better. I basically liked all the flagship department stores across the country and would always make it a point to shop in them when I'd go to different cities - the May Company, Filene's, Meier and Frank in Portland, Marshall Field's, Dayton's, Frederick and Nelson, and so on. Unfortunately, I can't keep all the stores in business by myself.

[gratuitous]

3. Will Trump fire off a Tweet taking credit for these jobs lost?

Magic 8 Ball says, "No fucking way."

Same answer for whether anyone in the media will be asking anyone at the White House about this.

[Initech]

10. "Failing @Macys won't sell Ivanka's clothing line. That's why they had worst Q4 ever! Sad!"

[no_hypocrisy]

6. Abraham and Straus was acquired by Macys and now Macys is going to decrease its stores.

Plus, I feel for the malls who depended on Macys for their anchor stores.

[lindysalsagal]

7. Macys holds half the stock it used to, just a couple years ago.

The place looks empty. All that sq footage, and 14 sweaters and 10 pairs of shoes...Even in the men's section: They used to have great big piles of sweaters and shirts for christmas: This year, slim pickings.

[janterry]

8. It's okay. Coal is coming back

maybe trump can get them jobs in the coal mines.

[underpants]

13. 😆

[Initech]

21. Maybe the republicans love coal so much...

Because it gives them an excuse to give us lumps of the stuff in our stockings for Christmas every year, while Mar A Lago patrons get the Lexus with the giant bow on it.

[appalachiablue]

9. Plus *17 Retailers on the 2018 Death Watch*... Sad. J. Crew, Barnes & Noble, etc.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/17-retailers-on-the-2018-death-watch/ss-BBHnGuQ?parent-title=macys-announces-5000-job-cuts-more-store-closures&parent-ns=ar&parent-content-id=BBHRtZV&fullscreen=true#image=10

[Scurrilous]

11. The downtown Miami location is the original location for the long gone Burdines.

Alas...

And the Oaks Mall in G'ville? @#$%. I was in that place while it was being built (college job in lumber yard).

Why isn't the loss of retail jobs getting the same attention as coal mining? Not iconic enough?

[lpbk2713]

15. I would have thought the Gainesville location would be a money maker.

Oaks Mall is big and was fairly busy last time I was there.

And I can remember when Burdine's took over Maas Brothers.

[Blue_true]

17. Mall traffic has dropped considerably.

One thing that I think I noticed, is that after malls started putting lots of kiosks in walking spaces, people stopped coming into malls as often. I few kiosks are ok, but not being able to walk without running into one is a bother. Maybe what malls should do for kiosk vendors is set of several "variety" store in the mall where the kiosks can set up, and don't be greedy with rent prices.

[HipChick]

16. I remember Burdines..

[appalachiablue]

22. Went to Burdines at Dadeland Mall near Kendall-Mia often, good store

[doc03]

18. No wonder their prices on everything is marked up 4X what they are worth

and always on sale 50% off still double what they are worth. Everything they sell is made in China or someplace else
other than the USA, hell I can buy imported crap at Pennys, Sears or Walmart.

[crazycatlady]

24. They're the most expensive of dept stores

Even with the sales, there's very few people who are willing to pay 3 figures for a pair of jeans.

My problem with Macy's is that they don't cater to my demographic. I'm in my 30s and not willing to spend a large sum on clothes. I go to the misses dept and I can get the 'designer' stuff which caters to my age but not my budget or I can go for the more affordable clothes that look like a retirement home in FL. Go to junior's (which fit me) and I look like i'm in high school.

[clementine613]

20. And, of course, Trump does nothing to help...

[Takket]

23. Why don't they cancel those plans

Now that they have the corporate tax cut?

[workinclasszero]

29. Thanks Trump!