Macy’s accelerates closings this year

Macy’s, which has launched a comprehensive strategy to revive its faltering business, announced on Wednesday that it is working to accelerate its work… Planned store closures For the year.

CEO Tony Spring told analysts during the earnings call that Macy’s now expects to close about 65 locations this year, up from its previous forecast of 50 announced at the beginning of the year.

However, Spring added that “the closure will happen after the holiday.”

The company remains on track with its plans to close 150 sites over three years as part of its “bold new chapter” strategy, which was announced in February.

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The goal, according to Al-Rabie, is Access to a fleet that “can provide sustainable and profitable growth for an organization.”

CFO Adrian Mitchell emphasized that the company is only closing underperforming stores.

“These are places where the economic conditions are not favorable. These are places where customers have turned away from those malls to shop. And these are stores that are incredibly difficult to manage. So I’ll start with that basic premise.” Mitchell said.

He continued, “Very few stores are actually in one-store markets. The reason this is important is because in the overall business, we continue to see that when we have a physical presence and a digital presence by far, we have the best economics.”

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The company previously announced that it would be down to 350 stores once all planned closures have been implemented. It also said it would simultaneously add approximately 45 Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury locations. Both brands continued to show growth in sales.

Part of the company’s strategy includes revamping 50 anchor stores, also known as the “First 50,” which it aims to use as a model for the next generation of Macy’s locations. Mitchell said the company is already encouraged by the performance of its “top 50” stores. Sales at those stores rose 1.9% during the third quarter.

The company plans to open nine additional new stores and remodel two more stores in the fourth quarter, Spring said Wednesday.

Activist investor Barington Capital Group said earlier this week that it sees “early promise in the new plan, as it calls for the closure of a significant number of Macy’s panel locations with very low productivity.”

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“We believe this action, coupled with further cost reductions the company plans to enact, will result in a healthier store base that can begin to deliver consistent revenue growth and earnings improvements,” Barrington Capital Group said.