Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Most people seem to be blaming Amazon for the decline of Macy's, like everything, but I don't necessarily think that is the case. For one, buying clothing online vs buying books or computer hardware is a completely different animal. To discover why Macy's is struggling, you only have to look at Sears/KMart and how Macy's made the exact same mistake.
Growing up, going to Macy's had a prestige to it. The stores were very nice in appearance and were enjoyable to shop in. You also knew if you shopped Macy's, you were getting quality, stylish clothing. They were a notch above JC Penney and Kohl's yet still a notch below Nordstrom, perfect for the upper middle class. Around the mid '00s, much like Sears/KMart, they began buying up regional department stores around the country and rebranding them into Macy's. This was their mistake, because a lot of these stores were dated and still looked like a 1980s time capsule. After rebranding these stores to Macy's, they didn't update them to bring them up to the standard Macy's was known for. At the same time, the quality of their merchandise started to drop. Today, there really isn't any reason to go to Macy's. There are so many other places a person can go to get comparable quality clothing for cheaper. Their closest competitor, Dillard's, actually kept their stores up to date and offer quality products and despite still feeling the pressure from ecommerce (as everyone is), they are still doing significantly better than Macy's and don't have the tarnished reputation.
What are your thoughts on Macy's? Do you think they made the same mistakes as Sears/KMart?
I think Macy's has too many stores; they are eating into each other. I also think they try to cram way too many things in their stores, and they often do not even have the variety of sizes to ensure they are capturing as much of a customer base as possible. Additionally, too many of their stores are getting that old, run down look to them, they need to keep those things looking nice to attract the customers in that price range.
Finally; they have too many sales. People are now just waiting for sales, coupons, etc to then go buy something. Macy's needs to make up their mind who they are trying to attract and who they want their customer base to be.
There are so many factors out there and this will continue to be debated until the cows come in.
I am at the tail end of the boomer generation and like us these younger generations are reshaping the scio economic paths of every type of business in America.
Harvard, Yale and the other countless business schools need to rewrite their play books for their future graduates.
Something is turning away these younger adults from shopping at retail and dining out at restaurants.
Will Macy's go the way of Sears........most likely. Growing up a lot of us had brand loyalty, this for the most part is long gone for the younger ones. Even myself I now have the ability via the net to find the best deals.
I wish I had the answers as there is a tremendous about of empty retail space in the US and if someone could figure out how to repurpose it the rewards would be endless.
Macy's might survive due to its size and being in the middle market. Sears and JCPenney (along with Kohl's) are lower-end stores that invented couponing and constant discounting. TJMaxx, Ross, and Burlington took it to a whole new level as they were originally closeout stores that adopted the mass marketers discounting techniques.
Even Neiman-Marcus is considering being acquired or filing for bankruptcy due to it's high debt. They were entertaining offers from a Canadian firm that also owns Saks and Lord & Taylor here in the U.S. Nordstrom is shooing off it's middle class customers because of their prices. (I bet they are trading a step down to Macy's right now.). Bloomingdale's is Macy's upscale store but is more exclusive geographically than the other upscale/luxury stores.
I can see the day that the only anchor in a Middle America mall is a Macy's. There might be a Bloomingdale's at the other end in an upscale mall on the Coasts.
This should not be a Blame Game, like some are trying to make it. We have to accept changes as peoples change and attitudes change, as well as how we do things. This goes for shopping, dining out, medical care, so many things in life. My take on this is: Big is out period or going out. Large chains, whether grocery stores or dept stores are a thing of the past. I feel the same about large restaurant chains and malls. Will they all die in the next 10 years? Of course not but they will, eventually be replaced. Our entire way or shopping an eating as well as communicating has changed so much in the past 20 or so years.
I used to be a merchandiser in a Macy's store and it was a joke. They had like 2 people running the entire downstairs of Macy's, you coudln't find someone to check you out, coudln't find someone to get something out of a case for you.
Well, department stores are a 19th century innovation. Macy's was founded in 1858; quite the legacy company. It's a testament to their success that they've lasted this long.
I think Macy's can probably survived, but as a much smaller version of itself. Thinking about my own habits... I haven't shopped in-person there in YEARS. It's been maybe 2 years since I bought anything online from them.
Retail in general is definitely undergoing a major change. I didn't expect to see it happen this quickly, but retailers are hurting in a number of ways. Online shopping, especially the easier version of it using smartphones, is taking its toll, but that's not all. The recession simply caused people to MASSIVELY cut the amount of money they spend on clothes. Mid-level retail was always driven by brands - and those brands never recovered from the effects of 2008. We're in recovery now... generally fully recovered... but wages are still stagnant and the culture has become less materialistic. The millennials in particular are more... experiencealistic?
Restaurants & hotels are doing GREAT. AirBnB came out of nowhere. People are spending their limited dollars on that and not that Hilfiger shirt for $50.
Keep seeing on this week's TV commercials that JCPenney is still going with it's discounting strategy (Penney Days). I saw Kohl's is continuing their Kohl's Kash from last week's print ad. Being the low price leader is not a viable long-term strategy--there's always somebody who will undercut you from behind! There are plenty of them: H&M, T.J. Maxx/Marshalls, Ross, Burlington, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by redguard57
Well, department stores are a 19th century innovation. Macy's was founded in 1858; quite the legacy company. It's a testament to their success that they've lasted this long.
I think Macy's can probably survived, but as a much smaller version of itself. Thinking about my own habits... I haven't shopped in-person there in YEARS. It's been maybe 2 years since I bought anything online from them.
Macy's could backstab mall owners like GGP (who mentioned on the record that it welcomes anchors closing and will flip them into more mall corridors) by going back to their early roots and act like a mall. The store itself would be the mall and the departments would be the stores. Macy's is starting to invite partners to operate departments such as Finish Line and Luxottica's Sunglass Hut and Lenscrafters.
When I visited the Philippines 6 years ago, SM (Shoemart) has stuck to that concept. Their building consists of a main store, not much different than a Macy's, Dillards, et al. in the United States, but also specialty shops such as the Kultura department (where I bought Filipinana souvenirs) and a food court with a variety of cuisines. Another department store (Rustan's) had a food court and grocery store in the basement. This is pretty much every SM in the Philippines. I only saw this setup in the United States at Macy's flagships in New York and Chicago.
Perhaps Macy's could make it on its own by building these standalone stores in greenfield (mostly suburban) locations?
I am 68.7 years old and do not understand why any department stores exist.
Big box stores.
Amazon.
Specialty boutiques.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
