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The value of a Macy's as a national New York name or trendsetter has never quite materialized, despite an attempt at economies of scale and a merger of operations. And now there is tougher competition from online vendors. But they are working to upgrade their top tier stores while closing those that are underperforming. I wish them luck, and I have already seen an improved customer experience at some of their nicer stores... So I don't think their nicer stores are declining, they just need to adjust their business model and improve customer service. Close the poor stores, add the Backstage discount model to boost sales, and upgrade the top tier stores as a destination shop.
You've aptly identified several major issues confronting Macy's and suggested possible solutions. Although the Macy's name no longer conjures up all the magic of its fabled Herald Square store pictured in 1947's "Miracle on 34th Street," it still carries considerable clout. Unlike numerous other retailers, including the once powerful Sears, Macy's remains a formidable contender nationwide.
This recent Business Journal article touches on much of what you've mentioned...
You've aptly identified several major issues confronting Macy's and suggested possible solutions. Although the Macy's name no longer conjures up all the magic of its fabled Herald Square store pictured in 1947's "Miracle on 34th Street," it still carries considerable clout. Unlike numerous other retailers, including the once powerful Sears, Macy's remains a formidable contender nationwide.
Fanboy, you need to get out of Cincinnati once in awhile. Dayton is down to two stores, only three stores in Indy, Three stores in Columbus (there used to be up to 12 Lazarus stores). ONE! in Louisville! Macy's is the incredible shrinking man except in a few select markets like Cincinnati where they keep the existing store footprint. But it won't be for long. Sooner or later, Cincinnati will be down to Kenwood, Beechmont and either Colerain or Florence.
Grand Forks ND closed recently and if you know anything about that part of the country, Marshall Field's did very well there. They may be smaller markets, but they are clean and there is a lot of money there. Those Dutch and German people take pride in their appearance. Marshall Field's was effectively that market's upmarket store because these markets are too small to have even a Von Maur. Macy's didn't do well there and that should tell you something.
Sioux Falls is a very prosperous area. It is the largest city in the state, has a lot of banking, and its newer suburbs look like the suburbs around here. If Macy's ends up closing their store there, there is absolutely zero hope for this company.
Last edited by PerryMason614; 08-18-2017 at 06:35 PM..
Fanboy, you need to get out of Cincinnati once in awhile. Dayton is down to two stores, only three stores in Indy, Three stores in Columbus (there used to be up to 12 Lazarus stores). ONE! in Louisville! Macy's is the incredible shrinking man except in a few select markets like Cincinnati where they keep the existing store footprint. But it won't be for long. Sooner or later, Cincinnati will be down to Kenwood, Beechmont and either Colerain or Florence.
Grand Forks ND closed recently and if you know anything about that part of the country, Marshall Field's did very well there. They may be smaller markets, but they are clean and there is a lot of money there. Those Dutch and German people take pride in their appearance. Marshall Field's was effectively that market's upmarket store because these markets are too small to have even a Von Maur. Macy's didn't do well there and that should tell you something.
Sioux Falls is a very prosperous area. It is the largest city in the state, has a lot of banking, and its newer suburbs look like the suburbs around here. If Macy's ends up closing their store there, there is absolutely zero hope for this company.
It is simply incredible to think a city of 1.3 million only has one Macy's. Its not considered cool in Louisville. I think they will be a TKO in just 5 years. It even feels dying.
It is simply incredible to think a city of 1.3 million only has one Macy's. Its not considered cool in Louisville. I think they will be a TKO in just 5 years. It even feels dying.
Macy's in Indianapolis is the result of four Lazarus stores, five or six Block's stores and six Ayres stores. Out of all those stores, only two Lazarus stores and one Ayres store is still open. You have to be an arsonist to burn that kind of money up in market after market. And these people get millions of dollars and bonuses for doing this without being held to account.
Columbus? LOL.
-Downtown
-Northland
-Eastland
-Westland
-Kingsdale - Soon to be a Kroger
-Reed & Henderson - Former Tempo/Buckeye Mart, now Marc's and a Fitness Club
(See https://www.facebook.com/groups/tempobuckeye/ )
-Westerville Square - Now a Walmart
-Town & Country - Target and Kroger are in that center
-Lancaster - now Dicks
-Newark - now Dicks
-Zanesville - ?
ALL CLOSED
In fairness, Tuttle, Polaris and Easton do well ........ BUT YOU WENT FROM ELEVEN STORES DOWN TO THREE!!!!! And they are all located in the northern quarter of the Columbus market. NOTHING to the southeast or southwest.
LOL!
And what about all that May Company market share they frittered away? Arsonists!
You are paid the big bucks either grow the company or to make a lot of money for shareholders in the form of dividends. Terry Lundgren has done neither.
Macy's only future is to liquidate or to go back into the Gold Circle business, which would be very tough to do at this juncture.
I would seriously look at buying Kmart and Shopko if I were them, do some massive remodeling and put Gold Circle back in business. That's the only future I see for this company.
This region would kill to have Gold Circle again and it was very well regarded in New York (they were in Rochester, Syracuse and Buffalo). The same things Macy's sells, with a little more classic styling, sold in a Gold Circle format (with groceries). Add back appliances, hardware, H&B ... the kinds of things that generate repeat visits. I think this is a winner.
Last edited by PerryMason614; 08-18-2017 at 09:30 PM..
Macy's in Indianapolis is the result of four Lazarus stores, five or six Block's stores and six Ayres stores. Out of all those stores, only two Lazarus stores and one Ayres store is still open. You have to be an arsonist to burn that kind of money up in market after market. And these people get millions of dollars and bonuses for doing this without being held to account.
Columbus? LOL.
-Downtown
-Northland
-Eastland
-Westland
-Kingsdale - Soon to be a Kroger
-Reed & Henderson - Former Tempo/Buckeye Mart, now Marc's and a Fitness Club
(See https://www.facebook.com/groups/tempobuckeye/ )
-Westerville Square - Now a Walmart
-Town & Country - Target and Kroger are in that center
-Lancaster - now Dicks
-Newark - now Dicks
-Zanesville - ?
ALL CLOSED
In fairness, Tuttle, Polaris and Easton do well ........ BUT YOU WENT FROM ELEVEN STORES DOWN TO THREE!!!!! And they are all located in the northern quarter of the Columbus market. NOTHING to the southeast or southwest.
LOL!
And what about all that May Company market share they frittered away? Arsonists!
You are paid the big bucks either grow the company or to make a lot of money for shareholders in the form of dividends. Terry Lundgren has done neither.
Macy's only future is to liquidate or to go back into the Gold Circle business, which would be very tough to do at this juncture.
I would seriously look at buying Kmart and Shopko if I were them, do some massive remodeling and put Gold Circle back in business. That's the only future I see for this company.
This region would kill to have Gold Circle again and it was very well regarded in New York (they were in Rochester, Syracuse and Buffalo). The same things Macy's sells, with a little more classic styling, sold in a Gold Circle format (with groceries). Add back appliances, hardware, H&B ... the kinds of things that generate repeat visits. I think this is a winner.
It really is crazy. Retail got way overbuilt, especially in the heyday of the 80s and 90s.
No one is denying that Macy's is in serious trouble; however, lest it be overlooked, in this new destabilizing shakedown of all things retail, every other brick and mortar store faces the same overwhelming challenge: how to remain afloat in the onslaught of Amazon, homegrown discounters and foreign interlopers. Therefore, it's senseless for Macy's most vocal critics to denigrate it so harshly while giving free passes to other such retailers who have fared worse - for example, L Brands and its major spin-offs in Columbus. In all fairness, any conversation about Macy's alleged demise must be put in the context of the larger picture of both general and specialty retailing, especially clothing. In its own diversity of merchandise, Macy's fits both categories.
The main reason that Macy's is being singled out is simple: being one of the largest, most visible and well known ships crossing such precarious retailing waters, it makes the perfect target. Meanwhile, all the lesser seaworthy vessels can scurry out of sight, while this prestigious Cincinnati flagship takes a direct hit.
No one is denying that Macy's is in serious trouble; however, lest it be overlooked, in this new destabilizing shakedown of all things retail, every other brick and mortar store faces the same overwhelming challenge: how to remain afloat in the onslaught of Amazon, homegrown discounters and foreign interlopers. Therefore, it's senseless for Macy's most vocal critics to denigrate it so harshly while giving free passes to other such retailers who have fared worse - for example, L Brands and its major spin-offs in Columbus. In all fairness, any conversation about Macy's alleged demise must be put in the context of the larger picture of both general and specialty retailing, especially clothing. In its own diversity of merchandise, Macy's fits both categories.
The main reason that Macy's is being singled out is simple: being one of the largest, most visible and well known ships crossing such precarious retailing waters, it makes the perfect target. Meanwhile, all the lesser seaworthy vessels can scurry out of sight, while this prestigious Cincinnati flagship takes a direct hit.
Lazarus (and Shillito's and Rike's) used to be all things to all people. It was the go-to store in each of their markets. The store you went to FIRST. But over time, rather than competing with discounters they decided to jettison hardlines departments that made the stores interesting and drew customers in because hardlines departments have low profit margins, unlike clothing where the ticket price represents a 100% or more markup.
Then you had Nordstrom taking their customers on the high end and Kohl's on the low end. What you're left with is a pretty unappealing product mix of house brand clothing in most of their stores and pedestrian designer brands in their better stores.
Besides, going to the mall is a hassle. Even my wife hates going to the mall. She would much rather go to a Walmart format store than to the mall and that really surprises me.
I remember how popular Gold Circle was. In fact it was a family ritual for my dad to drag my brother and I with him on Sunday mornings to get around the "Limit 6" on toothpaste or toilet paper that was on sale. JCPenney has off-mall stores, but again, they are mostly clothing and boring.
A resurrected Gold Circle, with Lazarus quality level clothing and softlines, is worth trying, IMO.
Kmart still has a pretty decent footprint in the northeast. Call up Eddie Lampert and make a deal with him to take over the Kmart stores. The reason I say this is because they already have the built in infrastructure of distribution, buyers, etc. so you don't have to recreate a whole chain from scratch.
Pick one market Kmart is still strong in, PLUS open up three stores in Columbus (former home of Gold Circle), to test a resurrected Gold Circle.
If the test results meet your requirements, proceed with the purchase of Kmart. If not, then you'd better figure out something different for Macy's because it's a goner.
It really is crazy. Retail got way overbuilt, especially in the heyday of the 80s and 90s.
Amazon is the devil in a red dress....
It really is....Here in the Nashville area we have three Macy's stores left, down from 5. They are all outdated and surpassed by Dillard's and Nordstrom which all have new or significantly updated stores. Macy's might as well be J.C. Penney's here. It is so sad that even most successful store in Cool Springs is opening a Backstage outlet inside the existing store. Nashville lost a significant amount of retail when four large malls closed down in the 2000s. At that time our market was saturated with the same repeat stores. Macy's business model is failing here because:
1. Outdated stores, poor customer service
2. Young people don't wear dress clothing. They wear athleisure, street type of clothing, and on the other end of the spectrum, jeans, t shirts, boots, rugged/outdoor apparel.
3. Unjustified expensive clothing prices
4. T.j. Maxx, Marshall's, Ross are every where and offer much better prices and styles.
5. Pushy salesmen business model is a major turn off to today's customers.
Kroger's is actually doing ok here. Almost all of their stores have expanded or remodeled. However, the customer service is very poor here. The stores lack management, and competitors are popping up in close proximity. When Amazon takes over their market, Kroger will be left scrambling. Both Macy's and Kroger's business models are terribly outdated compared to some of their competitors.
That's their biggest problem, IMO. Back when I was younger, I would wait to buy the Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger on clearance. Now most of it is awful and I am perfectly fine with buying something at JCPenney. At least the St. John's Bay shorts I bought there last month were all cotton and not poly like most of the Macy's house brands (or Kohl's). I HATE POLYESTER! Hell, I even buy $10 Arizona jeans from JCP. I don't know how they make money on them at that price.
I'm not a woman, but even the wife has virtually no interest in anything Macy's sells. She either goes to TJ Maxx, the Outlet mall or Nordstroms/Von Maur.
I think that's what happens when you try to run a clothing chain from New York.
With regard to Kroger, I think they're great. Of course, the stores near me are nice and new (but I like the old one better). I don't need a lot of service in a grocery store.
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