THE CEO of Macy’s has spoken out after questions were raised about plans to close stores over the next three years.

An estimated 150 of the retailer’s locations will close by the end of 2026 as part of a multi-year plan to adjust its operations.

2

2

Macy’s plans to operate smaller stores in the future and move away from huge, multi-story locations with high overhead costs.

Parallel to the closures, there will be about 30 new openings of the smaller Macy’s and another 15 Bloomingdales, as this narrows the focus to selling luxury items.

Executives also said about 350 Macy’s locations not affected by the mass closures would be renovated.

At least 55 of its traditional department stores were expected to close by the end of this year, but the number was recently increased to around 66, according to a third-quarter earnings release.

Macy’s CEO Tony Spring faced questions from investors on the conference call about the closure increase, asking whether it would impact the previously detailed figure of 150 or other plans in the near future.

Spring remained steadfast and committed to Macy’s actions as the closures were expected to bring in approximately $600 million to $750 million to the company through their sales.

“At the beginning of the closure strategy, we said we had locations that were less profitable and less productive and we wanted to monetize them as quickly as possible,” the CEO said, referring to the expected 66 closures.

“The fact that we are closing more stores this year reflects the fact that our assets have value and that we are doing business even in this less stable market.”

He added that the total number of Macy’s closures “remains at approximately 150” through the end of 2026.

Spring promised further updates on the exact number of closures in 2025.

CONSUMER CHAOS

Macy’s struggled with sales in its most recent quarter, as total sales of $4.9 billion fell just short of expectations.

Third-quarter results came in at $4.74 billion, slightly below expectations of $4.75 billion.

In recent years, the company has faced intense competition and changing consumer habits.

Not only are giants like Costco, Target and Walmart providing strong competition, but Amazon alone and the general shift to e-commerce continue to impact brick-and-mortar stores.

SECOND INCREASE

Adrian Mitchell, Macy’s chief financial officer and chief operating officer, cited these difficulties as one reason the number of closures for this year rose from 50 to 55 during Macy’s second-quarter earnings call in September.

“This means we will close approximately 55 stores compared to our previous forecast of 50,” Mitchell said on the call.

Now at 66, this is the second increase in the closing amount in just a few months.

However, Macy’s still reports that sales are trending in the right direction and will improve during the transition period.

Macy’s will also abruptly close all 479 stores nationwide for the day in just a few weeks due to a retail outage.

One customer even recently claimed that the department store chain “ripped off” customers and closed their Macy’s account.