Another retailer reducing brick and mortar

[Andrew1972]

Macy's is cutting 10,000 jobs and 68 stores. Jobs are retail and management.....Not surprised however the skills are not transferable IMHO except management.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/04/news/companies/macys-job-cuts-stock/index.html

 

[BISCUT]

It's hard to compete. Macy's, like many other stores sees to have stores in too many locations. The stores are heavy with, albeit, weighted part time, but still employee heavy and rent heavy in malls. IMHO they really never modernized over the last decade. Now they pay the price.

 

[Vern_in_IL]

Originally Posted By: BISCUT
It's hard to compete. Macy's, like many other stores sees to have stores in too many locations. The stores are heavy with, albeit, weighted part time, but still employee heavy and rent heavy in malls. IMHO they really never modernized over the last decade. Now they pay the price.


Can you explain JCpenny, a heavily invested store in the malls. They have the same issues, and it seemed to be a CEO problem, kicked the idiot out, now they are making a comeback and piloting new things like selling HVAC systems...

They are a direct competitor to Macy's, but so is Sears/Kmart. Sears Holdings owner is a big problem, and they are just barely surviving, Sears was under a similar fate, too many mall stores, so after the merger, Posh Sears mall stores were closed and everything moved to the run down Big K.

Sears Outlets/Hometown stores is the future it seems. They are smaller, the stock is smaller and there are more of them, reminds me of the Western Auto of the 1980's

Now you could get all political about this, saying that mall stores are getting less business, not just because of the internet, but because we are poorer, and the economy GDP is at zero.

 

[CT8]

Macys is a high end ,high quality store . The majority of the shopping population are low end, low quality people. Merchandise even with the same name brands area higher quality at Macys than at Walmart.

 

[SatinSilver]

They seem too gimmicky with all their sales and special coupons. I recently went there to get a suit for my dad's funeral and wasn't too impressed. Only one salesperson that was busy on a mid-morning Saturday.

 

[skyactiv]

The Tuttle mall in Columbus has TWO Macy's that sell the same stuff. One of them is closing.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/20/AR2008012002228.html

 

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted By: CT8
Macys is a high end ,high quality store . The majority of the shopping population are low end, low quality people. Merchandise even with the same name brands area higher quality at Macys than at Walmart.


Yep and people like me won't go to Macys to buy clothes... I go JCPennys or Kohl's and use coupons to buy clothes.

 

[aquariuscsm]

I was working retail when the economy tanked years ago. That's what happened to it,no one had the money to shop,I saw it first hand. I was in change of tracking sales,profits,etc. I remember when gas here hit the $4-$5 a gallon mark,that's when the retail stores here turned into ghost towns. JCPenney shot themselves in both feet when they changed their sales and advertising tactics. The people who typically shopped there were old school. They liked things the way they were,with the sales,coupons,price points,etc. JCP tried to be like Macy's,Dillard's,etc,and lost their customer base. Before that,their sales were soaring!! The biggest mistake JCP made was doing away with their advertised in-store coupons.

I remember Foley's here would have incredible clearance sales,fully stocked shelves,etc. You could buy those $100+ Ralph Lauren dress shirts for $10-$15 (I'd clean them out and buy every color) when they'd go on clearance,and that store was always packed. Once Macy's took it over,the place looked like it was out of business. Crazy high prices,no stock,and no more good sales.

I really hate to see this happening,because I HATE shopping online. Brick and mortar is the only way to go imo.

 

[SZR48207]

Where I live, the Macy's is closing for good but an even higher end store called Von Maur opened a few years ago and is doing well.

I wonder if store names in retail just have a limited life before they go away or are revitalized. Sears for sure seemed long in the tooth...

 

[Leo99]

Macy's is not high end compared to Nordstrom or Nieman Marcus.

I like Macy's a lot but you have to wait for their sales or else you feel like you got gouged paying full price.

 

[Andrew1972]

Macy's is not high end I'd call it mid grade at best with some nicer items peppered in.

I have not shopped Macy's in years and Kohls and JC Penny is way to low quality for me. I own a few nice items instead lots of garbage.....

 

[maverickfhs]

Originally Posted By: CT8
Macys is a high end ,high quality store . The majority of the shopping population are low end, low quality people. Merchandise even with the same name brands area higher quality at Macys than at Walmart.


Not any more, plus definitely not a high end either. It's a thing of past. Now they sell clothes, which are cheap or inferior in quality

 

[aquariuscsm]

I still consider Macy's and Dillard's high end,with Dillard's being "higher end". JCP and Kohl's is mid end,with stores like Walmart and Target being low end. Dillard's and Macy's have really good men's depts where you can get really good 100% wool suits. Something I never see anymore are the high end mom and pop men's stores.

 

[xfactor9]

Macy's is nowhere near high-end. Luxury brands like LV won't even sell their goods there because it'd degrade their brand image.

Neiman Marcus (high end)
Saks 5th
Bloomingdales
Nordstroms
Macys (mid range)
Kohls
JC Penneys
Target
Walmart
Garage sale

 

[dishdude]

The department store model is outdated, if people go to a brick and mortar store, they prefer to shop at specialty or discount stores.

 

[Shellguy]

Two words...coupons/discounts! Macy's has not put an effort in getting that retail market share from places like kohls and jcpennys(discount stores as mentioned). While clearly a step down jcpennys is on the upswing and kohls...well lets face it, its always busy!.. They are always offering some discounts..

 

[SZR48207]

Originally Posted By: Shellguy
Two words...coupons/discounts! Macy's has not put an effort in getting that retail market share from places like kohls and jcpennys(discount stores as mentioned). While clearly a step down jcpennys is on the upswing and kohls...well lets face it, its always busy!.. They are always offering some discounts..


This is very accurate. JcPennys was a prime example of this back when they were very liberal with coupons and sales. Then, the CEO switched and the next person didn't want to offer deals and business took a massive hit.

I vaguely recall that it has nothing to do with the actual price of items but the psychological effect of discounts, flash sales, BOGO deals and the like. If you price the item 20% higher than it should be, but offer a 20% coupon on the weekends, it'll sell more than if you priced it at the normal mark all week.

Macy's may be very hesitant to take on a discounted approach as it may conflict with the store's image and brand. So instead of stay in business and adjust to the market, they'll close up shop.

 

[hillclimber]

Kohl's is OK, I like some of the Chaps stuff, which I believe the are discontinuing, and the Izod. Fine for Dockers and stuff, too.

Was surprised to hear today that even Kohl's is struggling a bit, I thought they were doing quite well:
http://fortune.com/2017/01/04/kohls-macys-stock-holiday/

I've never been to Kohl's or Macy's and paid anything close to the retail price, it's funny how much they mark stuff down.

 

[eljefino]

Mall owners need to wise up and chop rent on their anchor stores. There are only so many t-shirt and cellphone kiosks that can camp out in the pedestrian zone between Sears & Best Buy. Without the traffic to the anchors, the rest will fold. I'm confident that mall owners themselves are highly leveraged with debt, so this will be fun to watch sort out.

Did I ever bore you guys with the stupid story of my stupid TV I tried to buy at the mall but the off-mall warehouse was closed that late in the evening, so they had no TV to give me? Yup.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: Reddy45
I vaguely recall that it has nothing to do with the actual price of items but the psychological effect of discounts, flash sales, BOGO deals and the like. If you price the item 20% higher than it should be, but offer a 20% coupon on the weekends, it'll sell more than if you priced it at the normal mark all week.


This.

This is what JCP did that ruined them. They did away with the in-store coupons,door buster sales,and changed their pricing. They originally had the suggested retail price on the item,BUT had bright huge signing above the product reflecting the discounted price,and on top of that offered in-store coupons. The new pricing scheme had the ONE final sales price written in red placed directly on the item. That one price you see what what you paid,and the in-store coupons were no longer offered. The company went down the toilet immediately and sales dropped to nothing.