Macy’s Is Closing Stores to Cut Costs—Here’s Where
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For those of us who still prefer to shop in person instead of online, the news of yet another round of closures is disappointing, to say the least. This is particularly true when it’s a brand like Macy’s, which has been a trusted name for generations. But just like many other department store giants , Macy’s has been forced to change with the times—especially since shopping malls are now seen as relics of the past. The former mainstay has actively shuttered locations in recent years, including a handful at the beginning of 2023. And now, Macy’s is closing additional stores to cut costs.
RELATED: CVS Is Closing Dozens of Pharmacies, Starting Next Month .
Macy’s informed employees of the closures and other impending changes in a memo sent out on Jan. 18, The Wall Street Journal reported. Per “people familiar with the situation” and the memo, which was reviewed by the outlet, Macy’s decision was fueled by the need to save money and improve the shopping experience for customers.
“Despite our strong and tangible progress over the last few years, we remain under pressure,” Jeff Gennette , Macy’s CEO, and Tony Spring , Macy’s president and CEO-elect, wrote in the memo, per the WSJ . The executives added that these decisions were made after a year of consumer research. Exact changes include adding automation to the supply chain, outsourcing certain roles, and reducing management layers to make quicker decisions, the outlet reported.
As another part of the plan, the company is closing five stores in the U.S., as well as two furniture locations that will be sold and relocated.
The closures will affect four states: Virginia, California, Florida, and Hawaii, per the WSJ . Closing stores are the Macy’s at Ballston Quarter in Arlington, Virginia; Macy’s Bayfair Center in San Leandro, California; Macy’s Simi Valley Town Center in Simi Valley, California; Macy’s Governor’s Square in Tallahassee, Florida; and Macy’s Kukui Grove Center in Lihue, Hawaii.
In a statement to Best Life , a Macy’s, Inc. spokesperson confirmed that the Macy’s South Hills Furniture and Mattress Gallery will be integrated into the full-line Macy’s South Hills location. The Boca Raton Furniture and Mattress Gallery location will also be sold “with a lease back option through mid 2024.”
“It is our intent to relocate our furniture and mattress gallery to a nearby location once the lease expires, and our Macy’s colleagues will be eligible for transfer,” the spokesperson added, noting that employees at the South Hills furniture location will also be eligible to transfer. “We will share updates as we finalize our plans. In the meantime, we look forward to continuing to serve our customers and the Boca Raton community.”
The spokesperson did not provide additional details on when stores will be closing.
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In addition to store closures, the company announced plans to lay off 13 percent of corporate staff, or 2,350 positions, the WSJ reported. The memo noted that layoffs will take place on Jan. 26.
“As we prepare to deploy a new strategy to meet the needs of an everchanging consumer and marketplace, we made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce by 3.5% to become a more streamlined company, the spokesperson told Best Life about the layoffs.
Back in Nov. 2023, there were some signs of trouble for Macy’s, as the company reported a 7 percent drop in year-over-year sales during the third quarter. Both brick-and-mortar and online sales declined by 7 percent as well, and net income and revenue slumped, too, according to a press release outlining earnings.
The performance, however, did beat Wall Street’s expectations, generating more revenue than analysts expected and besting predictions for same-store sales decline. Going into the holidays, the company also had a positive outlook.
“We delivered better-than-expected top and bottom line third quarter results and are entering the holiday period in a healthy inventory position,” Gennette said in the Novemeber press release. “Our portfolio of nameplates are leading gift-giving destinations across the value spectrum offering exclusive products. We have refined our gift assortment, simplified our promotions and improved our shopping experience.”
Macy’s hasn’t yet put out numbers from the holiday season. According to the WSJ , the next earnings report is expected to be released in February.
CVS Is Closing Dozens of Pharmacies, Starting Next Month
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For many of us, the ease of being able to pick up prescriptions while also checking off our grocery list at stores like Target with a built-in CVS Pharmacy doesn’t go unnoticed. The partnership between Target and CVS has saved countless shoppers from having to make multiple errand stops, ever since CVS Health Corp.’s acquisition in 2015, per The Wall Street Journal . However, it’s a luxury that won’t be around for much longer—at least not for certain customers.
RELATED: Rite Aid Is Closing 19 More Stores Amid Bankruptcy—Here’s Where .
Starting in February, CVS will slowly begin to shut down dozens of its pharmacies inside Target stores for good, Amy Thibault , a spokesperson for CVS Pharmacy, confirmed in an email to Best Life.
“The closures are part of our plan to realign our national retail footprint and reduce store and pharmacy density and are based on our evaluation of changes in population, consumer buying patterns and future health needs to ensure we have the right pharmacy format in the right locations for patients,” she continued.
The closures are expected to continue through April. CVS currently operates 1,800 pharmacies inside Target stores across the country. At this time, Thibault said CVS will not be sharing a list of the locations that are closing.
If your prescriptions are being filled at one of the impacted locations, Thibault assured that all medications will be transferred to another nearby CVS Pharmacy store “to ensure patients have uninterrupted access to pharmacy care.” As for the impacted employees, CVS Health will be offering them “comparable roles within the company.”
If you’ve been following the retail pharmacy chain in the news, this major reduction may not be all that surprising. In late 2021, CVS Health announced that it would be closing 300 stores per year through 2024 as part of the company’s “new retail footprint strategy.”
Florida, Missouri, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Iowa are just some of the places witnessing a reduction in CVS locations . Distribution centers are also being re-evaluated.
CVS isn’t the only retail pharmacy feeling the heat, of course. Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy in October of last year, and has been steadily closing locations since. And Walgreens is in the midst of its own closures, having announced in June 2023 that it would be closing 450 locations .
