NEW YORK – Macy’s Inc. is preparing to ramp up new store openings off the mall.
This morning, the company announced it will accelerate expansion of its small-format stores with a plan to nearly triple the number of those units it operates by the fall of 2025. Starting next year, the company plans to open up to 30 new Macy’s small-format locations across the country.
Macy’s Inc. currently has 15 small-format Macy’s and Bloomie’s stores, including the first West Coast Bloomie’s slated to open next month in Seattle.
The small-format Macy’s units are approximately 1/5th the size of full-line department stores and are sited in high-traffic centers. New locations will operate under the “Macy’s” name. The company did not indicate whether it will rebrand its existing small-format Market by Macy’s stores.
Worth noting …
Macy’s Inc. also did not share in this morning’s announcement how many mall-based department stores will close as it opens smaller units. Earlier this year, Chairman and CEO Jeff Gennette described a “hand-off strategy” where Macy’s pulls out of a mall location after opening a small-format store nearby.
The small-format stores are also designed to put Macy’s into markets that have never had a full-line Macy’s stores, such as Jacksonville, Fla. They will also be tapped to bring Macy’s back into some markets the department store exited in the past few years.
“Our small-format stores are efficient to operate, provide the customer with a shopping alternative within our omnichannel ecosystem and present a unique opportunity to target high-traffic shopping centers,” said Adrian Mitchell, chief operating officer and chief financial officer for Macy’s Inc.