Macy’s Inc., under scrutiny as department stores struggle to adapt to changes in the way consumers shop, rose in early trading after Chief Executive Officer Jeff Gennette said the retailer’s performance is improving.
Macy’s also said it will close 28 namesake stores and one Bloomingdale’s in the coming weeks, while reducing some headcount at Bloomingdale’s.
Same-store sales, a key metric of retailers’ success, fell 0.6% in November and December at company-owned and licensed stores from a year earlier. Gennette said the holiday sales “reflected a strong trend improvement from the third quarter.”
Macy’s stock (M) was higher in early trading. The shares fell 43% last year. The rise suggests investors were already expecting lower comparable sales and were reassured by Gennette’s comments.
The decline in sales “is nowhere near as bad as it could have been and represents a marked improvement from the dismal third quarter when comparable sales declined by 3.9%,” Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, said in emailed comments.
The company said it will hold a meeting with investors on Feb. 5 in New York, where it will release a three-year strategy.
Macy’s, which had the second-worst performing stock in the S&P 500 last year, has been closing underperforming stores amid working to reduce superfluous inventory for several years.
The earnings news calmed fears of a more dramatic fall in the department store operator's numbers for the crucial annual shopping season after an earlier profit warning, Reuters explained.
Macy's, which cut its annual profit forecast in November blaming weak international tourism and sluggish mall traffic, is among the first major corporate names to report sales for the holiday season - seen as a barometer for the health of U.S. consumer spending.
The company's holiday sales benefited from strong online sales and demand for gift products, Gennette said.
U.S. consumers are increasingly spending more money online rather than traveling to physical stores during the holiday season, forcing traditional brick-and-mortar retailers to build their apps with more shopping and delivery options.
U.S. e-commerce sales in the period from Nov. 1 through Christmas Eve rose 18.8%, according to a Dec. 25 report by Mastercard Inc., while overall holiday retail sales, excluding autos, rose just 3.4%.
The 0.6% reported drop at Macy's owned and licensed stores was for the months of November and December.
The months make up the vast majority of fourth-quarter comparable sales, which analysts had estimated to fall 1.8%, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Meanwhile, compiled from various media reports, a list of some of Macy's stores closing in 2020:
Connecticut
Westfield Meriden Mall, Meriden
Florida
Pompano Citi Centre, Pompano Beach
Seminole Towne Center, Sanford
Indian River Mall, Vero Beach
The Falls, Miami Bloomingdales
Georgia
The Gallery at South DeKalb, Decatur
Macon Mall, Macon
Idaho
Lewiston Center Mall, Lewiston
Illinois
University Mall, Carbondale
Spring Hill Mall, West Dundee
Indiana
Muncie Mall, Muncie
Kansas
Prairie Village Shopping Center, Prairie Village
Kentucky
Towne Square Mall, Owensboro
Maryland
The Centre at Salisbury, Salisbury
Massachusetts
The Mall at Whitney Field, Leominster
Montana
Northside Center, Helena
North Carolina
Hanes Mall, Winston-Salem
Ohio
Northgate Mall, Greater Cincinnati
Ohio Valley Mall, St. Clairsville
Stow-Kent Plaza, Stow
Pennsylvania
Harrisburg Mall, Harrisburg
Nittany Mall, State College
Tennessee
Rivergate Mall, Goodlettsville
Washington
Cascade Mall, Burlington
Downtown Seattle, Seattle
Downtown Walla Walla, Walla Walla
Material from Reuters and Bloomberg has been used in this report.
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