Macy’s said Wednesday it will shutter nearly 30 stores, in an effort to boost its profitability and focus on its most profitable stores.
The new wave of closures follows holiday sales that were not quite as bad as some have feared. The news sent Macy’s stock higher. Shares closed up 2.4%.
In the fiscal third quarter, Macy’s posted its first same-store sales decline in two years, and slashed its profit outlook for the year. The company attributed the sales weakness to unseasonably warm weather and soft foot traffic, saying it saw poor performance at lower-tier shopping malls.
As the map shows, the planned closures of 28 Macy’s stores and one Bloomingdale’s location are largely concentrated in the eastern half of the U.S. and the Northwest. (See a full list of closing locations below.)
Macy’s previously said it in 2016 that it was planning to shutter 100 stores over time. The first wave of the closures was announced in January 2017, when it released the names of 68 stores it would close. Then in 2018, it announced nearly a dozen more would close. Last year, it shuttered less than 10. Most of these closures came as store leases expired.
The latest closures from Macy’s are seen as “a near-term sigh of relief for U.S. wholesale partners ... with management targeting lower productivity doors for closure,” J.P. Morgan retail analyst Matthew Boss said in a note to clients.
U.S. & World
Macy’s has said it wants to focus on its best real estate, while investing more in its website and off-price Backstage business. It has also been testing reducing the size of some of its larger locations. Macy’s still has roughly 680 department stores up and running, including Bloomingdale’s, and about 190 specialty stores that consist of Bloomingdale’s The Outlet, Bluemercury and Macy’s Backstage.
The department store chain is expected to share additional updates on its real estate plans during an investor meeting in on Feb. 5.
Macy’s shares have fallen more than 40% over the past 12 months. The company has a market cap of about $5.6 billion.
Here are the latest Macy’s stores expected to shutter:
Somersville Towne Center, Antioch, California
Westfield Meriden, Meriden, Connecticut
Pompano Citi Centre, Pompano Beach, Florida
Seminole Towne Center, Sanford, Florida
Indian River Mall, Vero Beach, Florida
The Falls, Miami, Florida (Bloomingdale’s)
Macon Mall, Macon, Georgia
The Gallery at South DeKalb, Panthersville, Georgia
Kings’ Shops, Waikoloa Village, Hawaii
Lewiston Center Mall, Lewiston, Idaho
University Mall, Carbondale, Illinois
Spring Hill Mall, West Dundee, Illinois
Muncie Mall, Muncie, Indiana
The Village, Prairie Village, Kansas
Towne Square Mall, Owensboro, Kentucky
The Centre at Salisbury, Salisbury, Maryland
The Mall at Whitney Field, Leominster, Massachusetts
Northside Center, Helena, Montana
Broadway Mall, Hicksville, New York
2 Veterans Memorial Highway, Commack, New York
Hanes Mall, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Northgate Mall, Cincinnati, Ohio
Stow-Kent Plaza, Stow, Ohio
Ohio Valley Mall, St. Clairsville, Ohio
Nittany Mall, State College, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg Mall, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Rivergate Mall, Goodlettsville, Tennessee
54 East Main Street, Walla Walla, Washington
Cascade Mall, Burlington, Washington
This story first appeared on CNBC.com
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