Macy's closes more stores. What about the Victorville location?
In a story all too common in the retail industry, Macy’s plans to close more stores amid sagging sales.
After closing four stores in January, Macy’s announced the closure of five more locations. Macy's will lay off 2,350 employees, representing 3.5% of its workforce. The job cuts will come from both its corporate office and stores, The New York Daily News reported.
"As we prepare to deploy a new strategy to meet the needs of an ever-changing consumer and marketplace, we made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce by 3.5% to become a more streamlined company," the company said in a statement.
Macy's officials said the following five stores will close as part of its decision:
Macy’s Simi Valley Town Center in Simi Valley, California
Macy’s Bay Fair in San Leandro, California
Macy’s Ballston in Arlington, Virginia
Macy’s Kukui Grove in Lihue, Hawaii
Macy’s Governor’s Square in Tallahassee, Florida
Macy's stock price has dropped 75% from a peak of $73 a share in 2015. Since then, the company has closed nearly 300 stores, ABC reported.
Macy’s Victorville
“I’m so glad the Victorville store isn’t closing,” said Tracey Heaton, of Victorville. “We’ve been shopping here since the store opened back in 2013.”
Macy's celebrated its grand opening at the Mall of Victor Valley with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a ceremony featuring a performance by the Victor Valley High School Marching Band at the store entrance.
On opening day, the first 100 customers that entered the new one-level 103,000-square-foot store in Victorville received a $20 Macy's gift card.
Mackenzie Griffin of Hesperia, who considers herself a “loyal Macy’s customer,” said she and her two sisters are regular customers at the Macy’s in Victorville.
“We mostly buy skin, makeup and hair care products, and occasionally clothing and shoes,” Griffin said. “If Victorville ever closed, we’d have to drive to the Macy’s at Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga.”
Bid rejected
Macy's announced on Sunday that it had rejected Arkhouse Management and partner Brigade Capital Management's $5.8 billion proposal to take the department store operator private, citing concerns over deal financing and valuation, Reuters reported.
Like other legacy department store operators, Macy's has struggled to compete against younger, online competitors or peers with smaller brick-and-mortar footprints. This gave Arkhouse, a real-estate-focused investing firm, and Brigade, a hedge fund, an opening to put pressure on Macy's to explore a sale.
Streamlining, implementing more automation
Macy’s, as of Jan. 2023, employed 94,570 full- and part-time employees, excluding seasonal hires, the New York Post reported.
According to its most recent annual report, Macy's owned 316 of its 722 total stores as of the end of Jan. 2024, Reuters reported.
The company said the layoffs and closures come as management officials plan to streamline its supply chain by implementing more automation.
Macy also stated that the changes come as the company attempts to transition to appeal to a younger generation of consumers.
Smaller footprint stores
Last year, Macy’s reported that it is accelerating its small-format store expansion by opening up 30 smaller stores across the U.S.
In 2023, the company opened four small-format locations located in off-mall locations.
That brought the total number of small-format locations owned by Macy's to 15.
By 2025, Macy’s expects to have 45 small-format locations throughout the U.S.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Macy's closes more stores. What about the Victorville location?
