Macy's Closing 100 Stores Nationwide

Macy's announced Thursday morning that it is closing another 100 stores nationwide, despite beating Wall Street's second-quarter profit expectations.

The locations of the 100 stores to be closed will be announced at a later date, the company said. Those stores will close early next year. Macy’s currently has 728 stores, including 675 full-line locations.

“We operate in a fast-changing world, and our company is moving forward decisively to build further on Macy’s heritage as a preferred shopping destination for fashion, quality, value and convenience. This involves doing things differently and making tough decisions as we position ourselves to serve customers who have high expectations of their favorite stores, online sites and apps,” said Terry J. Lundgren, Macy’s chairman and CEO.

Thursday's news comes in spite of the fact that the company announced earnings, excluding charges, of 54 cents per share, on revenue of $5.87 billion.

Macy's full-line locations include one in Buckhead, where the retailer is a key anchor for Lenox Square, one of the southeast's largest shopping malls.

Earlier this year, in another round of closings, Macy's closed its North DeKalb Mall location, which opened in 1965. That was the only Georgia location to be impacted in Macy's last round of downsizing.

Besides Lenox, Macy's other metro Atlanta locations include South DeKalb Mall, Greenbriar Mall, Cumberland Mall, Northlake Mall, Perimeter Mall, Southlake Mall and Stonecrest Mall.

“We believe that this reduction of 100 locations in the short term will result in a more appropriate store portfolio for Macy’s in the longer term and help us to accelerate our progress in building a vibrant omni-channel brand experience," said Jeff Gennette, Macy’s president, who will succeed Lundgren as CEO next year. "Nearly all of the stores to be closed are cash flow positive today, but their volume and profitability in most cases have been declining steadily in recent years. We recognize that these locations do not yield an adequate return on investment and often do not represent a customer shopping experience that reflects our aspirations for the Macy’s brand.

"We decided to close a larger number of stores proactively so we can invest in a winning customer experience in our most productive and highest-potential locations, as well as invest in growth sooner and more aggressively in digital and mobile,” Gennette said.

Macy's at North Point Mall. Image Courtesy of Macy's