As Ardmore Macy's Closes, Longtime Employees Say Goodbye

ARDMORE, PA -- A longtime Suburban Square store is closing up, and longtime employees are saying their goodbyes.

The Macy's branch is slated to close on March 20.

Some employees have been working there for decades, Main Line Media News reports:

Dora Bonner, 81, of Yeadon began working at Macy’s in 1996.

“I love helping customers, making them happy, being comfortable,” said the clerk, who worked in lingerie. She was also pleased when customers would return to her time after time.

The Suburban Square Macy’s branch was a sort of a “family away from home” for employees and customers, said Bonner. When Bonner’s husband died, the store manager, Nikki Peticca-Melso and her spouse came to his funeral and “my coworkers were so nice to me with donations, it really blessed my heart,” she said.

“I love working in this area because of the customers and coworkers,” she said. “I raised my three sons working here.”

Willie Manning of Upper Darby worked in the children’s department and started in 1980 when it was a Strawbridge & Clothier. She also said the people were the best part of her job, especially “three generations of mothers buying from me.”

The local branch of Macy’s is one of 36 stores nationwide that will be shut down as part of massive cost-cutting measures, the company recently announced in a press release.

A a“liquidation sale” with massive price reductions has been underway for months.

Macy’s operates roughly 770 stores around the nation. The store in Ardmore’s Suburban Square was founded in 1930 as a Strawbridge and Clothier’s before being acquired and re-branded as a Macy’s in 2005.

Macy’s department store was originally founded in 1858 in New York City.

There are 74 associates working in the Ardmore location.

Macy’s had announced in April of 2015 that they would not be renewing their lease on their building in Suburban Square.

The West Mifflin, Pa. store will also be shut down.

The cost-cutting measures came after what Macy’s described as poor performance during 2015.

“In light of our disappointing 2015 sales and earnings performance, we are making adjustments to become more efficient and productive in our operations,” said Terry Lundgren, chairmana nd chief executive officer of Macy’s, in a prepared statement. “Moreover, we believe we can operate more effectively with an organization that is flatter and more agile.”