Macy’s To Close 125 Stores; Austin-Area Sites Among Threatened

AUSTIN, TX — Macy’s officials on Tuesday announced plans to close 125 stores — one-fifth of the retail giant's national presence — over the next three years. The news follows a similar disclosures in January detailing plans to close at least 28 stores and the shuttering of 68 stores in 2017 — including eight Texas locations.

A list of the stores slated for the latest closures round was not disclosed, and a Patch request for information sent to a spokesperson was not immediately returned. Yet with three stores in the Austin-area, the news could potentially impact the local market.

The three Austin-area stores are:

• Macy's Barton Creek Square Mall, 2901 S. Capital Of Texas Hwy., Ste 60.
• Macy's At The Domain, 3311 Esperanza Crossing.
• Macy's Lakeline Mall, 11250 Lakeline Mall Dr., Cedar Park, Texas.

The announcement of further closures comes after a 2017 closure of 68 of the company's 730 stores nationwide that included eight stores in Texas. The stores that closed two years ago in the Lone Star State included:

• Parkdale, Beaumont, (171,000 square feet; opened in 2002; 67 associates);
• Southwest Center, Dallas (148,000 square feet; opened in 1975; 68 associates);
• Sunland Park, El Paso (105,000 square feet; opened in 2004; 71 associates);
• Greenspoint, Houston (314,000 square feet; opened in 1976; 70 associates);
• West Oaks Mall, Houston (244,000 square feet; opened in 1982; 135 associates);
• Pasadena Town Square, Pasadena (209,000 square feet; opened in 1962; 78 associates);
• Collin Creek, Plano (199,000 square feet; opened in 1980; 103 associates);
• Broadway Square, Tyler (100,000 square feet; opened in 1981; 65 associates).

Officials said the latest slate of closings are part of a strategy to overhaul the 161-year-old retail giant, which has shuttered dozens of under-performing stores in the past four years, as Washington Post and other media outlets reported.

Related story: Macy's To Close 68 Stores Nationwide By Year's End, Including 8 In Texas

While the restructuring will likely cost the company $480 million, Macy’s expects to save $1.5 billion annually by the end of 2022. The company told the Wall Street Journal it plans to test a new concept that will take stores out of malls by opening smaller stores in strip centers.

In August 2016, Macy’s said it would close 100 stores. Since that announcement, the retail chain has been closing locations as their leases expire. However, when reached by Business Insider, a Macy’s representative did not comment on whether the latest stores were part of its planned closures from 2016.

Macy’s is part of a growing list of brick-and-mortar establishments that have experienced plummeting sales amid the emergence of e-commerce companies such as Amazon.