Macy’s Backstage build-out this year is a significant expansion into the off-price business. It would nearly double the locations Macy’s had going into the fiscal year, and the investment represents a sizable chunk of more than $1 billion planned capital expenditures, the company said in its latest 10-K. (The expansion of the beauty concept Bluemercury, acquired in 2015, is another major investment.)
To Macy’s, Backstage represents not just an entry into a hot off-price sector — one that has been stealing significant market share from department stores and appears poised to do more of the same. It’s also a chance for the retailer to make its stores more productive.
