After initiating a turnaround plan that entailed shuttering some 100 stores nationwide, bringing up a well-prepared insider to take over as chief executive, investing in avant-garde retail ideas and store concepts and joining the off-price party, Macy’s delivered bad news last week: Holiday 2018 was pretty much a bust.
The department store’s November/December comparable sales on an owned plus licensed basis rose 1.1% (owned merchandise rose 0.7%) and e-commerce grew in double digits, but the real problem was that it couldn’t sustain momentum after strong Black Friday sales. Investors have punished the retailer for its failure to partake of a Christmas week that buoyed many others, propped up by strength in the economy and consumer confidence.
