Macy's - statistics and facts
Macy’s announced that they closed 64 out of their 150 ‘underperforming’ stores in their 2024 annual report, continuing a trend of declining store numbers since 2015. Macy’s is a New York City institution, with its headquarters and flagship store located on Herald Square in Manhattan. It is not just known for its shopping: it holds popular events, such as the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, which has run since 1924, and the Fourth of July fireworks show.
However, Macy’s fame and status have not been able to entirely protect it from the problematic retail conditions that have faced department stores over the past years. Department store sales in the United States have been falling since the start of the millennium and Macy’s net sales have not escaped, experiencing a steady decline since 2014. Nevertheless, Macy’s was still ranked as the leading department store company by sales in 2024.
Macy’s will hope that closing so many stores allows for a more efficient operation, and indeed something must be done to halt falling sales and maintain the company’s place as the world’s leading department store company.
Falling sales
Macy’s generated net sales of roughly 22.3 billion U.S. dollars in the financial year 2024, a drop of approximately 800 million dollars in comparison to the previous year. The product category that earns Macy’s the most money is women’s fashion, especially accessories, shoes, intimate apparel, cosmetics, and fragrances. In 2024, this category brought in over 9.3 billion U.S. dollars in revenue. Overall in 2024, Macy’s generated a gross profit of 8.55 billion U.S. dollars, which translated to a net income of 582 million dollars.The leading U.S. department store
Other department store chains which operate in the U.S. and compete with Macy’s are Nordstrom, Kohl’s, and Dillard’s. Nordstrom is seen as a luxury department store retailer selling high-end goods and had the second highest sales per store of these department stores, after Macy's. Kohl’s leads the standings when it comes to the total number of department stores of each company. That being said, Macy’s takes first place in terms of net sales. Macy’s also leads department stores in online sales. In fact, macys.com was the fourth highest-earning online fashion store in the United States in 2024, only behind retail and e-commerce giants Walmart, Amazon, and Shein.Macy’s will hope that closing so many stores allows for a more efficient operation, and indeed something must be done to halt falling sales and maintain the company’s place as the world’s leading department store company.
