 | |
.jpg) Macy's, Inc. headquarters, located onMacy's Herald Square (2018) | |
| Formerly | Federated Department Stores, Inc. (1929–2007) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1929; 96 years ago (1929) inColumbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Number of locations | 722 (2022) |
Area served |
|
Key people | Tony Spring (chairman andCEO) |
| Products |
|
| Revenue |  US$24.971 billion (FY 2019) |
 US$1.738 billion (FY 2019) | |
| US$1.098 billion (FY 2019) | |
| Total assets | US$19.194 billion (FY 2019) |
| Total equity | US$6.436 billion (FY 2019) |
Number of employees | ~130,000 (2019) |
| Parent | Campeau Corporation (1988–1992) |
| Subsidiaries | |
| Website | macysinc |
| Footnotes / references [1][2] | |
Macy's, Inc. (previouslyFederated Department Stores, Inc.) is an Americanholding company ofdepartment stores. Upon its establishment in 1929, Federated held ownership of the regionaldepartment store chainsAbraham & Straus,Lazarus,Filene's, andShillito's.Bloomingdale's joined Federated Department Stores the next year. Throughout its early history, frequent acquisitions and divestitures saw the company operate a number of nameplates. In 1994, Federated took overMacy's, the old department store chain originally founded in 1858 by American entrepreneurRowland Hussey Macy. Despite Federated's long history of preserving regional nameplates, itsacquisition of theMay Department Stores Company in 2005 marked the end of those nameplates. By the following year, both the Macy's and Bloomingdale's brands had replaced them nationwide. Ultimately, Federated itself was renamed Macy's, Inc. in 2007, an acknowledgment of the old store's venerable name; the company boughtBluemercury in 2015 from Berry J. Beck andMarla Malcolm Beck, allowing the company to expand into beauty stores.
Macy's, Inc. owns the department store chainsBloomingdale's andMacy's, and beauty store chainBluemercury, all of which operateflagship stores inManhattan. As of October 2022[update], it operates 722 locations in theUnited States,Guam, andPuerto Rico. The company was the world's largest fashion goods retailer and the 36th-largest retailer overall in 2010.[3] Macy's, Inc. has been headquartered withinMacy's Herald Square inNew York City since 2020, and was previously headquartered inCincinnati,Ohio from 1945 until 2020.
Federated Department Stores traces its corporate lineage toF&R Lazarus & Company, founded inColumbus, Ohio, in 1851. In the summer of 1929, months before the Wall Street Crash of 1929,Fred Lazarus Jr. met with Walter N. Rothschild fromAbraham & Straus ofBrooklyn andEdward Filene fromFilene's ofBoston on Rothschild's yacht in Long Island Sound. The three businessmen agreed to merge their stores and form Federated Department Stores, as a department storeholding company forF&R Lazarus & Company (including its Cincinnati division, then known asShillito's),Abraham & Straus, andWilliam Filene's Sons of Boston. In 1930,Bloomingdale Brothers of New York joined.[4]
In the mid-1930s, a modern merchandising standard was set whenFred Lazarus Jr. arranged garments in groups of a single size with a range of style, color and price, basing the technique upon observations made in Paris. As well, Lazarus convinced PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt that it would help American economy to change theThanksgiving holiday from the last Thursday of November to the fourth Thursday, thus extending the Christmas shopping season. An act of Congress perpetuated the arrangement in 1941.Black Friday became a nationwide sensation and the most profitable day for Federated. (Robert Lazarus Jr. worked at Federated until he died in 2013, the last remaining family member with an official role at the company.[5])
In 1945, Federated moved its corporate offices toCincinnati.[6] The latter half of the 20th century saw the company expand nationwide, addingRike Kumler of Dayton, Ohio (merged intoShillito's in the 1980s to become Shillito-Rike's);Burdines of Miami, Florida;Rich's of Atlanta, Georgia;Foley's of Houston, Texas;Sanger Brothers and A. Harris, both of Dallas, Texas (which were merged to formSanger-Harris);Boston Store of Milwaukee, Wisconsin;MainStreet of Chicago, Illinois;Bullock's, of Los Angeles;I. Magnin, of San Francisco, California;Gold Circle; andRichway Discount Department Stores of Worthington, Ohio. Federated entered the supermarket industry in 1968 when it acquired theRalphs chain based in Southern California.[7] In 1982, Federated acquired theTwin Fair, Inc. discount store chain based inBuffalo, New York, and merged it with Gold Circle.[8] In 1983, Federated sold four shopping center properties toJMB Realty.[9]
Canadian real estate developerRobert Campeau – who had taken over and dismemberedAllied Stores in 1986 – attempted to take over Federated starting in early 1988 which Federated fought off in a high-profile battle, with Macy's (at that time not part of Federated, but a rival), also submitting competitive bids of over $6 billion.[10] Nonetheless, in April 1988, Federated gave in and agreed to a $6.6 billion takeover by Campeau. It was the largest merger in corporate history, barring the oil sector. Macy's paid Campeau $1.1 billion to acquire the 20-storeBullock's/Bullocks Wilshire and the 25-store specialty apparel chainI. Magnin.[11] Two years later, Federated filed for bankruptcy after Campeau failed to refinance the debt of Federated and Allied Stores Corp.[12] In 1992, Campeau was ousted and Federated emerged from bankruptcy as a new public company,Federated Stores, Inc., dropping the word "Department" from the previous company.[13] As part of the reorganization, Federated sold the Ralphs chain to a group of owners led byEdward J. DeBartolo Corporation.[14]
Also in 1992, Macy's declared bankruptcy; Federated acquired it two years later, in 1994.[15] The name of the once-main-rival of Federated, Macy's, would soon become the consumer-facing identity of most of Federated's stores.
In 1995 Federated boughtBroadway Stores, Inc. and its California-basedEmporium-Capwell,Weinstock's andThe Broadway chains.[16] Macy's changed the nameplate of these three chains and Bullock's to Macy's, or in some cases, turned locations into Bloomingdales. In 2003, Federated changed the nameplates of almost all their remaining non-Macy's stores – the lone exception was Bloomingdales – to include the Macy's name, a rebranding internally dubbed Project Hyphen. For example,Seattle-basedThe Bon Marché became Bon-Macy's; Goldsmith's inTennessee became Goldsmith's-Macy's; Lazarus, Burdines, and Rich's also added "-Macy's" to their name. A year later, the hyphenated names were changed to simply Macy's, a rebranding process referred internally to as Project Star.
Federated beganselling goods online in 1998, rather later than most contemporary large retailers; Federated ran a private bank, FDS Bank, which issued and maintained the majority of its own consumer credit card portfolio,[17] was one of the last credit card banks to begin to allow its cardholders to access account information online (around 2004).
In 1998, Federated settled anSEC investigation for $14.46 million (equivalent to $27.9 million in 2024) due to unethical debt-collection practices. Federated routinely forced credit card holders/debtors to sign an agreement that legally bound them to repay their outstanding balances instead of having the unsecured debt discharge via the filing ofbankruptcy. Federated failed to file reaffirmation agreements with bankruptcy courts. As a result, the changes in the agreements were not legally binding.[18][19][20][21]
In 2001 Federated acquiredLiberty House of Hawaii as it emerged fromChapter 11 bankruptcy. It was managed as part of Macy's West and all the store names were changed to Macy's.[22] The department store chainStern's, a division of Federated, ceased operations in 2001 and most of its stores became Macy's stores.[23]
In 2005, Federated agreed to sell its credit card business toCitigroup.[24]
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On February 28, 2005, Federated Department Stores announced that it would acquireMay Department Stores company for $11 billion (equivalent to $17.7 billion in 2024).[25] Also part of the buyout was the bridal and formal unit of May, consisting ofDavid's Bridal andAfter Hours Formalwear. Federated would also assume $6 billion (equivalent to $9.66 billion in 2024) of May's debt, bringing total consideration to $17 billion (equivalent to $27.4 billion in 2024). The deal would create the nation's largest department store chain with over 1,000 stores and $30 billion (equivalent to $48.3 billion in 2024) in annual sales. To help finance the deal, Federated agreed to sell its combined proprietary credit card business (but still administered by FACS Group, a subsidiary of Federated) to Citigroup. The merger was completed on August 30, 2005, after an assurance agreement was reached with the Attorneys General ofNew York,California,Massachusetts,Maryland, andPennsylvania.
As a result of the merger, Federated also in the process reacquired two of their former department store chains Foley's & Filene's (Which Federated originally sold to May Company), putting them back under the Federated Department Stores corporate umbrella for the first time since 1988.
Federated announced plans to sell 80 store locations in 2006, having pledged in its settlement to sell most of them as viable businesses, with preference being given to a group of thirteen competitors. This number could fluctuate pursuant to Federated's negotiations with various mall landlords and its final decision regarding using former Macy locations for its luxuryBloomingdale's operation.
On January 12, 2006, Federated announced its plans to divest May Company'sLord & Taylor division (55 stores in 12 states) by the end of 2006.[26] On June 22, 2006, Macy's announced thatNRDC Equity Partners, LLC would purchaseLord & Taylor for US$1.2 billion (equivalent to $1.87 billion in 2024), and completed the sale in October 2006.
On September 9, 2006, the former May Company store namesFamous-Barr,Filene's,Foley's,Hecht's,The Jones Store,Kaufmann's,L. S. Ayres,Marshall Field's,Meier & Frank,Robinsons-May, andStrawbridge's disappeared as Federated switched most of them to theMacy's masthead and a few to the Bloomingdale's name. One of the consequences of thisrebranding is that several malls have two Macy's stores. In downtown Boston, Federated liquidated an acquired Filene's because it already had a Macy's (formerly a Jordan Marsh) across the street. The two stores have a combined floorspace of more than 1,400,000 square feet (130,000 m2), more than two-thirds the size of Macy's New York City flagship store.
On November 17, 2006, the bridal and formal unit was sold. David's Bridal and Priscilla of Boston were sold toLeonard Green & Partners. After Hours Formalwear was sold toMen's Wearhouse.[27]
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On February 27, 2007, Federated announced that its board of directors would ask shareholders to change the company's name to Macy's Group, Inc.[28][29] By March 28, the company revised its plans for the new name, opting to eventually become Macy's, Inc. Federated shareholders approved the revised proposal during the company's annual meeting on May 18, 2007.[30]
The name took effect on June 1, 2007.[31] The reasoning for the proposed name change—according toTerry Lundgren, Federated's chairman, president, and chief executive officer—hinges on the large-scale conversions throughout the company toward the Macy's nameplate. "Today, we are a brand-driven company focused on Macy's and Bloomingdale's, not a federation of department stores," Lundgren said in the company's press release heralding the proposed name.[32] Upon the change to Macy's Inc., Federated's stock ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange changed from "FD" to "M", making the new Macy's Inc. one of a handful of single-letterticker symbol companies.[33]
In April 2008, Moody's Investors Service said that it might downgrade Macy's Inc. bonds to just above junk status.[34] That same month, Fitch Ratings downgraded theirbond credit rating to BBB− from BBB, noting a deterioration in the company's operating and credit metrics.
The domainmacysinc.com attracted at least 3 million visitors annually by 2008, according to aCompete.com survey.[35]
On Wednesday, February 6, 2008, Terry Lundgren announced the localization strategy and the company's plan to shed 2,550 jobs. This new localization strategy is known as "My Macy's".
Employees of the Macy's North headquarters office inMinneapolis, the Macy's Northwest headquarters office inSeattle, and the Macy's Midwest headquarters office inSt. Louis were givenpink slips, as Macy's pared its seven regional centers to four. About 40 new jobs were to be created in May as part of the restructuring. By 2009, the company expected to save $100 million (equivalent to $147 million in 2024) a year from the cuts.
On February 2, 2009, Macy's announced the elimination of 7,000 jobs, or 4% of its workforce, and slashed its dividend as it looked to lower expenses as part of a major restructuring.Cincinnati-based Macy's Inc. stated that the workforce reduction included positions in offices, stores, and other locations, and the cuts include some unfilled jobs. "Reducing our workforce is an unfortunate outcome of the current economic environment, and I am frustrated that so many of our people will be unable to move forward with us as we proceed into a very exciting future for Macy's and Bloomingdale's" saidTerry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and chief executive officer.
Macy's also got rid of its division structure and integrated its functions into one organization. Macy's central buying, merchandise planning, stores senior management and marketing functions merged to itsNew York City corporate office (formerlyMacy's East). Corporate-related business functions, such as finance and human resources, will be primarily in Cincinnati. To buy with local consumers in mind, Macy's developed a concept called "My Macy's", in which the buyers and planners all look at what the local consumer base is looking for in their local Macy's store. This will help bring a better sense of branding, sizing, and marketing to each Macy's store nationwide.
Macy's Inc. decided to close the Bloomingdale's at theMall of America inMinnesota. Since 1992, Bloomingdale's had been one of the 4 anchor stores of the mall, and will be replaced with a $30 million renovation with four new foreign clothing stores.
On October 14, 2013, Macy's Inc. announced the decision to open most of their stores for the first time onThanksgiving Day 2013, breaking a long-standing tradition of 155 years, and joined the ranks of retailers who createdGray Thursday the year before. Its doors opened at 8 p.m. (local time) on the holiday evening, and remained open for 24 hours straight until the close of business on Friday, which is usually about 10 p.m.[36]
As of February 2014[update], Macy's Inc. was valued at US$28 billion.[37]
In September 2015, Macy's announced it would close 40 stores, 5% of its total stores in early 2016. It also announced plans to open 6 additional Macy's Backstage locations. From 2010 to 2015, Macy's had closed 52 stores and opened 12.[38]
In February 2020, Macy's announced thatits headquarters indowntown Cincinnati would be closing as part of a restructuring with further cutbacks. This news came after a gradual pulling out of the Cincinnati area, with most corporate executives, including the CEO, already at the company's other headquarters in New York City.[39] The Cincinnati headquarters building has since been converted to a rental apartment building with 341 units, which is to open in spring 2025.[40]
In November 2021, Macy's announced the launch of its digital marketplace, which set to debut in the second half of 2022. Macy's will partner withAlixPartners andMirakl.[41]
In November 2023, it was reported that Arkhouse Management andBrigade Capital Management had offered to buy Macy's Inc. for $5.8 billion.[42] Macy's rejected the unsolicited offer in January 2024 as undervalued.[43] The investor group increased their offer to $6.6 billion two months later.[44]
In February 2024, Macy's announced it would close 150 stores by 2026.[45]
| Name | Year founded | Year acquired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomie's | 2021 | — | Small-format Bloomingdale's |
| Bloomingdale's | 1860 | 1930 | |
| Bloomingdale's The Outlet Store | 2010 | — | |
| Bluemercury | 1999 | 2015 | |
| Macy's | 1858 | 1994 | |
| Macy's Backstage | 2015 | — | |
| Market by Macy's | 2020 | — | Small-format Macy's |
| Name | Year founded | Year acquired | Year defunct | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Harris and Company | 1889 | 1961 | 1961 | Merged with Sanger Brothers to form Sanger-Harris |
| Abraham & Straus | 1865 | 1929 | 1995 | Converted to Macy's and Stern's[46] |
| After Hours | 1946 | 2005 | 2008 | Sold toMen's Wearhouse in 2006 |
| The Bon Marché | 1890 | 1992 | 2005 | Co-branded Bon-Macy's from 2003–2005; converted to Bloomingdale's and Macy's |
| Boston Store | 1897 | 1948 | 1985 | Sold toMaus Frères |
| The Broadway | 1896 | 1995 | 1996 | |
| Bullock's | 1907 | 1995 | 1996 | Previously owned by Federated from 1948–1985; converted to Macy's |
| Burdines | 1896 | 1956 | 2005 | Co-branded Burdines-Macy's from 2003–2005; converted to Macy's |
| David's Bridal | 1950 | 2005 | — | Sold to Leonard Green & Partners in 2006 |
| The Emporium | 1896 | 1995 | 1996 | Converted to Macy's |
| Famous-Barr | 1911 | 2005 | 2006 | Converted to Macy's |
| Filene's | 1881 | 2005 | 2006 | Previously owned by Federated from 1929–1988; converted to Macy's |
| Filene's Basement | 1908 | 1929 | 2011 | Spun off after Federated acquisition byCampeau Corporation in 1988 |
| Foley's | 1900 | 2005 | 2006 | Previously owned by Federated from 1947–1988; converted to Macy's |
| Gold Circle | 1967 | 1967 | 1988 | |
| Gold Triangle | 1970 | 1970 | 1981 | Converted intoRichway |
| Goldsmith's | 1870 | 1959 | 2005 | Co-branded Goldsmith's-Macy's from 2003–2005; converted to Macy's |
| Hecht's | 1857 | 2005 | 2006 | Converted to Bloomingdale's and Macy's |
| I. Magnin | 1876 | 1994 | 1994 | Previously owned by Federated from 1964–1987; converted to Macy's |
| John Taylor Dry Goods Co. | 1949 | |||
| The Jones Store | 1887 | 2005 | 2006 | Converted to Macy's |
| Jordan Marsh | 1841 | 1992 | 1996 | Converted to Macy's |
| Kaufmann's | 1871 | 2005 | 2006 | Converted to Macy's |
| L. S. Ayres | 1872 | 2005 | 2006 | Converted to Macy's |
| Lazarus | 1851 | 1929 | 2005 | Co-branded Lazarus-Macy's from 2003–2005; converted to Macy's |
| Liberty House | 1849 | 2001 | 2001 | Converted to Macy's |
| Lord & Taylor | 1826 | 2005 | 2021 | Sold toNRDC Equity Partners |
| MainStreet | 1983 | 1983 | 1988 | Sold and converted toKohl's |
| Marshall Field's | 1852 | 2005 | 2006 | Converted to Bloomingdale's and Macy's |
| Meier & Frank | 1857 | 2005 | 2006 | Converted to Macy's |
| O'Connor, Moffat & Co. | 1947 | |||
| Ralphs | 1873 | 1968 | — | Sold toDeBartolo Corporation in 1992 |
| Rich's | 1867 | 1976 | 2005 | Co-branded Rich's-Macy's from 2003–2005; converted to Bloomingdale's and Macy's |
| Richway | 1968 | 1976 | 1988 | Converted to Gold Circle |
| Rike's | 1853 | 1959 | 1982 | Merged with Shillito's to form Shillito-Rike's |
| Robinsons-May | 1993 | 2005 | 2006 | Converted to Bloomingdale's and Macy's |
| Sanger Brothers | 1868 | 1951 | 1961 | Merged with A. Harris and Company to form Sanger-Harris |
| Sanger-Harris | 1961 | 1961 | 1987 | Converted to Foley's |
| Shillito's | 1830 | 1929 | 1982 | Merged with Rike's to form Shillito-Rike's |
| Shillito-Rike's | 1982 | 1982 | 1986 | Converted to Lazarus |
| Stern's | 1867 | 1992 | 2001 | Converted to Bloomingdale's and Macy's[47] |
| Strawbridge's | 1868 | 2005 | 2006 | Converted to Macy's |
| Weinstock's | 1924 | 1995 | 1995 |
The conversion of Marshall Field's in Chicago was particularly criticized, with many customers boycotting its historic State Street flagship store. TheChicago Tribune continues to report on the poor reception of Macy's in Chicago. Pittsburgh customers also strongly resisted the name change from Kaufmann's, in part because of theKaufmann family role in Pittsburgh history, as well as the central store's Christmas windows and holiday parade.
In January, days before the filing, Campeau Corp.'s board, by then strongly influenced by the Reichmanns, stripped Bob Campeau of authority over retailing and put the operation on its own. Then the board put Federated, Allied, and 65 subsidiaries into Chapter 11. As boss of what is now called Federated Stores Inc., the directors installed G. William Miller
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