Macy's Beats 4th-Qtr. Forecasts
Macy’s Inc. beat its own sales forecasts in its most recent fiscal fourth quarter, and during a Feb. 23 conference call, the retailer’s chief executive, Terry J. Lundgren, called the results proof that his My Macy’s merchandising initiative was turning around the flagging business of the 850-store retailer.
Macy’s same-store sales, the most common barometer of a retailer’s success, were down 0.8 percent compared with the same time in the previous year. The retailer had originally forecast its same-store sales were going to decline 1 percent to 2 percent. Lundshy;gren said the company’s profitability is up and it had reduced much of its debt from its controversial 2005 merger with the Robinsons-May department-store chain.
The relatively good news followed a Jan. 21 announcement that the company’s Bloomingdale’s division would be getting into the outlet game. Later in 2010, Bloomingdale’s will open four outlet stores on the East Coast. After six months to one year of refining the business, Bloomingdale’s outlets will be rolled out nationally.
Lundgren said the My Macy’s initiative ended much of the company’s centralized buying. With the My Macy’s program, store managers and buyers were able to buy merchandise specifically tailored to local tastes. Same-store sales for various My Macy’s categories increased 10 percent to 27 percent in the fourth quarter. Fourth-quarter same-store sales also increased 26.6 percent for the company’s e-commerce business.
Macy’s forecast same-store-sales increases of 1 percent to 2 percent in fiscal 2010.—Andrew Asch
