Tony Spring, Chairman and CEO of Macy’s.
According to the department store, all items are made from soft and luxurious fabrics that are easy to care for, comfortable and available in all sizes.
Spring did not provide any information on the success of the Macy’s During the retailer’s second-quarter earnings call with investors, he said the department store is also taking steps to address weaknesses in other categories such as men’s clothing, handbags and home goods.
“In menswear, contemporary fashion has been a bright spot and we believe there is growth opportunity in this category,” he said. “Earlier this month (August), we launched a new private label aimed at consumers under 40 to support our growth ambitions. In handbags, we continue to diversify our brand portfolio.
Spring said the retailer will expand its consumer assortment for holiday gifts before embarking on a major redesign of its private label next year. Details of the redesign were not provided.
Macy’s efforts to refresh its private label offering come the department store is working on several projects to revive sales. In the recently completed second quarter, the company reported net sales of $4.9 billion, a decrease of 3.8% from the comparable quarter last year. Comparable store sales decreased 4% on a owned basis and 3.3% on an owned plus licensed plus marketplace basis.
Company officials said they were also encouraged by the performance of the first 50 stores under the Macy’s name. These locations, which reported comparable store growth of 1% in the second quarter, are part of the department store A bold new chapter Initiative to improve the shopping experience in department stores.
“These locations also had increased traffic and sales compared to other locations moving forward,” Spring said. And all merchandise categories exceeded expectations, with shoes, handbags, men’s and children’s apparel and women’s ready-to-wear seeing the biggest improvements. Two categories where we’ve generally struggled, men’s apparel and handbags, were among the clearest relative outperformers, which is exciting and could serve as a broader opening.”
