What Should be Macy's Current Store Initiative?

Week 2
Macy's Merchandising Group Internship
June 16, 2013
Ashley Long

What Should be Macy's Current Store Initiative?

Earlier this week, I read an article by Sheron Edelson from the Women's Wear Daily. Her post was on Terry Lundgren, CEO of Macy's Inc. The writer's story is a recap on Macy's store plans in the coming future. There are talks of bringing in smaller-sized department stores that are strictly devoted to samples.
What this means, is less inventory sitting on the sales floor, less cramped spaces, no more waiting in lines to check out. However, as Edelson states, " this is all talk". Macy's never uses these ideas on a full range of stores but on test stores to see how the company reacts to the change.  Currently Lundgren has opened up one test store in Gurnee Mills Outlet center.Lundgren states that, “[w]e’re testing [fixtures] that allow customers to see physical product and search all the inventory between dot-com and stores... We’re investing big time in mobile devices. We have a mobile app, but there’s a lot more we can do to leverage that experience to blend technology with in-store to facilitate the purchase.”And though this concept was practiced at an outlet store, Macy's does not plan on opening an outlet store in the coming future.

After learning of these better instillations (in terms of presentation) and no Macy's outlets in the near future, I brought up these findings to my boss. She was pleasantly surprised on my up to date knowledge of Macy's and provided me with her thoughts on this subject. She felt that it was great that Lundgren and the CEO's were willing to try new things.  She feels that the only way for the company to grow is to try new things. "Even if one idea fails, it should never be considered as a failure but as an opportunity to learn and grow", said my boss. She also felt that Lundgren's push for better presentation was important since shopping is not just to buy clothes but a memorable experience for the customers.

The only differing opinion that she had was on the lack of Macy's outlet stores. She believed that though the outlet store would be around similar price points as regular stores, it would still be a great way to quickly turn last season's stock while making room for the new season stuff coming in. She also added in that it would give Macy's the less crowded  feeling that people get when they come to the store which is always a bonus. 

I am unsure of who I should agree with at this point, and the only thing that Macy's could do is try it once. If it succeeds use it, but if not - learn from it.



Edelson, S. (2013 June 16). Macy's Terry Lundgren: "We Will Try Everything". Retrieved on June 12, 2013. http://www.wwd.com/retail-news/department-stores/macys-lundgren-we-will-try-everything-6983621?src=search_links