CINCINNATI–Macy’s has earmarked Bloomingdale’s, a stellar performer, for “aggressive” growth, Karen Hoguet, chief financial officer, said during a conference call to review fourth-quarter and full-year results.
The retailer is scouting sites for the upscale division. Expansion overall will come from more open-air lifestyle centers as opposed to traditional malls—fewer of which are being built these days, she said.
Hoguet said Macy’s plans outlined this month to consolidate three of its divisions, cutting approximately 2,300 positions, is a bold bid to accelerate same-store sales growth and increase profitability.
It is also designed to better tailor its local mix; devote more resources to “store merchandising and product knowledge ... to make product look better on the floor”; and save the retailer $100 million annually.
Also, the consolidation will enable the retailer to “make big merchandising decision faster and improve collaborations with vendors—a priority in 2008,” Hoguet said.
The retailer’s private brand penetration has swelled to 19 percent, with the Hotel and Cellar collections among its best-selling lines, she said.
Macy’s will launch a spring advertising campaign that builds on its fall campaign, which featured the retailer’s celebrity branding partners, such as Martha Stewart, Hoguet said.
Macy’s sales for the fourth quarter ended Feb. 2 fell 6.2 percent to $8.594 billion. On a same-store basis, the company’s fourth-quarter sales slipped 2.0 percent.
Net income rose 2.3 percent to $750 million from the year-ago period.
The results include $43 million in costs related to the acquisition of May Department Stores, and a $78 million tax credit.
January and February have shown weak sales trends, she said.