Macy’s Dares Retailers To Follow The Leader

Where Macy’s goes, will other retailers follow?  America’s largest department store chain pleasantly surprised Wall Street last week by announcing plans to close 100 stores. At 12 percent of its total store base, that’s more locations than it shuttered during all of the last six years. Macy’s shares spiked 17 percent on the news, as investors shrugged off a sixth straight quarter of declining same-store sales. It was a long time coming. Macy’s has too many stores, and it needed to close nearly all those locations just to bring the chain’s productivity levels back to where they were in 2006, according to a report from real estate research firm Green Street Advisors. The question is, will the praise hoisted upon Macy’s for taking its medicine provide enough incentive — or cover — for its competitors to follow suit? Read more at Yahoo Finance.