Macy’s Reversed Its Sales Slump. But Can The Retailer Sustain The Rebound?

A year ago, Macy’s Inc. epitomized the nation’s troubled department-store chains. Sales were mired in a years-long slump amid consumers’ increasing shift to online shopping, drooping mall traffic and competition from lower-priced apparel. Dozens of poorly performing stores were closed. The chain’s stock price had plummeted 65% from mid-2015 through last year, and Macy’s named a new chief executive, Jeff Gennette, in early 2017. Then earlier this year, Macy’s — whose biggest market is California — signaled it might be pulling out of its slump. Macy’s same-store sales rose 1.3% in its fiscal fourth quarter ended Feb. 3 compared with a year earlier, the first quarterly gain in three years. A key gauge of a retailer’s health, same-store sales track revenue from stores open at least one year to minimize the effect of stores closing or opening. Read more at Los Angeles Times.