Macy's, Inc. announced today a series of store openings and closings as part of the company's normal-course process to selectively prune underperforming locations while also opening new ones to fill gaps in local markets and take advantage of new opportunities at both Macy's and Bloomingdale's.

"We continue to be committed to maintaining a healthy portfolio of stores that allows us to focus on growth from our best and most productive locations," said Terry J. Lundgren, Macy's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "This requires us to make some difficult decisions to close stores that no longer meet our performance requirements, as well as to open stores where we see opportunity."

The company is committed to treating associates affected by store closings with respect and openness. Associates displaced by store closings may be offered positions in nearby stores where possible. Regular full-time and part-time associates who are laid off due to the store closings will be provided severance benefits.

In conjunction with these store closings, an estimated $25 million to $30 million of costs (of which approximately $20 million will be non-cash) will be booked in the fourth quarter of 2011. These costs were not included in previous earnings guidance provided by the company.

Macy's Store Closings

Macy's will close the following five stores in early spring 2012. Final clearance sales at these locations will begin on Sunday, Jan. 8, and run for approximately 10 weeks.

• West Ridge Mall, Topeka, KS (193,000 square feet; opened in 1988; 60 associates);
• Laurel Mall, Laurel, MD (123,000 square feet; opened in 1981; 76 associates);
• Parmatown, Parma, OH (288,000 square feet; opened in 1960; 94 associates);
• Hickory Hollow, Antioch, TN (181,000 square feet; opened in 1979; 77 associates);
• Mall of the Mainland, Texas City, TX (151,000 square feet; opened in 1994; 68 associates).

Macy's Store Openings

As previously announced, five new Macy's stores, as well as one replacement store, are currently planned and/or under construction. New Macy's stores will be located in:

• Victorville, CA (103,000 square feet; to open mid-2013; approximately 140 associates);
• Gurnee, IL (140,000 square feet; to open in spring 2013; approximately 200 associates);
• The Bronx, NY (160,000 square feet; to open in fall 2013 or spring 2014; approximately 225 associates);
• Salt Lake City, UT (150,000 square feet; opening in March 2012; approximately 116 associates);
• Greendale, WI (150,000 square feet; to open in March 2012; approximately 160 associates).

A replacement store will be built in Bay Shore, NY (200,000 square feet; to open in fall 2013; approximately 180 current associates).

When all of these planned openings and closings are complete, Macy's will operate 804 stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.

Bloomingdale's Store Closings

Bloomingdale's will close the following four stores in early spring 2012. Final clearance sales at these locations will begin on Sunday, Jan. 8, and run for approximately 10 weeks.

• Perimeter Mall, Atlanta, GA (234,000 square feet; opened in 2003; 128 associates);
• Oakbrook Home and Furniture, Oak Brook, IL (93,000 square feet; opened in 2003; 50 associates);
• White Flint, North Bethesda, MD (259,000 square feet; opened in 1977; 158 associates);
• Mall of America, Bloomington, MN (233,000 square feet; opened in 1992; 127 associates).

Bloomingdale's Store Openings

Bloomingdale's is planning to open one new store (previously announced) and one replacement store.

As previously announced, a new Bloomingdale's is planned to open in Glendale Galleria in Glendale, CA (120,000 square feet; to open in fall 2013; approximately 175 associates).

In addition, the company is announcing that an all-new Bloomingdale's will be built in Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, CA, to open in spring 2014, subject to completion of a public approval process. The new Stanford Shopping Center store will be built in a smaller format similar to highly successful Bloomingdale's stores opened in recent years in SoHo (New York), Chevy Chase, MD, and Santa Monica, CA.

The new 120,000-square-foot store in Palo Alto will replace an existing Bloomingdale's of 229,000 square feet in the same shopping center. The current Bloomingdale's will remain in operation until the new store is constructed and opened. At that point, the current store will be razed and replaced by new specialty retail development by Simon Property Group, developer and manager of the shopping center which is owned by Stanford University. Bloomingdale's Stanford Shopping Center store currently employs about 180 associates, and the company plans to maintain a similar workforce in the new store when it opens.

These smaller Bloomingdale's formats offer a dynamic fashion presentation that is edited to reflect the unique marketplace of customers they serve. The new Stanford Shopping Center store is expected to emphasize merchandise categories such as women's and men's apparel, accessories, cosmetics, shoes and home.

In addition, five new Bloomingdale's Outlet stores will open in 2012, each with about 25,000 square feet and 35 associates:

• Paragon Outlets Livermore Valley in Livermore, CA (to open in fall 2012);
• Merrimack Premium Outlets, Merrimack, NH (to open in spring 2012);
• The Gallery at Westbury Plaza, Westbury, NY (to open in fall 2012);
• The Shops at Park Lane, Dallas, TX (to open in spring 2012);
• Paragon Outlets Grand Prairie in Grand Prairie, TX (to open in summer 2012).

These new locations will bring to 12 the total number of Bloomingdale's Outlets, a new concept launched in fall 2010. Four were opened in 2010, with another three added in 2011.

Bloomingdale's Outlets deliver a compelling combination of fashion, quality and value in a convenient shopping environment. Each Bloomingdale's Outlet store offers a range of apparel and accessories, including women's ready-to-wear, men's, children's, women's shoes, fashion accessories, jewelry, handbags and intimate apparel.

Once all of these changes have been implemented, Bloomingdale's will have a total of 38 full-line and home stores, as well as 12 Bloomingdale's Outlet stores. Bloomingdale's also operates in Dubai under a license agreement with Al Tayer Group LLC.

Macy's, Inc., with corporate offices in Cincinnati and New York, is one of the nation's premier retailers, with fiscal 2010 sales of $25 billion. The company operates about 850 department stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico under the names of Macy's and Bloomingdale's, as well as the macys.com and bloomingdales.com websites. The company also operates seven Bloomingdale's Outlet stores.

Fashion News Directory >> Women's Fashion News >> Fashion Trend News

Read more fashion news articles from 2012: January 2012 Fashion Articles

Read more fashion industry news archive from 2011: 2011 Archive Fashion Articles

Read more fashion articles from 2010: 2010 Archive Fashion Articles 

Read more fashion articles from 2009: 2009 Archive Fashion Articles

Learn more about fashion for men, women, and children:

Women's Fashion Brands 

Men's Fashion Brands 

Children's Fashion Brands 

Follow us on Social Networks:

Follow Apparel Search on Twitter

Follow Apparel Search on Youtube

Follow Apparel Search on Facebook

If you want your press releases about fashion to be published, you are welcome to submit them to Apparel Search at any time.  In addition, you may want to submit your articles to the Fashion Newspaper.