Macy’s Readies Plans for Story-Themed Shops
Macy’s, having acquired themed-store operator Story, is readying “expressions” of the format for its own department stores, CEO Jeffrey Gennette told analysts.
The effort will be headed by Story founder Rachel Shechtman, newly named as Macy’s Brand Experience Officer reporting to President Hal Lawton, who will work across marketing and merchandising to create curated collections. The form that Story will take within a Macy’s store hasn’t been finalized, says a Macy’s spokeswoman.
In announcing the deal earlier this month, Shechtman said Macy’s would create a “national stage” for the concept, which currently has a single 2,000-sq.-ft. New York location that rotates themes every six weeks. Macy’s has about 690 full-line stores.
Story in the past has partnered with major brands – Target, Benjamin Moore, Yahoo, Nickelodeon (1990s-inspired “Remember When” theme featuring Rugrats, SpongeBob SquarePants and other characters), Warner Bros. (The Greatest Showman) and others –on sponsored themes for which the company received a fee.
As it prepares to expand one concept, Macy’s is pulling back from another. Macy’s and Fung Retail Limited are scrapping their Macy’s China joint venture, nearly three years after unveiling plans for broadening the department store chain’s business in China. Macy’s owned 65% of the venture, which operated the Macy’s China flagship store on Alibaba Group’s Tmall platform.
Macy’s will keep a presence on Tmall that will now be managed by Macy’s office in San Francisco. Macy’s China had been designed to boost the chain’s ecommerce business in China, which initially launched in 2011 as Macys.com. The joint venture was to curate merchandise that catered to the China market.
Meanwhile, Macy’s Q1 net income grew 70.1% to $139 million as revenue rose 3.6% to $5.5 billion on a 3.9% gain in same-store sales. Macy’s results surpassed analysts’ forecasts. Macy’s also increased its forecast for full-year earnings to $3.65-$3.75 from $3.60.
Contact:
Macy’s, Karen Hoguet, Chief Financial Officer, 513-579-7000.
