December wasn’t kind to Macy’s as they saw a 4.0% drop in same store sales and have now announced that they are closing 11 stores. Combining November and December, same store sales dropped 7.5% over last year for the retailer.
Close to 1,000 employees are affected by these store closings – unknown how many fo them will be able to transfer to positions in other stores.
From their press release, the closing stores are:
- Ernst & Young Plaza (Citicorp Plaza), Los Angeles, CA (135,000 square feet; 136 employees; opened in 1986)
- The Citadel, Colorado Springs, CO (195,000 square feet; 105 employees; opened in 1984)
- Westminster Mall, Westminster, CO (156,000 square feet; 110 employees; opened in 1986)
- Palm Beach Mall, West Palm Beach, FL (190,000 square feet; 71 employees; opened in 1979)
- Mauna Lani Bay Hotel, Island of Hawaii, HI (3,000 square feet; 3 employees; opened in 1983)
- Lafayette Square, Indianapolis, IN (160,000 square feet; 84 employees; opened in 1974)
- Brookdale Center, Brooklyn Center, MN (195,000 square feet; 72 employees; opened in 1966)
- Crestwood Mall, St. Louis, MO (166,000 square feet; 176 employees; opened in 1969)
- Natrona Heights Plaza, Natrona Heights, PA (73,000 square feet; 124 employees; opened in 1956)
- Century III Furniture and Clearance, West Mifflin, PA (83,000 square feet; 3 employees; opened in 2000)
- Bellevue Center, Nashville, TN (211,000 square feet; 76 employees; opened in 1990).
These store closings represent a troubling sign of things to come for the retail industry. I believe Macy’s is just the first in a line of retailers to announce downsizing over the next few weeks. Who’s next?
More coverage from the Consumerist, Reuters and BloggingStocks.
Photo above from Flickr user pkeleher. Use under Creative Commons License.