Macy's to close stores, lay off 10,000 employees in 2017

The U.S. department-store chains Macy's has announced its plan to close 68 stores and lay off more than 10,000 employees in 2017 after a disappointing holiday shopping season.

Macy's sales at established stores fell 2.1 percent in November and December compared to the same period in 2015, Macy's said earlier this week.

Macy's chief executive Terry Lundgren said the closures will target stores that are "unproductive or are no longer robust shopping destinations." About 3,900 workers will be laid off when the stores are closed; another 6,200 jobs will be cut.

Macy's said the 68 store closures, which span the United States, are part of the 100 closings it announced in August.

"Of the 68, three were closed by the middle of 2016, 63 will close in the spring and two will be closed by the middle of 2017," Macy's said in its statement.

The company intends to opportunistically close approximately 30 additional stores over the next few years as leases or operating covenants expire or sale transactions are completed.

In the past two years, Macy's, the nation's largest department store chain, has seen slowing sales as it battles competition on all fronts and changing shopping patterns.

"Revitalizing the business will not be easy," Neil Saunders, chief executive at retail consultancy Conlumino, told reporters. "Shopping trends are firmly against Macy's, and its brand, while not completely diminished, is most certainly tarnished."

Lundgren said the number of shoppers at its stores continues to decline, but its online business performed well.

He said Macy's, which also owns the Bloomingdale's brand, will save 550 million U.S. dollars this year through the store closures. It also plans to invest 250 million dollars of that into expanding and improving its digital operations and other areas. Endit