The number of weddings relative to the U.S. population is the lowest it’s been since World War I, and tuxedo-rental shops like Men’s Wearhouse are seeing a decrease in their business. They blame demographic patterns, changes in wedding fashion, and changes in the formalwear rental business as a whole for the decrease, and see the trend continuing for now. [More]
macy’s
Macy’s To Launch Quartet Of “Off-Price” (AKA Discount) Stores This Fall
By 5.5.15
Earlier this year, Macy’s said it was going to dip its toes into the waters of discount retailing by creating some sort of off-price offshoot of its department store chain. Today, the retailer confirmed some details about the first four locations for the store it has dubbed Macy’s Backstage. [More]
Belk Department Stores Thinking Of Flirting With Suitors Like Nordstrom, Macy’s
By 4.3.15
Belk Department Stores, the largest family-owned and operated department store chain in the United States, with 300 stores in 16 states in the South, is reportedly considering hooking up with potential suitors, including Macy’s and Nordstrom. [More]
Macy’s CFO: Sales Are Sluggish Because Women Don’t Want To Put Makeup On To Shop There
By 3.25.15
You there, with the bare lips and the TJ Maxx bag binge-watching Scandal online: Did you decide to skip Macy’s and head to an off-price store because you just couldn’t bear to tear yourself away from Netflix and put your face on that day? Macy’s CFO seems to think an aversion to lipstick and millennials’ love of digital content (among other things) is funneling customers away in favor of off-price stores and online shopping, leading to sagging sales. [More]
American Express Partners With Macy’s, Exxon Mobil & Others For Coalition Loyalty Program
By 3.18.15
Forget about Costco, American Express seems to have moved on from being dumped by the warehouse club, announcing its partnership with a plethora of retailers and companies for a new venture: a coalition loyalty program. [More]
Detroit-Area Shopping Center Goes From Nation’s Oldest Mall To Nation’s Newest Dead Mall
By 2.27.15
If you spend much time on Consumerist, then you’re probably aware of the current sad state of the world’s malls; from the former largest mall in the world being demolished to those full of fish or snow covered, it isn’t exactly a pretty picture. Today, we learn that another historic shopping center will soon trade in its purported title as the nation’s first regional shopping mall for that of the latest “dead mall.” [More]
Macy’s Decides To Grow By Targeting Bargain-Hunters
By 2.26.15
How does a department store company grow when department stores, as a category, are not doing so well? They have to go where customers are, and in general where customers are headed is “downmarket.” Looking at the success that its competitors have had with stores aimed at “aspirational shoppers” with thinner wallets, Macy’s is expanding into the discount brand-name model that you can find at chains like Nordstrom Rack and Off Fifth. [More]
Macy’s Tries Again To Win Back Trademarks From Man Who Resurrected Astro Pops And Hydrox
By 2.26.15
When Macy’s Inc. swallowed up a slew of department stores across the land — from Marshall Field’s to Filene’s, Abraham & Straus to Jordan Marsh — it rebranded many of them, turning the formerly regional chains into Macy’s stores. But in a new lawsuit brought by the company that echoes a suit from 2011 that was slated to come to trial soon, Macy’s says the California company behind the resurrection of Hydrox and Astro Pops is infringing on trademarks it held for many of those recognizable brand names. [More]
Macy’s Buys Beauty & Spa Company Bluemercury For $210M
By 2.5.15
Just a month after Macy’s announced it would implement a restructuring plan by closing 14 stores and focusing on online sales, the department store says it has inked a deal to purchase a spa and beauty chain. [More]
Here’s How Stores Trick You Into Spending 20% More
By 1.13.15
Many shoppers like the ability to order something from a company online and then go to a bricks-and-mortar location to pick it up, perhaps to avoid delivery snafus or keep a present secret from a loved one. It’s convenient for customers (though not always faster than just shopping in store), and yet at the same time, it’s part of a well-laid trap to get more stuff in front of your face in the hopes that you’ll buy it. [More]
Macy’s Closing 14 Stores As Part Of Restructuring Plan; Opening Two In California
By 1.9.15
Citing changes in the way consumers shop, department store giant Macy’s announced Thursday that it plans to shut 14 stores in an effort to increase its focus in online shopping. [More]
Family Sues Macy’s, Escalator Company After Daughter’s Foot Mangled
By 10.7.14
You know how some people have what seems to be an irrational fear of escalators? Well, here’s another reason why that aversion might not be so strange after all: A New Jersey family recently filed a lawsuit against Macy’s and the company responsible for maintaining the escalator in which their daughter’s leg became trapped during a 2013 shopping trip. [More]
UPS Asks Retailers To Hold Holiday Sales Earlier, Avoid Ruining Christmas Again
By 10.3.14
Between bad weather and a surge in last-minute deliveries, the 2013 holiday season was a bit of a disaster for UPS. Some folks were left handing out apologies and rain checks at Christmas because the gifts they’d intended to give were still en route. This year, the shipper is asking retailers to help everyone avoid a repeat underwhelming performance. [More]
Macy’s, Bloomingdales To Offer Same-Day Delivery In 8 Markets
By 9.15.14
If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em… Even better yet, join ’em and then do it faster. That seems to be the idea behind Macy’s announcement today that it and its upscale cousin Bloomingdale’s will be launching same-day delivery service in eight markets later this fall. [More]
Macy’s To Pay $650K To Settle Allegations Of Racial Profiling In Its Stores, Promises More Staff Training
By 8.20.14
Macy’s has joined its unapostrophed retail peer Barneys in announcing that it’s all done dealing with allegations of racial profiling in its stores, which includes a settlement with both the New York attorney general’s office and resolutions for various lawsuits against it. [More]
Macy’s Fined Nearly $1M, Will Undergo Safety Audit For 2009 Death Of Distribution Center Employee
By 8.13.14
Distribution centers and warehouses have been the scene of many employee deaths. While those cases remain tragic, they have also set the stage to ensure that working conditions are less dangerous in the future. Such is the case for Macy’s, as the company agreed this week to pay a hefty fine and undergo a safety audit as part of a settlement for a 2009 employee death. [More]
Topless Macy’s Shoplifter Puts On A Shirt, Turns Herself In
By 7.29.14
The department stores of California can rest easy: the woman who lost half of her clothing and her purse in a scuffle with Macy’s store security last week before fleeing the store and driving off has turned herself in. Police had her purse and identification, and an onlooker also wrote down her license plate number, so her identity and whereabouts were not exactly a mystery. She has been released on $20,000 bail. [San Marino Tribune] [More]
Shoplifter Tries To Steal From Macy’s, Leaves Shirt, Bra, And Purse Behind
By 7.21.14
The woman suspected of shoplifting last night at a Macy’s store in California may be a little confused about how this whole “shoplifting” thing works. Police say that a loss prevention officer spotted the woman slipping items into her purse, and tried to detain her. Her shirt and bra came off during the altercation, and she fled the mall topless. [More]
