Federated Department Stores Essay

Macy Inc. (M) has a cost structure that can best be viewed using SWOT analysis, which is a way of evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the corporation. Macy’s strengths include customer loyalty, a recognizable store name, use of technology, a substantial supply chain, its comprehensive size, and the locations of its stores. In total, these strengths enable Macy Inc. to provide a unique service that offers a characteristic their competitors do not have: merchandise tailored to the customer by store and climate zone. Macy’s main weakness is its cost structure: costs are high compared to their competitors due to a complete operational transformation that includes localizing merchandise by

Macy’s Inc. is one of the oldest enterprises in the United States, belonging to the department stores industry. (Hoovers.com) It is a national brand, owning 850 department stores. During the development of the company, there had several key decisions that were beneficial for the company. However, in recent years, the competitions in department stores industry become more and more serious.

Unlike Starbucks, Macy’s is not doing very well, as evidenced by the fact they announced last month the impeding closure of 68 stores (Peterson, 2017). The company has been struggling for a few years with the growth of the internet and online businesses such as Amazon making their brick and mortar stores impractical in modern times. While the number of stores may not seem like as much of a problem as it is, as other companies have had to close down more in recent years or go out of business in general, this is a symptom of larger problems in both the company and the industry.

a. Macy’s, Inc. is a retail organization operating retail stores and Internet websites under two brands (Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s) that sell a wide range of merchandise, including men’s, women’s and children’s apparel and accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings and other consumer goods. Macy's’ competitors include other middle priced-ranged department stores including Nordstrom, Bed Bath & Beyond, Belk, Bon Ton, Burlington Coat Factory, Dillard’s, Gap, J.C. Penney, Kohl’s, Limited, Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks, Sears, Target, TJ Maxx and Wal-Mart. p. 4, 10-K

Macy’s, Inc. is known as the Great American Department Store was established in 1858 and now has 810 stores operating in the United States, coast-to-coast. Macy’s stores nationwide are grouped into 69 geographic districts that average ten to twelve stores each. Most stores are located at urban or suburban areas. As of January 30, 2010, the Company’s operations were conducted through four retail operating divisions – Macy’s, macys.com, Bloomingdale’s, and bloomingdales.com. The Company is a retail organization operating retail stores and Internet websites under two brands (Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s) that sell a wide range of merchandise, including men’s, women’s and children’s apparel and accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings and other

The industry we have chosen is the department store-retail industry. Within this industry, we have chosen the department stores of JCPenney and Macy’s. We find this industry, as well as these two companies, interesting from a strategic perspective. JCPenney has recently undergone a massive strategic restructuring in regards to its pricing, brand offerings, and store layout, pushing it away from the typical department store strategy of discounts and coupons. Its new strategy has become much closer to Wal-Mart’s strategy of every day low prices. Macy’s, on the other hand, has restructured with a push from the economic

Consumers are always satisfied with good customer service. When it comes to retail store customer service and satisfaction it is important because department stores are large in size and finding help can be difficult. Colloquy, a company concerned with building customer value, released a survey and asked 3,000 consumers across five geographical areas to rate their personal experiences with retailers. Macy’s was ranked number one in the department store category, with the most loyal customers. To keep up with technology advances Macy’s has invested time and money into developing a more efficient online shopping site, Macys.com and Macysweddingchannel. This investment cost nearly $300 million in 2006-2008 is being used to scale-up these fast-growing businesses through improvements in delivery efficiency, online site functionality and customer service. To enhance the shopping experience at Macy’s 100 stores in 2007 experienced remodeling and began introducing the most advanced POS registers and systems to the sales floors nationwide. Macy’s passion is product and people. There continuing pursuit is to have unique fashionable merchandise ready for customer satisfaction. Macy’s promise is to always carry the best brands and the most-wanted items. They also believe in hiring the right employees. With the right employees, there will be a sense of motivation and helpfulness. The American Customer Satisfaction Index covers 200 companies’ products and

Through the 70’s the company continued to grow. In 1974 annual sales hit $130 million. By 1980 Nordstrom was the third largest specialty retailer in the country. Sales hit $407 million and in the next few years, sales continued to rise. Nordstrom’s success was due to many factors. Shoes accounted for about 18 percent of total sales. In addition Nordstrom consistently maintained huge inventories and selection, which were usually twice the size of other department stores. Anchor malls seek the company, as a cornerstone of downtown renovation projects or as an added jewel for high end shopping customers. By being able to expand not only by adding locations, but also by expanding merchandise sold, Nordstrom became a dominant force in the industry and strengthened their market share position.

to see where the company is now with the use of a brief Swot analysis.

The intensity of rivalry and the threat of substitutes are strong components for J.C. Penney to consider as they continue to strive for increased revenue and market share. Their two primary competitors are Macy’s and Kohl’s, both of whom have fiercely competitive strategies to be strong retail operations. For instance, while Macy’s offers a multitude of promotional deals and is working hard to choose products based upon demographics and geographic segmentation, Kohl’s is attempting to reduce their inventory levels and improve their marketing strategies in order to become a stronger competitor in the department store segment of the retail industry. In order to compete with their competitors, J.C. Penney aims to focus on their previously successful promotions and home department segmentations by bringing in new reputable designers in order to attract a larger customer base. Due to the fact that the intensity of rivalry and threat of substitutes are both moderately strong in the retail department store industry, J.C. Penney ought to be diligent in their implementation of strategies in order to achieve success in the retail business.

Macy’s Inc. has a very strong network all over in the United States under its two main brand names but the company has very weak geographic presence. All of its business functions are in the United States. Any changes in the economic, political, legal, and social framework of the country will have direct impact on the business operations of Macy’s Inc. and its profitability will suffer many folds.

Macy’s has been around for 100 years, currently operating over 700 stores nationwide, and exploring the idea of expanding globally. A company that has that much experience, assets, and capitals are not likely to be bankrupted. With that being said, the current path and strategy that Macy’s is taking now is slowly killing the company. Their revenue stream has been decreasing to be multiple reasons, controllable and non-controllable. Macy’s should redesign their strategy to reach new markets because their current one is not responding to them as much. As many selections as there are in Macy’s, I think that they should try and carry more at a cheaper rate to encourage the loyal customers for that brand to go to Macy’s. I think the lead time for

Macy's Inc. is one of the nation's largest and well known department store chains. Started over 150 years ago, Macy's has continually generated excellent returns for its shareholders and employees. Currently, in the midst of a global recession, Macy's has generated huge profits with same store sales increasing 5.3% year to date. In 2012 same store sales increased 4.6% in the month of February alone (Macy's Inc., 2012). In fact, throughout the duration of 2012, Macy's is projecting even larger profits for its underlying business operations. Even though Macy's has experienced success with both its assortments and brand, its competitors haven't faired so well. Sears, due in part to part to a lackluster holiday season, has been forced to close nearly 120 locations to generate excess liquidity in an effort to shore up its balance sheet (Isidore, 2011).Other competitors who cater specifically to the middle class consumer have also lost significant amounts of market share as consumers trade down due to the economy. This performance is primarily due to the core functions and operations of the business. Planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Macy's excels at these forms of management, which has allowed the company to perform at a higher level relative to its peers in the industry.

Macy’s, Inc. is a department store company that currently operates over 800 stores under the names of Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Bloomingdale’s Outlet, and their newest acquisition Bluemercury, which offers luxury beauty products and spa services. All but one of its stores are located in the United States, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Additionally, Macy’s sells its merchandise via their websites and mobile applications. According to their 2014 annual report, Macy’s had sales of $28.1 billion last year.

“Macy’s is constantly drumming up consumer interest with another sale – I think they ran about 80 sales last year. They are well aware that the millennial customer looks for value in department stores. There were similar short duration sale events and other promotional efforts by J.C.Penney and