
You Will Be Happy to Know Macy's Will Continue to Give the Store Away
Unless Macy's Inc. (M) - Get Report closes more stores than it already has planned for or raises its prices, expect the retailer's profits to remain pressured.
On a company earnings call with analysts on Thursday, Aug. 10, Macy's CEO Jeff Gennette said Wall Street shouldn't expect either anytime soon.
"Number one, we're going to remain very promotional," Gennette said, explaining that the retailer is working to simplify its promotions from a marketing standpoint but that discounts will be alive and well. He added that Macy's does not plan to close anymore than the 100 stores it already is working to shutter.
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Macy's CFO Karen Hoguet said on the call that the company expects the fourth quarter, in particular, "to be very promotional and we're going to have all of our firepower ready to go for that."
"If I were modeling the fourth quarter, I don't think I would be modeling a positive comp," Hoguet added.
Early last month, the Wall Street Journal revealed that department stores were beginning to rev up their promotional activity, especially in cosmetics. The heavy discounting began with Macy's, which cut prices on items in its beauty department by 15%.
On Thursday morning, Macy's reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of 48 cents a share, better than the earnings of 46 cents a share Wall Street expected but not better than the year-ago period's earnings of 54 cents a share. The retailer's revenue fell 5.4% to $5.55 billion and its same-store sales, on an owned basis, slipped 2.8%.
Shares of Macy's plummeted 10% to $20.73 in late-afternoon trading.
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