@SahmIam wrote:
Does anyone know what happened to Macy's for this spiral from a luxury/nice store to what it is now?
@SahmIam
This is what the Financial Journals say:
The decline in department store market share is most definitely not driven primarily by the emergence of the internet, as many suggest. Poor, limited and incongruous assortments, over reliance on mostly meaningless celebrity brands and promiscuous and reckless promotional pricing have all taken their toll. Add to that poorly presented and poorly maintained stores. Stores with highly inconsistent levels of customer service. You can readily see why the writing on the wall is now increasingly writ large. The department store genre is not too big to fail.
The country’s largest department store has been grappling with a shopper exodus to rivals like ), Amazon which this year could eclipse the company as an apparel retailer, T.J Maxx and Ulta Beauty.
Macy’s has been hurt by weakness in the apparel industry, its biggest category, and the sameness of merchandise across department stores, which has forced the retailer to resort to deep discounting. What’s more, shopper traffic at many malls is in free-fall. In response, Macy’s, which named a new CEO earlier this year, is working on a number of initiatives, from leaner inventory management, to lining up more exclusive merchandise, to expanding its T.J. Maxx-Like concept Backstage.
The company tends to sell run-of-the-mill products that shoppers can find more easily — and often more cheaply — elsewhere.
“Here’s the unfortunate thing about Macy’s: There’s nothing that sets it apart,” said Milton Pedraza, chief executive of the Luxury Institute, a New York-based research firm. “It’s crowded, it’s messy, the service is poor. The business model of Macy’s is no longer justifiable in a world dominated by Amazon and Walmart.”
In the past Macy’s has been proud to speak to the run up of its macys.com business. Early on the company bragged about how much more volume it did in its stores with its new internet customers. Unfortunately, it has become increasingly clear that today’s macys.com customer is avoiding both Macy’s stores and the mall they reside in. Rather than use their website as a billboard for the Macy’s brand, it has merely served as a surrogate for the company’s weekly promotional newspaper insert or run of press ads.
The “Magic of Macy’s” promised great customer engagement. So how does this square with self-service footwear and cosmetics? It doesn’t. Congruity is another lifeblood of a successful retailer. Just exactly how will Macy’s reconcile full service customer service with self-service selling? Are they going to be competitive with Nordstrom’s or with Kohl’s? Interestingly, today’s most successful retailers, whether internet driven Amazon, or, brick and mortar based Costco, provide great customer service. Macy’s, like virtually all retailers, say they provide great customer service but in fact don’t. So, what’s it going to be Macy’s? Great service, no service, or what?
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