Introduction
If you have ever walked through a Macy’s and wondered why it felt quieter than it used to, you were picking up on something real. Macy’s to close 150 stores after sales drop $21.3 billion is not just a headline. It is the story of one of America’s most iconic retail brands fighting for its survival in a world that has fundamentally changed around it.
Macy’s, a cornerstone of American shopping since 1858, officially announced its sweeping “Bold New Chapter” strategy in February 2024. The plan is clear and painful at the same time. The company will shut down 150 underperforming locations by the end of 2026, shrinking from over 700 pre-pandemic stores to just 350.
In the world of weird wealth co conversations, this story comes up often. It is a powerful lesson in how consumer behavior, digital disruption, and poor adaptation can bring even the biggest names to their knees.
This article breaks down everything you need to know. Why did sales fall so sharply? Which stores are closing? What is Macy’s betting on next? And what does this mean for you as a shopper or someone watching the economy?
The $21.3 Billion Question: How Did Macy’s Get Here?
You might be asking yourself how a retail giant with over 165 years of history ends up in this position. The answer is not one single failure. It is a slow build of several pressures that hit all at once.
In 2023, Macy’s recorded a 5.5% drop in net sales. That figure translated to a staggering $21.3 billion, a number that alarmed investors, analysts, and retail watchers everywhere. For weird wealth co followers who track retail trends, the warning signs had been visible for years.
The Rise of E-Commerce Changed Everything
Online shopping did not just take customers away from Macy’s. It rewired their expectations completely. Shoppers began expecting faster delivery, easier returns, more variety, and better prices. Macy’s massive store footprint became a liability instead of an asset.
Amazon, fast fashion brands, and direct-to-consumer labels all chipped away at Macy’s core business. By the time Macy’s responded meaningfully, it had already lost significant ground.
Changing Consumer Habits Hit Hard
Younger shoppers do not visit department stores the way previous generations did. They discover products on social media. They buy directly from brand websites. They expect a seamless digital experience at every step.
Macy’s had built its entire identity around the physical store experience. That identity stopped connecting with a large portion of its customer base. Foot traffic fell. Sales per square foot dropped. Empty stores became a costly burden.
Inflation and Economic Pressure Squeezed Shoppers
When inflation peaked, discretionary spending took a hit. Shoppers who might have browsed Macy’s for clothing or home goods began cutting back. They shifted spending toward essentials and value-driven options. Macy’s positioning in the middle market made it especially vulnerable to this squeeze.
Weird wealth co conversations often highlight this dynamic. Middle-market retailers face competition from both above and below. Luxury buyers go up market. Budget-conscious shoppers go down market. The middle gets hollowed out.
The Bold New Chapter Plan: What Macy’s Is Actually Doing
When Macy’s announced the “Bold New Chapter” strategy, it laid out a three-part plan. Here is what that plan actually involves.
Part One: Closing 150 Underperforming Stores
Macy’s identified 150 locations described as “underproductive.” These stores generate lower sales, sit in weaker markets, and drag on the company’s overall performance. By closing them, Macy’s expects to:
- Generate between $250 million and $350 million in asset sale gains
- Redirect investment toward higher-performing locations
- Reduce the drag of unprofitable overhead
As of early 2025, the company had already closed more than 80 of those planned 150 locations. The remaining closures are now extended through 2028. Liquidation sales at closing stores have offered discounts as steep as 70%, which has drawn large crowds in the short term.
Part Two: Investing in 350 Go-Forward Stores
Not every Macy’s is going away. The company is investing heavily in roughly 350 locations it considers strong performers. These stores are getting:
- Modernized interiors and updated layouts
- Expanded assortments of in-demand brands including Coach, Levi’s, Ralph Lauren, and Good American
- Store ambassadors in key departments like beauty, shoes, jewelry, and tailored clothing
- Technology to track foot traffic and improve staffing decisions in real time
The “First 50” pilot stores led the way. These locations tested new merchandising strategies and in-store events. The results were promising enough that Macy’s expanded the concept to 125 stores, now called “Reimagine 125.”
Part Three: Going Bigger in Luxury
This is where weird wealth co thinkers and retail analysts alike say the smartest bet may lie. Macy’s owns two luxury brands: Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury. Both have significantly outperformed the core Macy’s nameplate.
Bloomingdale’s reported 7.4% comparable sales growth in fiscal 2025. Bluemercury has now achieved 18 consecutive quarters of positive comparable sales growth. Those numbers stand in sharp contrast to the struggles of the main Macy’s brand.
The company plans to open approximately 15 new Bloomingdale’s stores and at least 30 new Bluemercury locations by 2026, along with roughly 30 Bluemercury remodels.
Which Macy’s Stores Are Closing?
The closures span nearly every state in the country. Macy’s confirmed 66 specific locations when it first announced the plan in January 2024. An additional round of closures has followed since then.
The closures tend to follow a pattern. Stores in enclosed shopping malls with declining foot traffic are most at risk. Stores in mid-tier markets where Macy’s faces strong competition from off-price retailers and online alternatives are also on the list.
By the end of 2025, the company had closed 64 stores in fiscal 2024 alone. The remaining locations on the closure list are expected to close through 2028.
If you want to know whether your local Macy’s is on the list, the best approach is to check the company’s official website or local news outlets. Macy’s confirms closures on a rolling basis, and new announcements can come at any time.
What Happens to Workers When a Macy’s Closes?
This is the part of the story that does not get talked about enough. Behind every store closure are real employees. Macy’s employs tens of thousands of people across its locations. When a store closes, those workers face layoffs, job searches, and in some cases significant financial disruption.
Macy’s has offered severance packages and career transition support in some cases. However, the scale of 150 closures means thousands of workers are affected. For communities that rely on the economic activity a major anchor store generates, a Macy’s closure ripples outward. Foot traffic to nearby smaller shops can drop. Mall vacancy rates rise.
The weird wealth co perspective here is worth noting. Retail closures are not just corporate strategy. They reshape local economies and the lives of ordinary workers.
Is Macy’s Strategy Actually Working?
Here is some genuinely good news buried within a difficult story. There are real signs that parts of the Bold New Chapter plan are delivering results.
In the third quarter of 2025, Macy’s Inc. achieved net sales of $4.7 billion, which exceeded company guidance. Comparable sales rose 2.5%, the strongest quarter in 13 quarters. Bloomingdale’s comparable sales were up 8.8% in that same quarter, the highest figure in 13 quarters.
CEO Tony Spring told investors: “Our third quarter sales were the strongest in 13 quarters, reflecting the acceleration of our Bold New Chapter strategy and demonstrating that the meaningful enterprise-wide changes we’ve made are resonating with customers.”
For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, comparable sales rose 1.8% year over year. Bloomingdale’s posted its best holiday season ever. Bluemercury continued its long streak of consecutive quarterly growth.
These numbers suggest that the pruning is working, at least for the stores that remain. Weird wealth co analysts who track turnaround stories point to this kind of selective investment as a classic restructuring move. Shrink the footprint. Strengthen what remains. Grow in higher-margin areas.
The Saks Fifth Avenue Factor
Something unexpected helped Macy’s luxury arm. Saks Fifth Avenue, a major Bloomingdale’s competitor, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2026. That disruption sent luxury shoppers and brand vendors looking for alternatives.
Bloomingdale’s was positioned perfectly to absorb that displaced demand. Spring told investors that “the vendor community has rallied around Bloomingdale’s like never before.” That kind of competitive windfall does not come around often, and Bloomingdale’s moved quickly to take advantage.
The Tariff Challenge: A New Threat on the Horizon
Just as Macy’s begins to show signs of recovery, a new challenge has emerged. Tariffs on imported goods, particularly from China, are creating pricing pressure across the retail industry. Approximately 20% of Macy’s products come from China.
The company has responded by canceling or delaying some orders from China and negotiating with suppliers on pricing. Some products will maintain their current prices. Others will cost more. In some cases, Macy’s will stop carrying items where the price increase does not align with customer expectations.
This is a real wild card. If tariffs remain elevated, they could slow any recovery momentum and put further pressure on margins. Weird wealth co observers note that this is a systemic risk that affects all mid-to-large retailers, not just Macy’s.
What the Macy’s Story Tells Us About Modern Retail
The Macy’s to close 150 stores after sales drop $21.3 billion story is bigger than one company. It reflects a structural shift in how Americans shop and what they expect from retail experiences.
A few key takeaways stand out clearly:
Physical footprint is not a strength if it is the wrong footprint. Macy’s had hundreds of stores because that was the right strategy for a different era. When the era changed, the stores became a burden.
The middle market is squeezed from both sides. Consumers either trade up to luxury experiences or trade down to value and off-price options. Retailers caught in the middle struggle to justify their existence.
Luxury is resilient. Even in challenging economic environments, spending on premium and luxury goods has held up better than middle-market spending. Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury prove this point with consistent growth numbers.
Adaptation is not optional. Macy’s waited too long to fully embrace e-commerce and modernize the in-store experience. The $21.3 billion sales drop is in part the cost of that delay.
Weird wealth co discussions often focus on this kind of strategic inflection point. Companies that adapt to changing conditions survive. Companies that resist change until they are forced into it often pay a very high price.
The Road Ahead for Macy’s
Macy’s is not finished. That much is clear. The company has a plan, it is executing on that plan, and the early financial results are encouraging in the right segments.
Here is what to expect looking forward:
The remaining store closures will continue through 2028. Each closure should generate additional asset sale gains that can be reinvested. The 350 go-forward stores will continue to receive capital investment and operational improvements. Bloomingdale’s will expand into new markets, especially away from the coasts where it has traditionally been concentrated. Bluemercury will continue opening new locations and remodeling existing ones.
The company projects fiscal 2025 sales between $21.4 billion and $21.65 billion. That is still below peak levels but shows stabilization after years of decline.
Weird wealth co thinking teaches us that survival through transformation is a legitimate and often impressive outcome. Not every struggling giant collapses. Some rebuild themselves into something smaller, more focused, and more financially sound.
Macy’s is attempting exactly that transformation. Whether it fully succeeds will depend on execution, consumer trends, and factors like tariff policy that are largely outside its control.
Conclusion
The Macy’s to close 150 stores after sales drop $21.3 billion story is one of the most significant retail restructuring events in recent American history. It reflects the brutal reality of a changing marketplace where adaptation is the only viable path forward.
For shoppers, it means fewer Macy’s locations but more focused and updated stores where the brand survives. For workers, it means difficult transitions. For investors and business observers, it is a textbook case in how long-term strategic neglect forces painful corrections.
The weird wealth co lesson here is worth sitting with. Wealth, whether personal or corporate, requires constant attention to changing conditions. The brands and businesses that thrive are the ones willing to make uncomfortable decisions before those decisions get made for them.
What do you think? Is Macy’s doing enough to save itself, or is this just slowing an inevitable decline? Share your thoughts and tell someone else about this story.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why is Macy’s closing 150 stores? Macy’s is closing 150 stores because of declining sales, shifting consumer habits toward e-commerce, and the need to concentrate resources on stronger-performing locations. A 5.5% drop in net sales in 2023, equating to $21.3 billion, accelerated the decision.
2. When will all 150 Macy’s stores be closed? The original timeline aimed for all closures to be complete by the end of fiscal 2026. However, the company has extended the remaining closures through 2028.
3. How many Macy’s stores have already closed? As of early 2026, Macy’s had closed more than 80 of the planned 150 locations, with the rest scheduled to close through 2028.
4. Will Macy’s go out of business entirely? No. Macy’s plans to retain approximately 350 go-forward stores and is actively investing in those locations. The company also owns growing luxury brands in Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury.
5. What is the “Bold New Chapter” strategy? It is Macy’s three-part restructuring plan announced in February 2024. It involves closing 150 underperforming stores, investing in 350 stronger locations, and expanding its luxury brands Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury.
6. Are Bloomingdale’s stores closing too? No. Bloomingdale’s is actually expanding. Macy’s plans to open approximately 15 new Bloomingdale’s locations as part of its focus on luxury growth.
7. What brands are coming to Macy’s remaining stores? Macy’s has been adding popular brands including Coach, Levi’s, Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Good American, Hugo Boss, and Sam Edelman to its updated store assortments.
8. Will Macy’s prices go up because of tariffs? Some prices may increase due to tariffs on Chinese-made goods, which make up about 20% of Macy’s product mix. The company is negotiating with suppliers and adjusting its buying strategy to manage the impact.
9. How does this affect Macy’s employees? Thousands of employees at closing locations face layoffs. Macy’s has offered some severance and transition support, but the scale of closures has resulted in significant workforce disruption.
10. What can shoppers expect from the remaining Macy’s stores? Shoppers can expect modernized layouts, updated brand assortments, in-store ambassadors in key departments, and a greater emphasis on both in-store experience and digital integration.
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About the Author: James Holloway is a business and retail journalist with over a decade of experience covering consumer trends, corporate strategy, and economic shifts across the United States. He writes about the intersection of money, markets, and everyday life for readers who want clear and honest analysis without the jargon.
