Macy's, Inc.
| File:Macy's logo.svg Logo used since 2007 after rebranding from Federated Department Stores | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail (department stores) |
| Predecessor | Federated Department Stores, Inc. |
| Founded | 1929 |
| Founder | Fred Lazarus Jr., Walter N. Rothschild, Edward Filene |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | United States, Guam, Puerto Rico |
| Products | Department stores, beauty retail (Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Bluemercury) |
| Website | www |
Overview
Macy's, Inc.—formerly known as Federated Department Stores, Inc.—is a prominent American holding company specializing in department stores. Founded in 1929, Federated initially managed several regional department store chains including Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, Filene's, and Shillito's. The following year, Bloomingdale's became part of the Federated portfolio. Throughout its formative years, the company frequently expanded and streamlined its holdings through acquisitions and divestitures, operating under various brand names. In 1994, Federated acquired Macy's, a historic department store chain established in 1858 by entrepreneur Rowland Hussey Macy. Although Federated traditionally maintained distinct regional brands, the 2005 purchase of the May Department Stores Company led to the consolidation of those brands. By 2006, the company unified its operations under the nationally recognized Macy's and Bloomingdale's banners. In 2007, Federated adopted the Macy's, Inc. name to reflect the prestige of the flagship brand. Further diversification occurred in 2015 with the acquisition of Bluemercury from Berry J. Beck and Marla Malcolm Beck, marking an expansion into the beauty retail sector.
Macy's, Inc. controls the department store chains Bloomingdale's and Macy's, along with the beauty-focused chain Bluemercury, all featuring flagship locations situated in Manhattan. As of October 2022, the company operates a total of 722 stores across the United States, as well as in Guam and Puerto Rico. In 2010, Macy's, Inc. ranked as the largest retailer globally within fashion goods and was positioned as the 36th-largest retailer overall. Since 2020, its corporate headquarters have been located at Macy's Herald Square in New York City, having previously been based in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1945 until that time.
Early history
The origins of Federated Department Stores date back to 1851 with the establishment of F&R Lazarus & Company in Columbus, Ohio. In the summer of 1929, just months prior to the Wall Street Crash, Fred Lazarus Jr. convened with Walter N. Rothschild of Abraham & Straus in Brooklyn and Edward Filene from Filene's in Boston aboard Rothschild's yacht on Long Island Sound. During this meeting, the trio agreed to consolidate their businesses under a single holding company, Federated Department Stores, which initially included F&R Lazarus & Company (along with its Cincinnati branch known at the time as Shillito's), Abraham & Straus, and William Filene's Sons of Boston. The following year, Bloomingdale Brothers from New York became part of the group.
In the 1930s, Fred Lazarus Jr. introduced a pioneering merchandising approach by organizing clothing by size while offering a variety of styles, colors, and price points—a concept inspired by his observations in Paris. Additionally, Lazarus persuaded President Franklin D. Roosevelt to move Thanksgiving from the last Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday to lengthen the Christmas shopping period and boost the economy. This change was formalized by Congress in 1941. The resulting "Black Friday" evolved into a national phenomenon and emerged as Federated’s most lucrative sales day. Robert Lazarus Jr., who remained involved with Federated until his passing in 2013, was the final family member to hold an official position within the company.
By 1945, Federated relocated its headquarters to Cincinnati. Over the latter half of the twentieth century, the company expanded its footprint across the United States through acquisitions including Rike Kumler of Dayton (which merged with Shillito's in the 1980s forming Shillito-Rike's), Burdines from Miami, Rich's in Atlanta, Foley's in Houston, and both Sanger Brothers and A. Harris in Dallas (consolidated into Sanger-Harris). Further additions included Milwaukee’s Boston Store, Chicago’s MainStreet, Los Angeles’ Bullock's, San Francisco’s I. Magnin, as well as discount chains Gold Circle and Richway based in Worthington, Ohio. Federated diversified into supermarkets in 1968 by acquiring Southern California’s Ralphs chain. In 1982, it purchased Buffalo-based Twin Fair Inc., integrating it with Gold Circle stores. The following year saw Federated divest four shopping center properties to JMB Realty.
Campeau's Takeover
In early 1988, Canadian property developer Robert Campeau, known for acquiring and dismantling Allied Stores in 1986, launched an attempt to acquire Federated. This move sparked a widely publicized contest, with Macy's—then a competitor independent of Federated—also placing rival bids exceeding $6 billion. Despite Federated's resistance, by April 1988 the company conceded to a $6.6 billion acquisition by Campeau, marking one of the largest mergers in corporate history outside the oil industry. Subsequently, Macy's paid Campeau $1.1 billion to obtain the 20-store Bullock's/Bullocks Wilshire chain along with the 25-store specialty apparel retailer I. Magnin. Two years later, Federated filed for bankruptcy protection after Campeau was unable to refinance the debts incurred from both Federated and Allied Stores Corp. In 1992, following Campeau's removal, Federated reemerged from bankruptcy as a newly public entity named Federated Stores, Inc., dropping "Department" from its former title. During this restructuring phase, Federated divested the Ralphs supermarket chain to a consortium led by Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation.
Macy's Acquisition
Macy's itself declared bankruptcy in 1992; two years later, in 1994, Federated acquired the once-rival company. The Macy's brand soon became the primary consumer-facing identity for most of Federated’s retail outlets. In 1995, Federated expanded further by purchasing Broadway Stores, Inc., which included California-based chains such as Emporium-Capwell, Weinstock's, and The Broadway. These chains—including Bullock’s—were rebranded under the Macy’s banner or converted into Bloomingdale’s locations. By 2003, nearly all remaining stores not bearing the Macy’s nameplate were renamed to incorporate it—a campaign internally referred to as Project Hyphen—resulting in names like Bon-Macy’s (formerly Seattle’s The Bon Marché) and Goldsmith’s-Macy’s in Tennessee. A year later, these hyphenated names were simplified solely to Macy’s during what was called Project Star.
Federated entered the online retail space in 1998, somewhat behind many peers among major retailers. The company also operated its own financial institution, FDS Bank, which managed most of its consumer credit card accounts and was one of the last such banks to enable online account access around 2004.
In 1998, Federated resolved an investigation by the SEC by paying $14.46 million due to questionable debt-collection practices. The company had required credit card customers to sign agreements obligating repayment of outstanding balances rather than allowing unsecured debts to be discharged through bankruptcy filings; however, Federated failed to properly file these reaffirmation agreements with bankruptcy courts, rendering them legally unenforceable.
In 2001, Federated acquired Hawaii-based Liberty House after it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The stores were integrated into Macy’s West and rebranded accordingly. That same year saw the closure of the Stern's chain—a Federated division—with most stores converted into Macy’s locations.
By 2005, Federated agreed to divest its credit card operations to Citigroup.
Purchase of May
On February 28, 2005, Federated Department Stores revealed its intention to acquire the May Department Stores Company for $11 billion (equivalent to $Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year). Included in this acquisition was May’s bridal and formalwear division, which encompassed David's Bridal and After Hours Formalwear. Federated also agreed to take on $6 billion of May’s outstanding debt (equivalent to $Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year), resulting in a total transaction value of $17 billion (equivalent to $Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year). This merger formed the largest department store conglomerate in the United States, operating more than 1,000 locations and generating $30 billion (equivalent to $Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year) in annual revenue. To help fund the acquisition, Federated sold its combined proprietary credit card portfolio—though it remained managed by FACS Group, a Federated subsidiary—to Citigroup. The merger was finalized on August 30, 2005, following an agreement with the Attorneys General of New York, California, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
Through this consolidation, Federated regained control of Foley's and Filene's, two department store chains it had previously sold to May Company, bringing them back under Federated’s ownership for the first time since 1988.
In 2006, Federated announced plans to divest approximately 80 retail locations. As part of its settlement commitments, most of these stores were to be sold as operational businesses, with priority given to a group of thirteen competing retailers. The exact number of stores sold was subject to change based on negotiations with mall landlords and decisions regarding repurposing former Macy’s sites for upscale Bloomingdale's outlets.
On January 12, 2006, Federated declared its intention to sell the May Company’s Lord & Taylor division—which included 55 stores across 12 states—by year-end.[1] Subsequently, on June 22, 2006, Macy’s announced that NRDC Equity Partners, LLC would acquire Lord & Taylor for $1.2 billion (equivalent to $Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year), with the sale closing in October of the same year.
On September 9, 2006, several former May Company store brands—including Famous-Barr, Filene's, Foley's, Hecht's, The Jones Store, Kaufmann's, L. S. Ayres, Marshall Field's, Meier & Frank, Robinsons-May, and Strawbridge's—were retired as Federated rebranded most locations under the Macy's banner and a select few under Bloomingdale's. This rebranding effort led to instances where malls housed two Macy’s stores. For example, in downtown Boston, Federated closed an acquired Filene’s because a Macy’s (formerly Jordan Marsh) was already situated across the street. Together, these two stores offered over 1,400,000 square feet (130,000 m2) of retail space—more than two-thirds the size of Macy’s flagship store in New York City.
On November 17, 2006, Federated completed the sale of its bridal and formalwear operations. The bridal brands David’s Bridal and Priscilla of Boston were sold to Leonard Green & Partners, while After Hours Formalwear was acquired by Men's Wearhouse.[2]
2000s
On February 27, 2007, Federated revealed that its board planned to propose a shareholder vote to rename the company Macy's Group, Inc. By March 28, the company adjusted its renaming strategy, deciding instead to adopt the name Macy's, Inc. Shareholders endorsed this updated plan during the annual meeting held on May 18, 2007.
The official name change took effect on June 1, 2007. According to Terry Lundgren, the chairman, president, and CEO of Federated, the impetus behind this rebranding was the widespread transition across the organization to the Macy's brand. Lundgren emphasized that the company had evolved into a brand-centric entity focused primarily on Macy's and Bloomingdale's, moving away from being a federation of department stores. Concurrently with the rebranding, the company's stock ticker on the New York Stock Exchange was altered from "FD" to "M," positioning Macy's Inc. among a select group of companies with single-letter ticker symbols.
In April 2008, Moody's Investors Service indicated a potential downgrade of Macy's Inc.'s bonds to just above junk status. During the same period, Fitch Ratings lowered its bond credit rating from BBB to BBB−, citing weakening operational and credit performance metrics.
By 2008, the website macysinc.com attracted over three million visitors annually according to data from Compete.com.
On February 6, 2008, Terry Lundgren introduced a localization initiative named "My Macy's," alongside plans to eliminate approximately 2,550 positions. This restructuring led to layoffs at regional headquarters including Macy's North in Minneapolis, Macy's Northwest in Seattle, and Macy's Midwest in St. Louis as the company consolidated its seven regional centers down to four. Although around 40 new jobs were slated for creation in May as part of this reorganization, Macy's projected annual savings of $100 million by 2009 due to these workforce reductions.
On February 2, 2009, Macy's announced a further reduction of 7,000 jobs—about 4% of its total workforce—and cut its dividend in an effort to reduce costs through significant restructuring. The job cuts affected positions across offices, stores, and other locations and included some vacancies. Chairman and CEO Terry J. Lundgren expressed regret over the necessity of these layoffs but highlighted optimism about Macy's and Bloomingdale's future prospects.
In addition to workforce changes, Macy's eliminated its divisional structure by consolidating key functions such as central buying, merchandise planning, senior store management, and marketing into its New York City corporate headquarters (formerly Macy's East). Corporate support functions like finance and human resources remained primarily in Cincinnati. The "My Macy's" concept was developed to tailor buying decisions and merchandise planning more closely to local consumer preferences at individual stores nationwide. This approach aimed to enhance branding consistency as well as product sizing and marketing strategies across all locations.
Macy’s Inc. also decided to close Bloomingdale’s at Minnesota’s Mall of America after serving as one of its four anchor stores since 1992. The space was slated for a $30 million renovation featuring four new international apparel retailers.
2010s
On October 14, 2013, Macy's Inc. revealed plans to open the majority of its stores on Thanksgiving Day for the first time in 155 years, joining other retailers who had initiated the practice known as Gray Thursday the previous year. The stores began welcoming customers at 8 p.m. local time on Thanksgiving evening and remained operational continuously for 24 hours until closing around 10 p.m. on Friday.[3]
By February 2014, Macy's Inc. had a market valuation estimated at US$28 billion.[4]
In early 2016, Macy's disclosed plans to shut down 40 stores, representing about 5% of its total outlets, while simultaneously announcing the opening of six new Macy's Backstage locations. Between 2010 and 2015, the company had closed 52 stores but also inaugurated 12 new ones.[5]
2020s
In February 2020, Macy's declared that it would be shutting down its headquarters in downtown Cincinnati as part of a broader restructuring effort involving additional reductions. This announcement followed a gradual withdrawal from the Cincinnati region, with most top executives, including the CEO, already operating from the company's New York City headquarters.[6] The former headquarters building has been repurposed into a residential apartment complex featuring 341 units, scheduled to open in spring 2025.[7]
In November 2021, Macy’s unveiled plans to launch a digital marketplace anticipated to debut in the latter half of 2022. For this initiative, Macy’s partnered with AlixPartners and Mirakl.[8]
Reports in November 2023 indicated that Arkhouse Management along with Brigade Capital Management submitted a $5.8 billion bid to acquire Macy’s Inc.[9] In January 2024, Macy’s declined this unsolicited proposal citing undervaluation.[10] Two months later, the investor group raised their offer to $6.6 billion.[11]
In February of 2024, Macy’s announced plans to shutter approximately 150 stores by the year 2026.[12]
Nameplates
| Name | Year established |
Year purchased |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomie’s | 2021 | Template:N/A | Bloomingdale’s in a compact format |
| Bloomingdale's | 1860 | 1930 | |
| Bloomingdale’s The Outlet Store | 2010 | Template:N/A | |
| Bluemercury | 1999 | 2015 | |
| Macy's | 1858 | 1994 | |
| Macy's Backstage | 2015 | Template:N/A | |
| Market by Macy's | 2020 | Template:N/A | Macy’s in a smaller store format |
Former nameplates
>|Stern's >|1867 >|1992 >|2001 >|Converted into Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s >|Strawbridge's >|1868 >|2005 >|2006 >|Rebranded as Macy’s >|Weinstock's >|1924 >|1995 >|1995| Name | Year established |
Year acquired |
Year ceased operations |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Harris and Company | 1889 | 1961 | 1961 | United with Sanger Brothers to create Sanger-Harris |
| Abraham & Straus | 1865 | 1929 | 1995 | Transitioned into Macy's and Stern's |
| After Hours | 1946 | 2005 | 2008 | Sold to Men's Wearhouse in 2006 |
| Template:Sort | 1890 | 1992 | 2005 | Operated as Bon-Macy's co-brand from 2003 to 2005; later converted to Bloomingdale's and Macy's |
| Boston Store | 1897 | 1948 | 1985 | Sold to Maus Frères |
| Template:Sort | 1896 | 1995 | 1996 | |
| Bullock's | 1907 | 1995 | 1996 | Previously held by Federated between 1948 and 1985; later rebranded as Macy's |
| Burdines | 1896 | 1956 | 2005 | Co-branded Burdines-Macy's from 2003 until conversion to Macy's in 2005 |
| David's Bridal | 1950 | 2005 | Template:N/A | Divested to Leonard Green & Partners in 2006 |
| Template:Sort | 1896 | 1995 | 1996 | Rebranded as Macy's |
| Famous-Barr | 1911 | 2005 | 2006 | Converted to Macy's |
| Filene's | 1881 | 2005 | 2006 | Previously owned by Federated from 1929 to1988; converted to Macy's |
| Filene’s Basement | 1908 | 1929 | 2011 | Spun off following Federated acquisition by Campeau Corporation in1988 |
| Foley's | 1900 | 2005 | 2006 | Previously held by Federated from1947 to1988; transitioned to Macy’s |
| Gold Circle | 1967 | 1967 | 1988 | |
| Gold Triangle | 1970 | 1970 | 1981 | Transformed into Richway |
| Goldsmith's | 1870 | 1959 | 2005 | Co-branded Goldsmith’s-Macy’s between2003 and2005; converted to Macy’s |
| Hecht's | 1857 | 2005 | 2006 | Converted into Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s |
| I. Magnin | 1876 | 1994 | 1994 | Previously owned by Federated from1964 to1987; rebranded as Macy’s |
| John Taylor Dry Goods Co. | 1949 | |||
| Template:Sort | 1887 | 2005 | 2006 | Rebranded as Macy’s |
| Jordan Marsh | 1841 | 1992 | 1996 | Converted to Macy’s |
| Kaufmann's | 1871 | 2005 | 2006 | Rebranded as Macy’s |
| L. S. Ayres | 1872 | 2005 | 2006 | Converted to Macy’s |
| Lazarus | 1851 | 1929 | 2005 | >Operated as Lazarus-Macy’s co-brand from2003–2005; later converted to Macy’s |
| >Liberty House | >1849 | >2001 | >2001 | >Converted into Macy’s |
| >Lord & Taylor | >1826 | >2005 | >2021 | >Sold to NRDC Equity Partners |
| >MainStreet | >1983 | >1983 | >1988 | >Sold and transformed into Kohl's |
| >Marshall Field's | >1852 | >2005 | >2006 | >Converted into Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s |
| >Meier & Frank | >1857 | >2005 | >2006 | >Rebranded as Macy’s |
| >O'Connor, Moffat & Co. | 1947 | |||
| >Ralphs | >1873 | >1968 | Template:N/A | >Sold to DeBartolo Corporation in1992 |
| >Rich's | >1867 | >1976 | >2005 | >Co-branded Rich’s-Macy’s from2003–2005; converted to Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s |
| >Richway | >1968 | >1976 | >1988 | >Converted into Gold Circle |
| >Rike's | >1853 | >1959 | >1982 | >Merged with Shillito’s forming Shillito-Rike’s |
| >Robinsons-May | >1993 | >2005 | >2006 | >Converted into Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s |
| >Sanger Brothers | >1868 | >1951 | >1961 | >Merged with A. Harris and Company creating Sanger-Harris |
| >Sanger-Harris | >1961 | >1961 | 1987 | >Rebranded as Foley’s |
| >Shillito's | >1830 | 1929 | 1982 | Merged with Rike’s forming Shillito-Rike’s |
| Shillito-Rike's | 1982 | 1982 | 1986 | Transitioned into Lazarus |
Criticism
The transformation of Marshall Field's in Chicago faced significant backlash, prompting numerous patrons to boycott the renowned State Street flagship location. Coverage by the Chicago Tribune continues to highlight the unfavorable response to Macy's presence in Chicago. Similarly, consumers in Pittsburgh expressed strong opposition to rebranding Kaufmann's, partly due to the Kaufmann family's historical significance in the city, as well as the cherished Christmas window displays and holiday parade at the main store.
Gallery
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Logo of Federated until 2007
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Macy's, Inc. emblem used from 2007 to 2019
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Macy's, Inc. logo adopted from 2019 through 2023
References
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- ↑ Federated Agrees to Sell Bridal Group, Federated Department Stores, Inc., November 17, 2006.
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External links
Template:MacysInc Template:Macy's history Template:Major retail companies
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