Macy’s Inc., one of the USA’s premier fashion retailers, has noted 7.5 per cent decrease in itd sales to US $ 5.338 billion in the first quarter of the current year as compared with sales of US $ 5.771 billion in the same period last year.
The year-over-year decline in total sales reflects, in part, the store closings announced in 2016. Comparable sales on an owned basis were down 5.2 per cent in the first quarter and down 4.6 per cent on an owned plus licensed basis.
During the period under review, the company’s operating income totalled US $ 220 million or 4.1 per cent of sales for the first quarter of 2017, compared to US $ 276 million or 4.8 per cent of sales for the same period in 2016.
Also Read – Macy’s reopens at Westfield Century City, LA
“Our first quarter sales and earnings results were consistent with our expectations, and we remain on track to meet our 2017 guidance. We are encouraged by the performance of the pilot programs we tested last year in categories like women’s shoes, fine jewelry, and furniture and mattresses. We look forward to expanding these successful initiatives nationally this year and anticipate they will have a measurable impact on our performance starting in the second quarter, building through the fall. Additionally, our digital platforms showed continued strong growth in the first quarter,” said Jeff Gennette, President and Chief Executive Officer of Macy’s.
In 2017, the company is focused on taking actions to stabilize its brick and mortar business, including the testing and iteration of additional pilot programs in order to bring them to scale in future years. At the same time, it will invest to aggressively grow digital and mobile businesses.
