Macy’s identifies first 66 stores it’s closing this year

Department store giant Macy's has released its long-awaited list of stores it's closing early this year, 66 locations including a flagship in downtown Philadelphia as part of its strategy to get rid of poorly performing sites and monetize its real estate.

The New York-based retailer on Wednesday identified the stores it is shutting, locations spanning 22 states, in the first big round of closings it has planned. The move is part of an initiative Macy's unveiled in February last year, its "Bold New Chapter," to downsize its store fleet, boost sales growth and focus on better-performing locations. The plan entails closing roughly 150 underperforming stores over a three-year period while investing in the remaining 350 Macy’s locations through fiscal 2026.

While the closings of "non-go-forward" stores were expected, the industry has been waiting to learn which sites will go dark and be sold, if they are company-owned, in the first go-around.

One of the most prominent stores on the list is Macy's Center City Philadelphia flagship in the Wanamaker Building at 1300 Market St., where the retailer leases 316,000 square feet, according to CoStar data. The closings also include a number of furniture stores that Macy's operates, and even several of its relatively new small-format locations. A number of the Macy's stores are in ailing suburban malls. The majority of locations are expected to close during the first quarter.

"The list comes as no real surprise," Neil Saunders, a retail analyst and managing director at GlobalData, said in an email to CoStar News. "Macy’s is cutting weaker locations in malls and centers where it sees very few prospects of future sales growth. As sad as it is for those stores, it would be folly for Macy’s to throw money at shops that are not able to generate a return for the business."

Some of the closings on the list were previously disclosed by the stores' buyers or brokers. For example, Macy’s is selling a mall anchor and a furniture store at Gwinnett Place, a mall at 2100 Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth, Georgia, to Gwinnett County for redevelopment.

Last year announced U.S. store closings surpassed any full-year total since the height of the pandemic in 2020, according to Coresight Research, and Macy's was one of the retailers trying to optimize its brick-and-mortar footprint. In 2024, store closings also outpaced openings as chains dealt with shoppers cutting back their spending and higher costs due to inflation and high interest rates.

Macy's was originally set to close about a third — or 50 of the 150 stores that will be shut overall — in fiscal 2024. But it has been steadily increasing that number, and last month said it would closing about 65 stores in its initial round.

“Closing any store is never easy, but as part of our Bold New Chapter strategy, we are closing underproductive Macy’s stores to allow us to focus our resources and prioritize investments in our go–forward stores, where customers are already responding positively to better product offerings and elevated service,” Macy's Chairman and CEO Tony Spring said in a statement.

Many of the planned closings are of stores in troubled malls, but not all, according to Rudolph Milian, president and CEO of retail consultant Woodcliff Realty Advisors.

"Most of the closures pertain to underperforming department stores but some are exclusively furniture stores," Milian said in an email to CoStar News. "It looks like Macy’s is getting out of the business of operating large furniture stores. It’s probably a good time to close furniture stores as the home-furnishings category continues to underperform — now going into the fourth consecutive year — because of the persistently high interest-rate environment and a period of high-construction costs that slowed up new home construction."

Some of the standalone furniture businesses are relocating to full-line Macy's stores, according to the retailer.

Most landlords have been made aware by Macy’s of its impending closings for several months, according to Milian, giving them time to assess best use for the vacating space.

"One such landlord that I am aware has been proactive and has been in discussions with prospects for the vacating Macy’s space that involves choosing between Ikea, converting to a multifamily apartment building or an extended-stay hotel," Milian said.

"If the property has productive retail tenants, a vacating Macy’s can give the property owner many choices to densify the real estate and add substantial income," he said. "It can be heaven sent, but the landlord has to conduct extensive research to be sure it fills that space in a way that is complementary to the remaining retail for the property to thrive going forward. The worst thing a landlord can do is to rush into replacing the vacating Macy’s box with one or more tenants to minimize downtime without conducting the proper best-use analysis."

Macy's began rolling out small-format stores in 2020, and three of them are on the closing list, said Bill Read, an executive vice president at Retail Specialists. Those are Southlake Town Square in Southlake Texas; The Highlands of Flower Mound in Flower Mound, Texas; and Johns Creek Town Center in Suwanee, Georgia.

While the overall Macy's closings were expected, "what is a little unusual is the closing of three of their newer smaller stores, formerly called Market by Macy’s," Read said in an email to CoStar News.

"These are stores under four years old and closing them shows that the smaller-format store concept still needs work to be profitable," he said.

Since the kickoff of the Bold New Chapter strategy, the investments in the pilot Macy’s stores have boosted sales for three consecutive quarters and contributed to record customer satisfaction scores for the chain, according to the retailer.

"Building on that success, Macy’s enters 2025 well-positioned to build momentum with a stronger store fleet and remains focused on bringing this enhanced customer experience to more locations nationwide and through its digital channels," the company said.

Macy's closing list includes:

• Superstition Springs Center

• Broadway Plaza
• Hillsdale Furniture
• Sunrise Mall
• Westminster Mall
• NewPark Mall
• Mission Valley Home
• Otay Ranch Town Center
• Village at Corte Madera
• Downtown Plaza

• Northfield Stapleton
• Streets at Southglenn Furniture

• Boca Raton Furniture
• Boynton Beach Mall
• Fort Lauderdale Furniture
• Pembroke Furniture
• South Dade Furniture
• West Shore Plaza
• Altamonte Furniture
• Southgate

• Gwinnett Furniture
• Gwinnett Place
• Johns Creek Town Center

• Silver Lake Mall

• White Oaks Mall

• Acadiana Mall

• Independence Mall

• Security Square
• Harford Mall

• Grand Traverse Mall
• Lakeside Mall
• Oakland Mall
• Genesee Valley Center

• Maplewood Mall
• Burnsville Center

• Metro North Mall
• South County Mall

• Essex Green Shopping Center

• Lake Success
• Melville Mall
• Queens Place
• Sheepshead Bay
• Mall at Greece Ridge
• Sunrise Mall
• Brooklyn
• Staten Island Furniture
• Fordham Place

• Fairfield Commons
• Franklin Park

• The Streets of Tanasbourne
• Salem Center

• Logan Valley Mall
• Exton Square Mall
• Philadelphia City Center
• Wyoming Valley Mall

• Oak Court

• Almeda Mall
• Fairview
• Shops at Willow Bend
• Southlake Town Square
• West Bend
• The Highlands of Flower Mound

• Southpark Mall

• South Hill Mall
• Redmond Furniture
• Kitsap Mall