Macy’s Reports Another Drop in Sales but Sees ‘Traction’ in Turnaround

By Jordyn Holman
May 21, 2024

The News

Macy’s, the largest department store chain in the United States, on Tuesday reported a decline in sales for the first quarter of the year, a sign that the U.S. shoppers are continuing to pull back on discretionary purchases. But the retailer’s chief executive said there were signs that its turnaround plan was gaining “traction.”

Macy’s said its comparable-store sales in the United States fell 1.2 percent from the same quarter a year earlier. The retailer has not reported a sales increase since the first quarter of 2022. It reported a first-quarter profit of $62 million, less than half of what it made in the same quarter last year.

Sales at the namesake Macy’s brand were the weakest of all of the company’s brands, falling 1.6 percent. Sales at Bloomingdale’s rose 0.8 percent, and Bluemercury’s sales rose 4.3 percent.

Macy’s slightly raised the low end of its sales forecast to $22.3 billion for the year, from the $22.2 billion it had expected in February. It also bumped up its profit forecast a bit. ... The company’s stock rose in premarket trading, and is roughly flat this year.

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