A ‘Barron’s Roundtable’ panel provides insight on investing in Macy’s, Nordstrom and Gilead Sciences.
Macy’s CEO Tony Spring isn’t in favor of spinning off its luxury brands Bluemercury and Bloomingdales, despite calls by activist investors to do so.
“We continue to believe that there are synergies that are leveraged between the three brands, between warehousing, legal, finance, back end operations and joint brand negotiation. There’s just so much opportunity for us to kind of leverage the scale of the portfolio,” Spring said Sunday during a discussion at the National Retail Federations (NRF) 2025 Retail’s Big Show conference in New York City.
The company, which announced a new strategic turnaround plan called “A Bold New Chapter” in February, “doubled down” on Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury brands “as growth engines as a part of our luxury sector,” Spring said.
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He also said that the store experience could be better with a smaller portfolio within the Macy’s brand.
Regardless, Spring is aiming to “make the case to the public markets that this three-brand portfolio has more value than we are showing today.”
A shopper exits at Macy’s on Nov. 24, 2023, in Union Square, San Francisco, California. (Ethan Swope/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Its last fiscal quarter, which ended on Sept. 30, Bluemercury saw its 15th straight quarter of growth in stores open at least a year. During the same quarter, Bloomingdale’s “returned to positive” same-store sales, the company said in a regulatory filing.
In December, Barington Capital, Thor Equities LLC and their respective affiliates – all Macy’s shareholders – issued a report recommending that the retailer make changes to its capital allocation strategy and consider other structural actions to improve shareholder value.
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Macy’s, which once established itself as a premier department store, has long been struggling to keep up with rapid industry changes and relentless competition, forcing it to create the new strategic plan to return the company to “sustainable, profitable sales.”
Macy’s announced a new strategic turnaround plan called “A Bold New Chapter” in February. (Reuteres/Shannon Stapleton / Reuters Photos)
Barington Capital CEO Jim Mitarotonda told FOX Business, that it would be smart to spin off Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury and have them trade independently of Macy’s because they would trade at a higher multiple than their corporate parent.
“It’s imperative for the board of directors and the management team to look at how to maximize value for the owners of the company to shareholders of whom they are as well,” Mitarotonda previously told FOX Business.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | MACY’S INC. | 13.79 | -0.23 | -1.68% |
He also suggested that Macy’s needs to reignite its creativity by featuring more exciting products in stores and hosting engaging events to attract younger generations back to its stores.
Part of the company’s strategy includes revamping 50 key stores, also known as the “First 50,” which it aims to use as a model for the next generation of Macy’s locations.
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Macy’s also plans to shutter about 150 “underproductive” stores by the end of 2026. The company is closing 66 Macy’s locations this year.
