Macy's net sales down to $5.173 bn in Q3 2019

“After seven consecutive quarters of comparable sales growth, we experienced a deceleration in our third quarter sales. While we anticipated a negative comp as we were lapping a very strong third quarter last year, the sales deceleration was steeper than we expected. However, having cleared the excess inventory we faced earlier in the year, we were able to take a more balanced approach to sales and profit in the quarter, resulting in significantly improved margin compression versus the first half of the year,” said Jeff Gennette, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc. “Our third quarter sales were impacted by the late arrival of cold weather, continued soft international tourism and weaker than anticipated performance in lower tier malls. We also experienced a temporary impact on our e-commerce business due in part to work on the site in preparation for the fourth quarter. The team has completed that work, the site is upgraded and our customers can expect an improved experience this holiday season. Based primarily on the impact of our third quarter sales trend, we are updating our annual guidance.”

“We have confidence in our holiday strategies. The Macy’s, Bloomingdales and Bluemercury teams are aligned and committed to delivering a great experience for our customers in our stores, on our digital sites and through our mobile apps. We have fully updated our Growth150 stores and completed the 2019 expansion of Backstage. We have curated an expanded gift assortment with great values in all categories and developed a powerful marketing calendar for both our best and occasional customers. This holiday season, we also have even more flexible, secure and convenient fulfillment options for our customers including Pick Up in Store and Same Day Delivery,” added Gennette.

Macy's, Inc is updating its previously provided annual guidance. The company has lowered its comparable sales (owned plus licensed) guidance to 1.5 per cent to 1 per cent. Guidance for comparable sales (owned) is approximately 20 basis points below comparable sales on an owned plus licensed basis. Net sales guidance is down 2.5 per cent to down 2 per cent. Adjusted diluted earnings per share is predicted in the range of $2.57 to $2.77.

Macy’s, Inc is one of the nation’s premier retailers, with fiscal 2018 sales of $24.971 billion and approximately 130,000 employees. The company operates approximately 680 department stores under the nameplates Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, and approximately 190 specialty stores that include Bloomingdale’s The Outlet, Bluemercury, and Macy’s Backstage.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (PC)