It’s 2.5 Paws Up for Macy’s!

While Macy’s has gotten a bad rap in the last couple of years, we think they’re on their way to making a comeback. Ignoring the recent data breach, Macy’s has been making an effort to reposition itself and play on at least some of its assets.

For example:

• They’ve recently started to work more closely with influencers, well-known ones with established followings and even more interesting, using its store employees and stylists as Instagram influencers to drive sales.  Read more here.

• They’re extending their store-within-a-store concept to include pop-up marketplaces which are meant to drive traffic back repeatedly to view what’s next, similar to Story which they recently acquired. 

• Although they’re still trying to figure this out, Macy’s also jumped into the popular off-price segment by opening Backstage. 

• Noting the growth in the beauty segment, Macy’s is accelerating the expansion of its Bluemercury private label beauty banner, with plans for 30 standalone stores and shops-in-shop in Macy’s stores in 2019, Bloomberg reports. As of May 5, Macy’s operates 159 Bluemercury locations (139 freestanding and 20 inside Macy’s stores.

• The legacy store has also jumped in the subscription box trend and started a subscription beauty box (Macy’s Beauty Box). 

• And last but not least, they’ve launched a partnership with b8ta, a retail-as-a-service platform for brands that want a physical presence 

While they’re stumbling in some of these initiatives, we give them credit for making a go of it and for being willing to fight to stay in the game. They’re choosing interesting trends, tapping into their biggest assets–such as beauty, an audience, and real estate–and seem to have stopped looking back to look toward a brighter future for the brand.

We look forward to your comments on LinkedIn here.