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Macy’s gets into the off-price business
The retailer will open four Macy’s Backstage stores this fall in the New York City area that will sell marked-down merchandise, including jewelry.
New York--Macy’s has announced that it will launch an off-price division called Macy’s Backstage this fall, beginning with four pilot stores in the New York City area.
Each location will be about 30,000 square feet and offer an assortment of products including fine jewelry as well as clothing, shoes, fashion accessories and housewares. The merchandise will be a mix of clearance products from regular Macy’s stores and special discounted buys from specific brands.
The stores also will have amenities such as free Wi-Fi, and one location also will test a café concept, Macy’s said.
The retailers is expected to hire about 30 staff associates for each.
The pilot stores will be located in the following neighborhoods:
--Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, N.Y.;
--Queens Place, Elmhurst, Queens, N.Y.;
--Lake Success Shopping Center, New Hyde Park, N.Y.; and
--Melville Mall, Huntington, N.Y.
“We believe we can deliver a whole new level of value to customers who appreciate fashion and love to hunt for a bargain,” said Peter Sachse, Macy’s chief innovation and business development officer. “Macy’s Backstage stores will be designed to surprise and delight customers with continuously updated and fresh merchandise assortments focused on delivering current fashion with incredible prices, day-in and day-out, and enthusiastic sales associates.”
Macy’s currently operates about 885 full-line Macy’s stores across 45 states and Washington, D.C.
The company has indicated that its new off-price business is a key growth initiative for it, aligning it with a number of other major high-end and mid-tier retailers that have been putting more focus on their outlet divisions, including Saks and its Off 5th stores, Nordstrom with Rack and Signet Jewelers Ltd. with its new Jared Vault concept and the acquisition of the Ultra outlet chain.
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