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Macy's, Inc. is a historic, iconic U.S. omnichannel department store holding company headquartered in New York City, operating a portfolio of well-known retail brands across the U.S. and licensed locations in select Middle East markets. It is widely recognized as a core fixture of American consumer culture, most famously tied to the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a long-running national holiday tradition.
Key moments
1858Founded as the original R.H. Macy & Co. dry goods store by Rowland Hussey Macy in Manhattan, New York
1924Opened its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, marketed at the time as the world's largest department store
1994The Macy's brand was acquired by Federated Department Stores, unifying it under a major national retail ownership structure
2005Federated consolidated all its regional retail nameplates to the unified national Macy's brand identity
2014Expanded internationally via licensed partnership operations in Dubai and Kuwait
2020 onwardsLaunched accelerated digital transformation, shuttering underperforming large-format mall locations to prioritize omnichannel shopping integration
2026Operates roughly 700 total retail locations across U.S. states, Puerto Rico and Guam, with ecommerce revenue making up approximately one third of total annual sales
Macy's competes in the crowded, mature U.S. general merchandise retail space, facing pressure from three distinct cohorts of rivals: premium full-service department chains (Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue), mass-market big box retailers (Target, Walmart) that capture large shares of mid-tier apparel and home goods spend, and low-cost fast fashion plus pureplay ecommerce platforms (Amazon, Shein) that siphon younger, price-sensitive shoppers. Its strongest defensive moats are decades of household name recognition, exclusive co-branded lines with popular mid-market beauty, apparel and home brands, and massive recurring cultural events that drive unmatched peak season foot traffic and media exposure. Recent moves to expand smaller neighborhood concept stores and discounted off-price clearance locations have helped it retain consumers that might otherwise opt for value-focused competitors.
Strong, multi-generational national brand loyalty cultivated across 160+ years of U.S. retail operations
Diversified portfolio spanning mid-tier Macy's, premium Bloomingdale's, discount clearance formats and niche beauty retailer bluemercury to serve disparate consumer segments
Unrivaled annual marketing reach from the nationally broadcast Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which generates hundreds of millions of impressions every year
Long-running operational headwinds from falling foot traffic at traditional enclosed shopping malls, and steady market share erosion from fast fashion and ecommerce native competitors
Ongoing omnichannel upgrades including expanded same-day delivery and curbside pickup services to narrow the experience gap with leading digital-first retail peers
Macy's, Inc. stands as one of the most culturally embedded heritage retail brands in the United States, holding a unique position in global brand rankings rooted in its decades-long ties to core American consumer traditions. As a flagship department store holding company, its intangible brand equity is buoyed by household name recognition that extends far beyond its physical store footprint, with cultural assets such as the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade delivering unrivaled recurring national media exposure that no competing U.S. retail peer can match. This deep cultural embedding gives the brand a durable competitive moat that persists even amid widespread structural shifts in the global retail landscape.
Its brand strength is anchored in a carefully balanced omnichannel strategy that honors its 160+ year heritage while adapting to evolving modern consumer preferences. In recent years, leadership has rolled out targeted adjustments to its store portfolio, including smaller neighborhood concept locations and expanded off-price clearance offerings, that allow the brand to reach new customer segments without diluting the premium mid-market identity it has cultivated over generations. This adaptive approach has helped Macy's retain top-of-mind status for millions of U.S. shoppers planning seasonal apparel, home goods, and gift purchases.
While Macy's operates in a crowded, highly competitive retail space facing pressure from big box chains, fast fashion platforms, and pureplay e-commerce players, its longstanding brand loyalty and exclusive partnerships with popular mid-market beauty, apparel, and home brands create sustained demand that is not easily disrupted. World Brand Lab analysis frames Macy's brand strength as a unique case study in heritage retail resilience, demonstrating that legacy category leaders can maintain high brand relevance if they continue to tie their identity to widely shared, culturally resonant public experiences.
Brand Leadership
Score: 72/100
As a legacy category-defining U.S. department store operator, Macy's holds unrivaled cultural leadership among mass-market mid-tier national retail chains, with verified 90%+ spontaneous brand recognition across U.S. consumer households, and it regularly sets seasonal merchandising and holiday marketing benchmarks followed by the broader domestic retail sector.
Consumer Interaction
Score: 68/100
The brand boasts tens of millions of active loyalty program members, drives consistent high-volume social media engagement around its annual parade and limited-time holiday sales events, and has invested heavily in personalized omnichannel shopping experiences including curbside pickup and exclusive member-only promotions to deepen ongoing customer connection.
Brand Momentum
Score: 61/100
Recent strategic expansions to small-format neighborhood stores and off-price clearance locations, plus new co-brand partnerships with Gen Z-focused beauty and apparel creators, have slowed customer churn and begun to attract younger consumer segments, even as the broader department store sector faces gradual long-term contraction.
Brand Stability
Score: 75/100
Macy's has operated continuously through multiple major economic cycles including the Great Depression, 2008 financial crisis, and 2020 public health disruptions, maintaining consistent core revenue streams from its loyal customer base while avoiding the widespread bankruptcy filings that have collapsed dozens of competing U.S. department store chains over the past 20 years.
Brand Heritage & Age
Score: 94/100
Founded in 1858, Macy's carries more than 167 years of unbroken operating history, with its brand identity deeply woven into the fabric of 19th, 20th and 21st century American consumer culture, creating a level of inherited consumer trust that cannot be replicated by newer digitally native retail competitors.
Industry Competitive Profile
Score: 70/100
Macy's occupies a distinct, defensible niche at the mid-tier of the U.S. general merchandise retail sector, with exclusive co-branded product lines, owned private label brands, and unrivaled holiday event IP that insulate it to a meaningful degree from price competition from mass market big box and fast fashion peers.
Global Brand Reach
Score: 42/100
While Macy's has near-universal recognition in North America, its active international footprint remains limited to a small number of licensed partner locations in select Middle East markets, with no standalone owned retail operations on other continents, leaving significant untapped potential for global brand expansion.
AI-powered analytical frameworks can support structured brand value reasoning for Macy's, Inc., generating context-rich preliminary assessments that tie brand strength metrics to market performance and cultural equity. All illustrative value figures shared in this supplement are for informational and contextual purposes only, and are not formally audited. For fully verified, rigorously audited official brand value assessments for Macy's, stakeholders are advised to contact World Brand Lab directly for formal evaluation results.
Macy's, Inc. (previously Federated Department Stores, Inc.) is an American holding company of department stores.Upon its establishment in 1929, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, Filene's, and Shillito's.Bloomingdale's joined Federated Department Stores the next year. Throughout its early history, frequent acquisitions and divestitures saw the company operate a number of nameplates. In 1994, Federated took over Macy's, the old department store chain originally founded in 1858 by American entrepreneur Rowland Hussey Macy.Despite Federated's long history of preserving regional nameplates, its acquisition of the May Department Stores Company in 2005 marked the end of those nameplates. By the following year, both the Macy's and Bloomingdale's brands had replaced them nationwide. Ultimately, Federated itself was renamed Macy's, Inc. in 2007; the company bought Bluemercury in 2015 from Berry J. Beck and Marla Malcolm Beck, allowing the company to expand into beauty stores.
Macy's, Inc. owns the department store chains Bloomingdale's and Macy's, and beauty store chain Bluemercury, all of which operate flagship stores in Manhattan.As of October 2022, it operates 722 locations in the United States, Guam, and Puerto Rico.The company was the world's largest fashion goods retailer and the 36th-largest retailer overall in 2010.[3] Macy's, Inc. has been headquartered within Macy's Herald Square in New York City since 2020, and was previously headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, from 1945 until 2020.
Operations as Federated
Early history
Federated Department Stores traces its corporate lineage to F&R Lazarus & Company, founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1851.In the summer of 1929, months before the Wall Street Crash of 1929, Fred Lazarus Jr. met with Walter N. Rothschild from Abraham & Straus of Brooklyn and Edward Filene from Filene's of Boston on Rothschild's yacht in Long Island Sound.The three businessmen agreed to merge their stores and form Federated Department Stores, as a department store holding company for F&R Lazarus & Company (including its Cincinnati division, then known as Shillito's), Abraham & Straus, and William Filene's Sons of Boston.In 1930, Bloomingdale Brothers of New York joined.[4]
Operations as Macy's, Inc.
2000s
On February 27, 2007, Federated announced that its board of directors would ask shareholders to change the company's name to Macy's Group, Inc.[28][29] By March 28, the company revised its plans for the new name, opting to eventually become Macy's, Inc. Federated shareholders approved the revised proposal during the company's annual meeting on May 18, 2007.[30]
The name took effect on June 1, 2007.[31] The reasoning for the proposed name change—according to Terry Lundgren, Federated's chairman, president, and chief executive officer—hinges on the large-scale conversions throughout the company toward the Macy's nameplate."Today, we are a brand-driven company focused on Macy's and Bloomingdale's, not a federation of department stores," Lundgren said in the company's press release heralding the proposed name.[32]
Nameplates
Previous nameplates
Criticism
The conversion of Marshall Field's in Chicago was particularly criticized, with many customers boycotting its historic State Street flagship store. The Chicago Tribune continues to report on the poor reception of Macy's in Chicago.Pittsburgh customers also strongly resisted the name change from Kaufmann's, in part because of the Kaufmann family role in Pittsburgh history, as well as the central store's Christmas windows and holiday parade.
3.Deloitte, Switching Channels: Global Powers of Retailing 2012, January 2012, at pp. G11 and G27.^
In the mid-1930s, a modern merchandising standard was set when Fred Lazarus Jr. arranged garments in groups of a single size with a range of style, color and price, basing the technique upon observations made in Paris.
As well, Lazarus convinced President Franklin D. Roosevelt that it would help American economy to change the Thanksgiving holiday from the last Thursday of November to the fourth Thursday, thus extending the Christmas shopping season.
An act of Congress perpetuated the arrangement in 1941.
Black Friday became a nationwide sensation and the most profitable day for Federated.
(Robert Lazarus Jr. worked at Federated until he died in 2013, the last remaining family member with an official role at the company.[5])
In 1945, Federated moved its corporate offices to Cincinnati.[6] The latter half of the 20th century saw the company expand nationwide, adding Rike Kumler of Dayton, Ohio (merged into Shillito's in the 1980s to become Shillito-Rike's); Burdines of Miami, Florida; Rich's of Atlanta, Georgia; Foley's of Houston, Texas; Sanger Brothers and A. Harris, both of Dallas, Texas (which were merged to form Sanger-Harris); Boston Store of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; MainStreet of Chicago, Illinois; Bullock's, of Los Angeles; I. Magnin, of San Francisco, California; Gold Circle; and Richway Discount Department Stores of Worthington, Ohio.Federated entered the supermarket industry in 1968 when it acquired the Ralphs chain based in Southern California.[7] In 1982, Federated acquired the Twin Fair, Inc. discount store chain based in Buffalo, New York, and merged it with Gold Circle.[8] In 1983, Federated sold four shopping center properties to JMB Realty.[9]
Acquisition by Campeau
Canadian real estate developer Robert Campeau – who had taken over and dismembered Allied Stores in 1986 – attempted to take over Federated starting in early 1988 which Federated fought off in a high-profile battle, with Macy's (at that time not part of Federated, but a rival), also submitting competitive bids of over $6 billion.[10] Nonetheless, in April 1988, Federated gave in and agreed to a $6.6 billion takeover by Campeau. It was the largest merger in corporate history, barring the oil sector. Macy's paid Campeau $1.1 billion to acquire the 20-store Bullock's/Bullocks Wilshire and the 25-store specialty apparel chain I. Magnin.[11] Two years later, Federated filed for bankruptcy after Campeau failed to refinance the debt of Federated and Allied Stores Corp.[12] In 1992, Campeau was ousted and Federated emerged from bankruptcy as a new public company, Federated Stores, Inc., dropping the word "Department" from the previous company.[13] As part of the reorganization, Federated sold the Ralphs chain to a group of owners led by Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation.[14]
Acquisition of Macy's
Also in 1992, Macy's declared bankruptcy; Federated acquired it two years later, in 1994.[15] The name of the once-main-rival of Federated, Macy's, would soon become the consumer-facing identity of most of Federated's stores.
In 1995 Federated bought Broadway Stores, Inc. and its California-based Emporium-Capwell, Weinstock's and The Broadway chains.[16] Macy's changed the nameplate of these three chains and Bullock's to Macy's, or in some cases, turned locations into Bloomingdales. In 2003, Federated changed the nameplates of almost all their remaining non-Macy's stores – the lone exception was Bloomingdales – to include the Macy's name, a rebranding internally dubbed Project Hyphen. For example, Seattle-based The Bon Marché became Bon-Macy's; Goldsmith's in Tennessee became Goldsmith's-Macy's; Lazarus, Burdines, and Rich's also added "-Macy's" to their name. A year later, the hyphenated names were changed to simply Macy's, a rebranding process referred internally to as Project Star.
Federated began selling goods online in 1998, rather later than most contemporary large retailers; Federated ran a private bank, FDS Bank, which issued and maintained the majority of its own consumer credit card portfolio,[17] was one of the last credit card banks to begin to allow its cardholders to access account information online (around 2004).
In 1998, Federated settled an SEC investigation for $14.46 million (equivalent to $ in ) due to unethical debt-collection practices.Federated routinely forced credit card holders/debtors to sign an agreement that legally bound them to repay their outstanding balances instead of having the unsecured debt discharge via the filing of bankruptcy. Federated failed to file reaffirmation agreements with bankruptcy courts. As a result, the changes in the agreements were not legally binding.[18][19][20][21]
In 2001 Federated acquired Liberty House of Hawaii as it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.It was managed as part of Macy's West and all the store names were changed to Macy's.[22] The department store chain Stern's, a division of Federated, ceased operations in 2001 and most of its stores became Macy's stores.[23]
In 2005, Federated agreed to sell its credit card business to Citigroup.[24]
Acquisition of May
On February 28, 2005, Federated Department Stores announced that it would acquire May Department Stores company for $11 billion (equivalent to $ in ).[25] Also part of the buyout was the bridal and formal unit of May, consisting of David's Bridal and After Hours Formalwear. Federated would also assume $6 billion (equivalent to $ in ) of May's debt, bringing total consideration to $17 billion (equivalent to $ in ). The deal would create the nation's largest department store chain with over 1,000 stores and $30 billion (equivalent to $ in ) in annual sales. To help finance the deal, Federated agreed to sell its combined proprietary credit card business (but still administered by FACS Group, a subsidiary of Federated) to Citigroup. The merger was completed on August 30, 2005, after an assurance agreement was reached with the Attorneys General of New York, California, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
As a result of the merger, Federated also in the process reacquired two of their former department store chains Foley's & Filene's (Which Federated originally sold to May Company), putting them back under the Federated Department Stores corporate umbrella for the first time since 1988.
Federated announced plans to sell 80 store locations in 2006, having pledged in its settlement to sell most of them as viable businesses, with preference being given to a group of thirteen competitors. This number could fluctuate pursuant to Federated's negotiations with various mall landlords and its final decision regarding using former Macy locations for its luxury Bloomingdale's operation.
On January 12, 2006, Federated announced its plans to divest May Company's Lord & Taylor division (55 stores in 12 states) by the end of 2006.[26] On June 22, 2006, Macy's announced that NRDC Equity Partners, LLC would purchase Lord & Taylor for US$1.2 billion (equivalent to $ in ), and completed the sale in October 2006.
On September 9, 2006, the former May Company store names Famous-Barr, Filene's, Foley's, Hecht's, The Jones Store, Kaufmann's, L. S. Ayres, Marshall Field's, Meier & Frank, Robinsons-May, and Strawbridge's disappeared as Federated switched most of them to the Macy's masthead and a few to the Bloomingdale's name.One of the consequences of this rebranding is that several malls have two Macy's stores. In downtown Boston, Federated liquidated an acquired Filene's because it already had a Macy's (formerly a Jordan Marsh) across the street. The two stores have a combined floorspace of more than 1400000 sqft, more than two-thirds the size of Macy's New York City flagship store.
On November 17, 2006, the bridal and formal unit was sold. David's Bridal and Priscilla of Boston were sold to Leonard Green & Partners.After Hours Formalwear was sold to Men's Wearhouse.[27]
Upon the change to Macy's Inc., Federated's stock
ticker symbol
on the New York Stock Exchange changed from "FD" to "M", making the new Macy's Inc. one of a handful of single-letter ticker symbol companies.
In April 2008, Moody's Investors Service said that it might downgrade Macy's Inc. bonds to just above junk status.[34] That same month, Fitch Ratings downgraded their bond credit rating to BBB− from BBB, noting a deterioration in the company's operating and credit metrics.
The domain macysinc.com attracted at least 3 million visitors annually by 2008, according to a Compete.com survey.[35]
On Wednesday, February 6, 2008, Terry Lundgren announced the localization strategy and the company's plan to shed 2,550 jobs. This new localization strategy is known as "My Macy's".
Employees of the Macy's North headquarters office in Minneapolis, the Macy's Northwest headquarters office in Seattle, and the Macy's Midwest headquarters office in St. Louis were given pink slips, as Macy's pared its seven regional centers to four. About 40 new jobs were to be created in May as part of the restructuring. By 2009, the company expected to save $100 million (equivalent to $ in ) a year from the cuts.
On February 2, 2009, Macy's announced the elimination of 7,000 jobs, or 4% of its workforce, and slashed its dividend as it looked to lower expenses as part of a major restructuring. Cincinnati-based Macy's Inc. stated that the workforce reduction included positions in offices, stores, and other locations, and the cuts include some unfilled jobs."Reducing our workforce is an unfortunate outcome of the current economic environment, and I am frustrated that so many of our people will be unable to move forward with us as we proceed into a very exciting future for Macy's and Bloomingdale's" said Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and chief executive officer.
Macy's also got rid of its division structure and integrated its functions into one organization. Macy's central buying, merchandise planning, stores senior management and marketing functions merged to its New York City corporate office (formerly Macy's East). Corporate-related business functions, such as finance and human resources, will be primarily in Cincinnati. To buy with local consumers in mind, Macy's developed a concept called "My Macy's", in which the buyers and planners all look at what the local consumer base is looking for in their local Macy's store. This will help bring a better sense of branding, sizing, and marketing to each Macy's store nationwide.
Macy's Inc. decided to close the Bloomingdale's at the Mall of America in Minnesota. Since 1992, Bloomingdale's had been one of the 4 anchor stores of the mall, and will be replaced with a $30 million renovation with four new foreign clothing stores.
2010s
On October 14, 2013, Macy's Inc. announced the decision to open most of their stores for the first time on Thanksgiving Day 2013, breaking a long-standing tradition of 155 years, and joined the ranks of retailers who created Gray Thursday the year before.Its doors opened at 8 p.m. (local time) on the holiday evening, and remained open for 24 hours straight until the close of business on Friday, which is usually about 10 p.m.[36]
As of, Macy's Inc. was valued at US$28 billion.[37]
In September 2015, Macy's announced it would close 40 stores, 5% of its total stores in early 2016. It also announced plans to open 6 additional Macy's Backstage locations. From 2010 to 2015, Macy's had closed 52 stores and opened 12.[38]
2020s
In February 2020, Macy's announced that its headquarters in downtown Cincinnati would be closing as part of a restructuring with further cutbacks.This news came after a gradual pulling out of the Cincinnati area, with most corporate executives, including the CEO, already at the company's other headquarters in New York City.[39] The Cincinnati headquarters building has since been converted to a rental apartment building with 341 units, which is to open in spring 2025.[40]
In November 2021, Macy's announced the launch of its digital marketplace, which set to debut in the second half of 2022. Macy's will partner with AlixPartners and Mirakl.[41]
In November 2023, it was reported that Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management had offered to buy Macy's Inc. for $5.8 billion.[42] Macy's rejected the unsolicited offer in January 2024 as undervalued.[43] The investor group increased their offer to $6.6billion two months later.[44]
In February 2024, Macy's announced it would close 150 stores by 2026.[45]
