Macy’s report drop in same-store sale

Macy’s (NYSE: M), a US-based luxury department store chain, reported that same-store sales fell 0.6% in the last two months of the last year, which is less than 1.75% expected by the market analysts, although this projection concerns the entire Q4.

Still, the market liked the numbers as they were well above the market expectations. As a result, shares of Macy’s opened 2% higher in New York today.

The latest numbers from Macy’s are better than those reported by their competitors, namely J.C. Penney and Nordstrom, whose overall sales declined 1.8% in the same reporting period.

In November, Macy’s reported a revenue of $5.17 billion, which was lower than $5.32 billion expected by market analysts. On the other hand, the earnings per share came in at $0.07 while the market expected breakeven number.

Moreover, the company announced the decision to close in total 29 stores as part of its annual business review. The list includes 28 Macy’s stores and one Bloomingdale’s location.

The news concerning store closures doesn’t come as a surprise as the retailer has already been through several rounds of store closures in the past couple of years amid mounting competition and a shift to online shopping. In 2016, Macy’s announced that it would close around 100 stores across the U.S. Since then, it was reported that the retailer closed another 30 locations.

As confessed by Gennette in November, one of the major weaknesses of his company is the weaker-than-expected performance at “lower-tier malls.”

The company is expected to present a fresh three-year strategy in a meeting with investors on Feb. 5 in New York.