Any knowledge or rumors on how Backstage in stores is going to fit in the whole grand scheme of things?
Personally, I hope they do away with it. I don't have a problem with Macy's having an off-price entity but they should have kept it as originally initiated with offsite locations similar to Nodstrom Rack or the former Filene's Basement. To me bringing it in stores cheapened the Macy's brand and turned Macy's into a glorified T. J. Maxx
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Keep some locations as Backstage only. Bloomingdale’s except for Outlet Stores should have a cafe to help with the upscale customer experience. Many Nordstrom’s (not Rack stores) that I see have a cafe right outside their stores. High volume Macys as well bring in Starbucks or another cafe type setup. Have to make the shopping experience more desirable. Have to step up as far as assortment also to stay competitive.
Macy's has tried to be everything to everyone and has found itself in a crowded market with nothing to make it stand out. Take some of the lower tier stores and make them permanent Backstage/Last Act locations and keep some of the higher end markets just below Bloomingdales and make those stores shine without that merchandise in it.
I’ve always said that Backstage should have been akin to a Dillard’s Clearance Center for Macy’s.
I would have rolled out Backstage to the larger performing doors with under utilized space and used that as an in-house method to draw customers who wanted bargains and steals on previous season merchandise.
Now I’ve always been on the fence about Last Act’s pricing model for the main reason that customers love the idea of coupons. He-l I would do 1st marks only with coupon usage and you’d clear all your cr-p within days. I hate seeing all this space going to Last Act with clothes just piling up at the various Macy’s stores I visit. It looks unsightly and this is a problem.
If we are heading in the direction that Tony wants us to go, then we have to ditch these initiatives that makes Macy’s look cheap!
Sorry to the commenters who are anti backstage but off price is the future. Affordable prices with current trends. Not some outdated dept store that’s overly priced and boring to shop.
Just because Backstage is making plan it does not mean that it is profitable. In fact, backstage is a profit drainer as there is no reverse logistics. It cost us more to sell it vs what comp purchases the goods at. There is more to running a business out side of making “plan”.
Backstage business has been amazing all of 2024. Almost every dept beat or made plan so why should they close those stores. Clearly the customer is gravitating to affordable prices. Macys is way too high and they run a mosh mosh of overly penetrated sales. It would be a really bad business decision to mess with backstage bc right now, they are their only saving grace even though they are a small percent to the total company’s business. The backstage stores always have a nice flow of traffic and Macys is always a ghost town so what does that tell you? People don’t care about Calvin Klein and RL and TH anymore. Those are dated brands that really target boomers and older gen Xers. Macys doesn’t know how to stay current and relevant. Their private brands are like carbon copies of each other. There is nothing special and they are way over priced. Leave backstage alone.
I think they need to take all the go forward stores and renovate them nicely with great merchandising and remove backstage/ last act! If they want to insist on the smaller stores in strip centers then make them backstage and last act close out stores. Heck, make lower performing locations last act locations. That way the discounted goods are away from the main stores and allows for it to be upscale through and through like Dillards.
As a Macy's employee of many years, I could not agree more. If Macy's, under Tony Springs leadership, is supposedly going more high-end, then how does keeping Backstage
in stores work? Again, Macy's needs to decide who their customer is and stay in their lane. Can't be all things to everyone- because then the store is nothing to no one.