According to reports emerging today, Macy’s long-term CEO Terry Lundgren will be stepping down from his post as of next year. Lundgren has been in the role for almost 13 years.
Jeff Gennette, Macy’s current president, will take over as CEO — a move that Macy’s reports is part of its existent succession plan.
Macy’s has grown sharply under Lundgren’s near decade-and-a-half of leadership. In 2005, Macy’s (still called Federated Department Stores Inc. at the time) bought out the No. 2 department store chain, May Department Stores Co., for about $11.5 billion.
Recent headwinds blowing through the retail sector of late — including falling foot traffic, increasing digital dominance and slumping sales figures — have been buffeted in Macy’s particularly hard. The nation’s largest department store chain recently put up its worst quarterly numbers since the Great Recession. And while rough quarterly results were not unique to Macy’s in early 2016, Macy’s has its share of unique headwinds, including Amazon entering directly into their apparel retail vertical, a public pay cut for Lundgren early this year and a recent labor kerfuffle that nearly blew up into a full-fledged strike.
Today, Macy’s operates about 870 stores in 45 states under its namesake brand, as well as Bloomingdale’s.
“Now is the time to reset our business model to thrive in a future that is being driven by rapid evolution in consumer preferences and shopping habits,” Lundgren said, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Shares of Macy’s were down 1.1 percent in premarket trading as the news about Lundgren’s departure went public
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More