Huge Retailer With 92 California and Idaho Locations Plans Mass Closures

As a teenager, the department stores weren’t always your first destination when you went to spend the day with your friends at the mall. But as an adult? You appreciate how much of your shopping you can get done in one place. Unfortunately, one of the most iconic department store brands in America is on the struggle bus. 

Name us a department store more iconic than Macy’s. We’ll wait. Thanks to it being a central plot point in both the 1947 and 1994 versions of the beloved Christmas movie, Miracle on 34th Street and it being the driving force behind the most famous parade in the country, we think that might be a tall task. 

While we’re not sure that Macy’s is at the point where it goes the way of Sears where they close most of their major stores, the retailer did recently announce plans to close 150 underperforming stores over the next two years. CNN Business reports that 50 of those will close before the end of this year. 

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This is the second “reduction” announcement that Macy’s has made this year. In January, they shared that the company made the difficult decision to lay off more than 2,300 employees. Reports, like this one from Good Housekeeping, seem to indicate that while declining sales may have a small role in the decision to close the 150 Macy’s locations, pressure from shareholders is likely a factor two. 

Which Macy’s Stores Are Closing?

Macy’s didn’t release an official list of which locations were closing when they shared the plan to shutter the 150 stores. However, back in January, they did release a small list of five locations they planned to close including two in California. The stores at Bayfair Center in San Leandro and Simi Valley Town Center in Simi Valley appeared on that list. 

ABC7 confirmed with a supervisor that the department store’s flagship location at Union Square in San Francisco is on the chopping block. However, that supervisor said that it will be business as usual at that store until they sell the property, which may not be before the end of this year. 

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Macy’s currently has 90 locations in California and just two in Idaho. Those Idaho locations are inside the Boise Towne Square Mall and Silver Lake Mall in Coeur d’Alene. The legendary brand closed a store in Downtown Boise in 2010 and a location at the Nampa Gateway in 2017.