Macy's CEO Tony Spring Talks Store Improvements

Macy's CEO Tony Spring sits down with Bloomberg's Romaine Bostick to chat about the current outlook of the franchise.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. You know, we were
just talking about the increase in foot traffic in malls.
A little bit earlier, I had a chance to catch
up with the CEO of Macy's, Tony Spring, to talk
about the increase in foot traffic specifically in department stores
and obviously specifically in the big brands that he manages,

(00:23):
including Macy's and Bloomingdale's, and his big turnaround strategy to
lessen the overall footprint of some of those stores a
leaner organization. Take a listen to what he had to say.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
Just said about improving the customer experience. So we've had
record customer service scores. That's our net promoter score. Would
people recommend Macy's to a friend? And we're seeing scores
we've never thought possible at the brand, and that was
a real focus of mine. We've improved the quality of
the assortments. I thought there was way too much redundancy,
way too many of the same things, and I thought

(00:56):
the breadth of what we offer as a department store
needed to improve. We need to go good, better, best,
contemporary to classic in a range of brands things. As
we've talked about that are convenient, that you've heard of,
that you count on, Staples, Levi's, Nike, and then at
the same time, we've got to be there introducing new
things that you haven't heard of that are becoming more
popular because people are looking for that combination and a destination.

(01:20):
We also wanted to make sure that our team was
working together. So I'm a big believer that you need strategy,
you need culture, you need leadership, and you need execution.
We're now at the point where those four elements are
coming together and we're delivering a better experience for the consumer.
But you can't kind of have one without the other.
You know, a great culture without a great business, a

(01:42):
great business without a great culture. The combination of elements
is what I sought out to do when I kind
of came into the role, and I do think that,
you know, patients and determination go together. You have to
have the patients to kind of lay out what you
want to accomplish. You have to accept the fact that
some things just don't happen because you snap your fingers,
and then you have to have the determination the ambition

(02:03):
to kind of go after what you think is the
right thing to do for the business.

Speaker 1 (02:07):
A big part of your strategy. This bold new chapter
is also to shrink the footprint of Macy's. At its peak,
you guys had what seven to eight hundred stores. You're
less than what four hundred now around four hundred four
hundred today, and the plan is to go down to
roughly about three point fifty. You've done a big remodel
of some of the existing stores already one hundred and

(02:27):
twenty five. How much further does that go in twenty
twenty six.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
We'll add more stores in twenty six, and we'll close
some more stores in twenty six. And I think, as
you described it is working on both sides of the equation.
Closing stores is not alone a strategy. Reimagining stores without
dealing with stores that are past their prime is not
complete enough of a strategy. So we want to make
sure that we're doing both things, and of course it's

(02:51):
supported by a healthier digital business, one that is both
a place of transaction and a place of discovery. We
want to build relationships with consumer. That means we have
to be able to provide a better experience where they live.
We think of the digital business as a channel at times,
and I'm like, no, the digital business actually a geography.
The people who shop digitally in New York shop in

(03:14):
their stores in New York, and they want to see
a great experience digitally, physically and in between