The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
NEW YORK, United States — Macy's Inc., the largest department-store chain, forecast annual earnings that fell short of analysts' estimates after posting disappointing sales growth during the holiday season.
Earnings will be $4.70 to $4.80 a share this year, the Cincinnati-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. Analysts had estimated $4.84 on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Comparable-store sales increased 2 percent in the fourth quarter, trailing the company’s earlier forecast of as much as 3 percent growth.
Macy’s Chief Executive Officer Terry Lundgren is relying less on deep discounts, a strategy that helps profit margins but makes it harder to get customers in the door. He’s also working to broaden the chain’s customer base with new brands, including Bluemercury, a beauty chain that will open boutiques in some Macy’s stores.
Macy’s said earlier this month that it would pay $210 million in cash for Bluemercury and plans to expand the chain of luxury spas. Bluemercury, based in Washington, D.C., has 60 stores with 500 associates.
By Lindsey Rupp. Editors: Nick Turner, Andrew Pollack.
In 2020, like many companies, the $50 billion yoga apparel brand created a new department to improve internal diversity and inclusion, and to create a more equitable playing field for minorities. In interviews with BoF, 14 current and former employees said things only got worse.
For fashion’s private market investors, deal-making may provide less-than-ideal returns and raise questions about the long-term value creation opportunities across parts of the fashion industry, reports The State of Fashion 2024.
A blockbuster public listing should clear the way for other brands to try their luck. That, plus LVMH results and what else to watch for in the coming week.
L Catterton, the private-equity firm with close ties to LVMH and Bernard Arnault that’s preparing to take Birkenstock public, has become an investment giant in the consumer-goods space, with stakes in companies selling everything from fashion to pet food to tacos.