NEW YORK, United States — Department store operator Macy's Inc said Executive Chairman and former Chief Executive Terry Lundgren would retire from the board at the end of January, completing the handover of both his roles to chief executive Jeff Gennette.

Gennette, who has been CEO of the US retailer since March, was widely expected to become chairman as part of a succession plan announced in June last year.

Shares in Macy's, which have gained about 25 percent since the holiday shopping season began at Thanksgiving, were up 2.5 percent after the bell on Friday.

Like other traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, Macy's has been struggling to fend off competition from online retailers such as Amazon.com Inc .

Before he stepped down as CEO, Lundgren pioneered a sweeping turnaround at Macy's, closing underperforming stores and separating real estate assets from its retail business to better monetize its physical stores.

By Siddharth Cavale and Richa Naidu; editors: Anil D'Silva and Rosalba O'Brien