Tech & Biz

Macy's Closing 11 Stores after Dismal Holiday Season

by Jordan Yerman | January 8, 2009 at 08:58 am

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Between fewer shoppers shopping this past holiday season, and rock-bottom prices to woo the shoppers who actually shopped, the end of 2008 may go down as the worst in 40 years for retailers.

Retail giants Macy's and The Gap have drastically cut their earnings forecasts, and Macy's will be closing 11 retail locations (see below).

Rising unemployment and tightening credit may have spawned the worst holiday-shopping season in four decades. To attract customers, some U.S. retailers cut prices by as much as 70 percent, which threatens to erode their profit margins in the fourth quarter, the most important of the year, and into 2009.

Macy's was hit particularly hard, and will be closing several locations and laying off those stores' employees.

Barbara Matheson is in Bellevue, which is affected by these closings. Check out her story, too.

– Ernst & Young Plaza (Citicorp Plaza), Los Angeles (135,000 square feet; 136 employees; opened in 1986)
– The Citadel, Colorado Springs, Colo. (195,000 square feet; 105 employees; opened in 1984)
– Westminster Mall, Westminster, Colo. (156,000 square feet; 110 employees; opened in 1986)
– Palm Beach Mall, West Palm Beach, Fla. (190,000 square feet; 71 employees; opened in 1979)
– Mauna Lani Bay Hotel, Island of Hawaii (3,000 square feet; 3 employees; opened in 1983)
– Lafayette Square, Indianapolis (160,000 square feet; 84 employees; opened in 1974)
– Brookdale Center, Brooklyn Center, Minn. (195,000 square feet; 72 employees; opened in 1966)
– Crestwood Mall, St. Louis (166,000 square feet; 176 employees; opened in 1969)
– Natrona Heights Plaza, Natrona Heights, Pa. (73,000 square feet; 124 employees; opened in 1956)
– Century III Furniture and Clearance, West Mifflin, Pa. (83,000 square feet; 3 employees; opened in 2000)
– Bellevue Center, Nashville, Tenn. (211,000 square feet; 76 employees; opened in 1990).

Target, Sears and Nordstrom also reported poor performance; high-end retailers Neiman Marcus and Saks were hit particularly hard, losing as much as twice the national average in terms of profits.

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