Macy”™s Inc., which operates three major retail brands, Macy”™s, Bloomingdale”™s and Bluemercury, has reported a $91 million loss for the third quarter of the year on sales of $3.99 billion. The retailer, headquartered in New York, operates in both Westchester and Fairfield counties.
Jeff Gennette, chairman and CEO of Macy”™s Inc., said, “Customers shopped our brands across all channels in the third quarter and responded well to our expanded fulfillment offerings, such as curbside, store pickup and same-day delivery. Our digital business delivered strong growth and sales in our stores continued to recover. Customers have shifted their spending to casual apparel and categories they can enjoy as they stay at home.”
The company reported it was in a strong position with $1.6 billion in cash and approximately $3 billion untapped in the company”™s asset-based credit facility. It said digital sales grew 27% over the third quarter 2019. It reported that its selling, general and administrative expenses for the quarter came to $1.7 billion, a drop of $476 million from the third quarter of 2019.
Gennette made note of the surge in new Covid-19 cases being seen throughout the U.S.
“We continue to watch the resurgence of COVID-19 and its potential impact on our business. Our teams are executing well and have shown the flexibility and agility to adjust plans and provide a great omnichannel experience to our customers,” Gennette said.
Covid-19 has impacted Macy”™s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year, which is being staged as a television show rather than a public event. With many segments prerecorded, the event will be a telecast based at the Macy”™s store at Herald Square in Manhattan rather than a parade along the traditional 2.5-mile route from Central Park West to Herald Square.
“While it will may look different in execution, we invite everyone to tune in and experience our incredible celebration on television featuring our signature character balloons, dazzling animated floats, whimsical clowns, world-class performances, and of course the arrival of Santa Claus, who will once again herald the start of the holiday season,” said Susan Tercero, Macy”™s executive producer of the Thanksgiving Day event. The event will be broadcast on NBC and the Spanish-language network Telemundo. It also will be streamed on the internet.
The giant balloons will be flown in limited areas and they”™ll be tethered to vehicles in order to reduce the number of human handlers. The balloon of the Peanuts character Snoopy the dog is scheduled to make its 41stappearance for Macy”™s. This year”™s event will involve less than 20% of the number of people who usually participate. All participants will be socially distanced with face masks as appropriate, Macy”™s said.
Covid not withstanding, Santa still is scheduled to arrive on his sleigh toward the end of the event.
