Macy's Buyout? Private ownership bid

[architect]

As far as the Texas (Triangle) stores go , I would divide them into the following categories:

Note that this does not include stand-alone Backstage stores or Market by Macy's locations

Absolutely Safe (they would be crazy to close these)
- Northpark Center
- Stonebriar Center
- The Galleria (Houston)
- Memorial City
- The Woodlands
- The Domain
- North Star
- Shops at La Cantera

Mostly Safe (pending any real estate-related factors)
- Galleria Dallas
- North East Mall
- The Parks at Arlington
- Willowbrook (this one has a separate men's/furniture store which could potentially be consolidated back into the main store)
- Deerbrook
- Baybrook
- First Colony
- Barton Creek Square

Moderately Questionable (it wouldn't surprise me to see several of these pop up on a closure list)
- Town East Mall
- Firewheel Town Center
- Fairview Town Center
- Hulen Mall
- Pearland Town Center
- Lakeline Mall
- Ingram Park Mall
- South Park Mall

High Likelihood of Closure
- Irving Mall (how this one hasn't closed already baffles me, the mall has been dying for years and has only been kept somewhat afloat by local vendors catering to the surrounding Hispanic community)
- Shops at Willow Bend (the mall is rapidly dying, but a redevelopment plan was just passed by the City of Plano which will be breaking ground soon, so this one could scrape by)
- Almeda Mall (the only thing keeping this one afloat is the fact that the interior was completely rebuilt as a single story after a 2008 roof collapse during Hurricane Ike, so the store is fairly compact)

[ClownLoach]

Mission Viejo could be a possibility for a Macys closure.

Mission Viejo has been announced as a consolidation for years by everyone but Macy's themselves. The mall owner is going to replace the Macy's Women's store and that whole end of the mall with apartments in a mixed use redevelopment. They will keep the current men's/children's/home store, which actually has already been heavily consolidated with enough empty floor space to install an ice rink on the first and second floors. They have already presented the redevelopment plan to the planning commission and city council, but so far have been working at a leisurely pace. COVID delayed this project as it was supposed to begin construction in Fall 2020 but then everything was put on the back burner. The project is still definitely happening. They have already reduced and spaced out the store in such a manner that they could move in the entire women's store in a matter of a few days and close it down for the construction to begin. I expect that is exactly what will happen, it will likely close over the period of just a few days as they move all the merchandise overnight. Theoretically they could move all the men's and children's to the 2nd floor one night, and roll over all the racks of women's clothing the next night walking them right through the mall. This area has gone from 4 Macy's stores to one in the last decade once this is complete (Laguna Hills Mall closed, Irvine Spectrum closed, and Mission Viejo Women's Store closing in consolidation). Shows how overstored Macy's is in general.

Westminster is a goner for sure as well, pretty much already announced except for confirmation from Macy's. The mall is going to be almost entirely torn down except for the two story Target. Inexplicably Macy's closed that nice new building and kept the dumpy old May Co. building that is dark and claustrophobic inside. The redevelopment plans show apartments where the store currently stands. Even the Best Buy is going to be removed and replaced with a Kaiser Permanente medical center.

Both stores are assuredly in the count for the 2024 first wave of closures. There is no reason to continue to operate these two stores and waste money on overhead while they wait for the mall owners to rally their bulldozers. I expect they will be installing a small format Macy's at Bella Terra in Huntington Beach as part of their upcoming mini revamp, which will demolish the huge Burlington Coat Factory wing (former JCPenney) and replace it with ground level retail and apartments. Burlington is moving to the former BB&B above REI. There is going to be a new approx. 30K box store constructed on ground floor of the new apartments (near the current Old Navy which is moving next to WFM) and the sketch shown last year even looked like the Macy's logo (it had a red star and said "Store" in the same font).

Also the following are almost assuredly going to consolidate to one building even though they are solid stores:

Temecula (two buildings, about 200,000 Sq ft each, both about 25 years old). Expect the one that closes to be revamped into a Food Hall, a bunch of restaurants, an entertainment venue like Dave & Busters, and a Whole Foods Market.

Brea Mall (two buildings). The Sears property is already being torn down for a bunch of apartments plus big name restaurants, Dicks Sporting Goods, and other new tenants. That surrounding area has been built 6 stories high over the last few years and shows no signs of stopping due to incredible demand for the area. Whichever Macy's is more convenient for the mall owner will fall to the bulldozer for more apartments.

I also expect Santa Ana to close as the mall is going to most likely be washed over entirely with apartments. They've already closed one building there in consolidation and remodeled the other, but the mall owner is too vested in apartment building and has already removed nearly half the mall parking replacing with housing. The whole mall is going to go.

Carlsbad mall, both stores, will also meet the same fate. The land is way too valuable and an opportunity for tons of housing. The mall has been on life support for years and even an attempt to revamp recently with new restaurants and theaters fell flat (pretty much every new restaurant closed).

I think Santa Barbara closes. The store has been mismanaged for years and is a foul, filthy cesspool that wouldn't meet the standards of Big Lots or Ross.

Finally, in San Diego the Mission Valley mall location will finally wind down as it has been redundant for years with Fashion Valley just up the street.

[veteran+]

That Macy's in Mission Valley has been closed for a few years. I cannot believe that it has been empty that long.

They were trying to do something with this mall to update and I thought that large space would have been repurposed by now.

[Jeff]

The home store is still open. Former Bullocks.

[ClownLoach]

That Macy's in Mission Valley has been closed for a few years. I cannot believe that it has been empty that long.

They were trying to do something with this mall to update and I thought that large space would have been repurposed by now.

I checked last night on the Macy's website and it is still listed. I think that property was owned by Westfield and is one of the non-prime grade facilities they're trying to get rid of.

[ClownLoach]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/04/arkhous ... llion.html

Big increase in the unsolicited offer. Things are going to get interesting. The more a buyer would pay, the more they would need to actually keep the business running instead of just plundering the best assets.

[storewanderer]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/04/arkhous ... llion.html

Big increase in the unsolicited offer. Things are going to get interesting. The more a buyer would pay, the more they would need to actually keep the business running instead of just plundering the best assets.

Could the angle be to negotiate with these groups and let them have "Macy's" (or most of it...), then keep Bloomingdales/Bluemercury separate and continue expansion of those concepts (potentially converting some Macy's locations into Bloomingdales... or closing some Macys locations as part of the deal to "help" Bloomingdales locations- as will happen in Union Square...?)?

[ClownLoach]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/04/arkhous ... llion.html

Big increase in the unsolicited offer. Things are going to get interesting. The more a buyer would pay, the more they would need to actually keep the business running instead of just plundering the best assets.

Could the angle be to negotiate with these groups and let them have "Macy's" (or most of it...), then keep Bloomingdales/Bluemercury separate and continue expansion of those concepts (potentially converting some Macy's locations into Bloomingdales... or closing some Macys locations as part of the deal to "help" Bloomingdales locations- as will happen in Union Square...?)?

I believe that in the last round of revamping operations they integrated all the supply chain. So the same warehouses are Macy's, Bloomingdales, and Bluemercury. It would cost a bloody fortune to undo that work and negatively impact margins for all three chains. Splitting up the company might make every part unprofitable.

[norcalriteaidclerk]

Curious to see whether dying Sunrise Mall will still have Macy's five years from now.

[storewanderer]

Curious to see whether dying Sunrise Mall will still have Macy's five years from now.

That is a "Neighborhood Store" in Macy's terms. Or was. Maybe something changed. The times I've been in that store since COVID it has traffic... but it sure doesn't have much staffing. Inventory level is sort of okay in the areas that are open. Poor assortment of brands. I hope it stays open but doubt it will. Still feels a lot healthier than the Country Club Store ever felt.

Or could they dump their small store at Arden? That may be a better idea- that store is poor- too small. If they want to stay there, they need to relocate to the larger Sears or Nordstrom building.

They've thrown a lot of money at Downtown Sacramento and I expect it to stay open.