Macy\'s Corporation Is a Chain of Middle

Macy's Corporation is a chain of middle to upper range department stores in the United States. In addition to its famous New York flagship store, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States, as well as 300 consumer electronic stores called eSpot ZoomShop kiosks. As of 2009, they posted revenues of almost $25 billion with net income of just shy of $1billion. Macy's, Inc. employees about 200,000 people, and though no longer the largest store in the world, is the annual sponsor of the New York City Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade that has been in place since 1924 (www.macys.com).

Situational Analysis - As with any number of stores that have been in business for several decades, Macy's has endeavored to keep up with the times -- albeit not without controversy. Their biggest current challenge is deciding what niche they actually wish to fill, and moving aggressively forward with that plan.

SWOT

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Anchored to most major Mall locations

High priced leases, lots of $$ tied up without commiserate customer return

Revamp brick and mortar strategy; find out what works where, when, and how

Too little, too late

High consumer name recognition; long history

Long history but no real marketing message or workable niche

Try to be more of a niche to more of the population; not a little bit of everything to a few

Competition from big discounters and E-commerce

Reputation for sales

Customers become jaded

Memberships, fewer "one" day sales, more believable sales

Too ingrained in Public's image

Merchandise is of good quality

Good quality, but caters to females of a certain size from 25-45

Establish reputation for Nordstrom quality products at a reasonable price; open up market to larger universe; men and women of all ages

Too little, too late; may take time and $ to convince public of their commitment to this

Ethical company with strong value statement

Does anyone really know about this?

USE this, push the advertising medium to let the public know about the GREEN FRIENDLY company

Jaded public; dollars to publicize this

Committed to sustainable growth in products and internally

Not part of the Macy's message

Cross-company promotional activities that tie in with regional or national eco-based events

Need strong statement not to appear reactionary or simply paying lip service to this idea

(Grippo, 2009; Trachtenberg; Quantcast).

Objectives and Goals -- Reinvigoration of business -- (Here you should talk about the overall corporate goals based on the Macy's site -- you can find it in their annual report).

Marketing Strategies - Currently, Macy's is considered to be "middle market" range. Not exclusive enough for upscale, too expensive for casual. This strategy has worked for them during flush economic times, but seems to be sitting on the fence and really unappealing to many during tougher economic periods. Even during tough times the demographic that can shop for upscale items seems more insulated; it is the lower and middle who then cannot afford Macy's style. Right now, they are trying to appeal to the 25-45 fashion forward woman, largely because everyone is pushing that segment. Instead, it might be better if the company differentiated a bit rather than staying the same (Harr, 2009).

Marketing Tactics - Continuously having "One Day Only" sales also makes the public jaded about Macy's pricing in the first place. Customer's often report that they will just "wait" until something is on sale again; and, "oh well," if it is gone. While some great deals are to be had, there are too many "one day" sales that cause mistrust. Instead, either offer a membership and everything is on sale at all times with certain specials, or rephrase the sale term to not only appear more honest, but less cookie-cutter (Barmash, 2003).

Implementation -Considering Macy's new strategies designed to focus more on the younger set (e.g. clothing, scents, etc.), new and enhanced experiences via mobile phones seem appropriate. Optimizing their ecommerce sites, customizing the site to spending and browsing patterns (much like Amazon.com) and even putting an iPhone application enhances the experience (Kats, 2010). Macy's may want to reevaluate their locations of stores. Macy's U.S. demographics are primary married females, no children, 30-49 years of age, and household income $60K+. Macy's stores are located in Malls. Malls require higher rental space and are very crowded and congested with crying children and teenagers. Macy's demographics would probably prefer to shop in a more peaceful atmosphere. Macy's may want to relocate to shopping centers or outlets where their customers can get in and out without the hassle of the crowds in the mall (Trachenberg, 1996).