Macy’s will close more Washington stores amid financial struggles

Macy’s is set to close three stores in Washington as part of its ongoing efforts to refocus on its most successful properties. The affected locations are South Hill Mall in Puyallup, Redmond Furniture on NE 24th Street and Kitsap Mall in Silverdale.

The company announced last February it would close 150 stores by the end of 2026. The retailer is focusing on its high-end brands and plans to invest in its 350 remaining locations, Tony Spring, Macy’s chair and CEO, said in a statement. Spring stated that closing underperforming stores will allow the company to “focus resources and prioritize investments.”

Macy’s said that clearance sales will begin in January and will run for approximately eight to 12 weeks. For most furniture galleries, clearance sales will start in February and run for approximately six weeks.

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According to USA Today, overall sales for Macy’s declined 2.4% to $4.7 billion in the third quarter of 2024.

However, sales at the company’s most successful 50 locations rose 1.9%, marking a third consecutive quarter of sales growth, the company said. Sales at Macy’s properties Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury showed increased sales, as well, compared to a year ago.

The department store sector has been struggling for years. Retailers have seen the bankruptcies of major chains such as Sears, JCPenney and Neiman Marcus. Recently, Kohl’s announced it would close 27 stores by April.

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The plans to shutter stores go back to as early as 2020, before the pandemic. Macy’s planned to close around 125 stores as part of a three-year plan. However, the company fell short of its target, closing 80 stores. Last year, the retailer closed another five stores.

The retailer announced in February 2024 plans to shut down 150 “underproductive” Macy’s store locations by 2026. The plan “is designed to return the company to sustainable, profitable sales growth,” Macy’s said in a press release Thursday. Macy’s still plans to close a total of about 150 underproductive stores while investing in its 350 current Macy’s locations through the company’s 2026 fiscal year, which ends January 30, 2027, the company said in a press release.

“Closing any store is never easy, but as part of our Bold New Chapter strategy, we are closing underproductive Macy’s stores to allow us to focus our resources and prioritize investments in our go-forward stores, where customers are already responding positively to better product offerings and elevated service,” Spring said in a statement.

Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X and email him here.