Cincinnati-based Macy's, a leading department store chain in the US, will close 11 under-performing stores across nine states, a move that could impact 960 employees, as a weak holiday season impacted sales, media reports said.
The store has also lowered its forecast for the fourth quarter and full year due to heavy markdowns, a report in the Chicago Sun Times said on Friday.
Shutters would be brought down on stores in 9 locations, including Los Angeles, Colorado, Hawaii, Indianapolis, St Louis, among others. The company said the closures would cost about $65 million.
Aiming to gain sales and reduce inventories, Macy's marked items down sharply in the fourth quarter, the company said, adding the move instead impacted its margins and led it to lower its profit forecast for the fourth quarter and full year.
"These closings are part of our normal-course process to prune under-performing locations each year in order to maintain a healthy portfolio of stores," Macy's chief executive Terry J Lundgren said in a statement.
Clearance sales at the stores would begin next week.
The economic recession has impacted consumer spending, with department-store operators facing the heat in the retail sector.
It said its December sales at stores open at least a year, or same-store sales, fell four per cent. Total sales for the five-week period ended January 3 fell five per cent to $4.4 billion from $4.61 billion last year.
Same-store sales fell 7.5 per cent during the combi ned November and December holiday period.
Founded in 1858, Macy's today has over 850 stores across the US.
