While competitors grapple with slow sales, Macy’s Inc. devised a strategy that has helped move merchandise at its 810 stores nationwide in the past 10 months while garnering customer loyalty.
The initiative, called MyMacy’s, allows managers at Metro Detroit’s nine Macy’s stores to customize merchandise mixes by customer request and market demand. This means that hometown shoppers are more likely to find what they’re looking for.
The difference has paid off, Macy’s officials and an industry analyst say. Sales at stores open at least a year have been up every month since December 2009, about 18 months after Macy’s started the program nationally. Same-store sales rose 4.8 percent in September and hit a high of a 10.8 percent hike in March.
The program has contributed to Macy’s sales, which have been better than those of most other retailers lately, said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst with NPD Group, a national market-research firm.
Metro Detroit shoppers have complained that their local department stores have lost touch with the community since Macy’s acquired Marshall Field’s, which absorbed Detroit’s hometown retailer the J.L. Hudson Co. Localizing merchandise is a smart move for Macy’s, which many Metro Detroiters consider a “watered-down version of Hudson’s,” said Birmingham-based retail consultant Ed Nakfoor.
“I think a lot of people were disenchanted when they came into the market and now the company wants to step up and educate the consumer about what’s going on locally,” Nakfoor said.
“Urban” stores at Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn, Oakland Mall in Troy, Eastland Center in Harper Woods and Northland Center in Southfield have different merchandise than “suburban” stores at Twelve Oaks in Novi, Somerset Collection in Troy and Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights. And “value-conscious” spots at Westland Center in Westland and Southland Center in Taylor have their own distinct deals, said Hank Lorant, Macy’s district vice president for the Detroit region.
“Every store has its own personality based on the community it’s in,” Lorant said.
The initiative allows Macy’s to respond quickly to consumer demand. Metro Detroit’s urban stores have clamored for Levi’s jeans in different hues, while Somerset carries more “fashion-able, upscale” dresses, he said. The Fairlane and Westland stores stock more long skirts and long-sleeved T-shirts for their Muslim customer base.
Shoppers have noticed the difference, but Regina Davis of Warren said change isn’t necessarily good, especially when making returns or searching for a specific size.
“It’s a little inconvenient because I assumed all Macy’s had the same things,” said Davis, who shops for clothing at Macy’s stores in Oakland Mall and Eastland Center. “But when I go in, I still know I’m in a Macy’s.”
The increased attention to local markets gives the store flexibility over sales and fosters communication between managers and shoppers, said Cathy O’Malley, general manager at Fairlane Town Center.
The Cincinnati-based department store split its national market into 69 divisions as part of a pilot program launched in 2007. Ground-floor gift shops, new this year, will feature a selection of “grab and go” and pre-wrapped gifts with removable price tags in a range of categories.
National retailers often have difficulty resonating with local markets, NPD’s Cohen said.
MyMacy’s “creates a destination,” Cohen said, “and destination is the critical component.”
Giving shoppers what they want keeps them coming back, Lorant said. “There’s nothing more exciting than calling up Mrs. Jones and saying, ‘You asked for X and now we have it. Come on in!’” he said. “That makes it her Macy’s for life.
From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20101103/BIZ/11030323/1001/Customizing-merchandise-helps-Macy%E2%80%99s-stores-gain-more-shoppers