Macy’s shrinking some of its stores: What’s really going on

As big-box retailers like Sears and Elder-Beerman file for bankruptcy and close hundreds of locations, other department stores like Macy’s are looking for ways to revive brick-and-mortar retail. Macy’s newest plan is to shrink its store size.

The store is already testing a smaller format in four of its stores, according to the Wall Street Journal. The smaller format stores will cut down the volume of merchandise required to fill a store and the number of employees needed to work among fewer square feet.

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"If your store is too big and your dollars per square feet are too low and you can't lease the space to someone else, then you've got to hive off a floor," Macy's chief executive Jeff Gennette told the Wall Street Journal.

Gennette said shoppers don’t want to trek around a 200,000 square-foot store to find what they need.

Other retailers like Target and Sam’s Club have started testing small-format stores as consumer shopping habits change to favor convenience and online shopping.

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