• by Sarah Mahoney , February 5, 2015

It’s been a busy week at Macy’s. The retailer says it is buying Bluemercury, the hot beauty products and spa retailer. It’s rolling out a new line of Martha Stewart products — the first since winning its rancorous lawsuit with J.C. Penney last year. It has introduced a new line of clothing with Thalia Sodi. And, despite slowing sales, it also announced higher-than-forecast preliminary earnings.

The Cincinnati-based retailer says it is scooping up Bluemercury for $210 million in cash, and that it expects the deal to be completed before May 2. Based in Washington, D.C., Bluemercury has some 60 specialty stores in 18 states, as well an online business. With such products as M-61, its proprietary skincare brand and in-house spas, the purchase is intended to enhance Macy’s beauty positioning. 

“With Bluemercury, our company can access a new channel to reach additional customers, add new dimensions to our product offering and apply our expertise in omnichannel retailing,” says Terry J. Lundgren, Macy’s CEO, in its release. “Our plan is to operate and significantly expand Bluemercury stores as a standalone business with an enhanced omnichannel component for a seamless customer experience across stores, online and mobile. Concurrently, we also plan to add selected Bluemercury products and boutiques to Macy’s stores nationwide.”

Some industry observers cheered the purchase. “We believe the acquisition will further strengthen Macy's beauty platform, which has been an area of growth and higher profitability for many department stores,” says Standard & Poor’s Rating Services. “In addition, we expect Macy's strong merchandising, continuing enhancement of its omnichannel capability, and ongoing operating initiatives will lead to modest performance growth in 2015, despite some weakness in consumer spending.”

Charles Grom, an analyst who follows Macy’s for Sterne Agee, also sees it as a good move. “Considering Macy’s’ historically non-acquisitive nature, the capital allocation decision is yet another sign that Macy’s is willing to branch out in search of new (albeit riskier) growth avenues as sales productivity growth wanes,” he writes in his latest report. “This is a positive.”

The new Martha Stewart line, the first since it won its legal battles with J.C. Penney, and settled its spat with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, is named Whim, a collection of sheets, comforters and dinnerware. Calling the exclusive collection “bold and cheerful,” the company says it is set to go on sale in March. 

Macy’s also unveiled its new Thalia Sodi collection, inspired by singer/songwriter Thalia. The exclusive collection includes apparel, shoes and jewelry.

The company also released preliminary earnings ahead of its forecasts. “We are very pleased with our fourth-quarter performance, which represents a strengthening trend from the third quarter and spring season,” says Lundgren in its release. “We believe that we have an excellent foundation on which to continue to grow sales and earnings.”

Despite that strength, Sterne Agee’s Grom remains neutral, and says the preliminary sales figures “suggest a meaningful slowdown on two-year trends,” with a surprising deceleration in January results. “To be fair, January is still a very small month in the grand scheme of things,” he writes. “So choppy results must be taken with a grain of salt.”