Macy's is laying off 7,000 workers, freezing salaries, paring its quarterly dividend from 13 cents a share to 5 cents and cutting its marketing and advertising spending, according to CEO Terry J.
Lundgren. Executive benefits such as merchandise discounts, company cars, company-paid life insurance and financial counseling also will be trimmed.
A new management structure in 69
geographic regions will drive inventory decisions, John Eckberg reports.
The "My Macy's" approach gives more
decision-making to local buyers, who should be more in tune with local preferences for clothing and merchandise. It already has helped drive sales, and it is likely to create 1,200 new positions as it
is rolled out nationwide; laid-off workers will be given preference. "Of the company's top 15 best-performing geographic markets in December, 13 were My Macy's pilot districts,"
Lundgren says.
Central buying, merchandise planning, senior management and marketing will be consolidated in New York. Cincinnati headquarters will have corporate-level functions of
finance, human resources, law, property development and purchasing.
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