Macy's Inventory

Schenck, J., McInerney, J. 1998. Applying vendor-managed inventory to the apparel industry. Automat. I.D. News 14(6) 36-38

There are various reasons for holding inventory. Inventory acts as a buffer between supply and demand fluctuations and irons out supply chain system failures. The smoother your supply chain operates and the better you are able to forecast the less inventory you have to hold, unless you gain some economies of scale in purchasing, transportation and or manufacturing. Especially for supermarket, holding inventory can lead to customer satisfaction and increase their loyalty. Customers tend to stop by most often at supermarket where they surely know the item is available.

In 1858 Rowland Hussey Macy founded what is known today as Macy’s Department Store in New York City. The company is a mid-range to upscale chain of department stores that target middle to high level incomes. On November 25, 1929 Federated Department Stores was a new American retail company that was a combination of Bloomingdale’s, Filene’s of Boston, Abraham & Straus of Brooklyn, and F&R Lazarus & Company of Ohio. They all agreed to still keep separate identities but would come to link their financial interests. In 2005, Federated made a deal to acquire The Macy Department Stores Company, gaining $11 billion dollars in stock and making them the second largest department store chain in America. Macy’s operates under two names, Macy’s and Bloomindales. Today the company’s headquarters are based out of Cincinnati, Ohio and there are around 800 stores operating within the United States along with a large online presence as macys.com and Bloomingdales.com (Exhibit 1). The department store provides apparel and accessories for men, women, and children. They also provide footwear, furniture, bedding, housewares, and beauty products. Macy’s closed out the 2013 fiscal year with revenue of $9.35 billion, a net income of $730 million and a market capital of 20.86 billion.

In 1858, Mr. Rowland Hussey Macy (or more commonly known as R.H. Macy) established the first Macy’s department store in New York City. Today, 158 years later, Macy’s is a chain of mid-range American department stores with its flagship store here in Herald Square. This particular store is labelled as the “world’s largest store” because of its one million square feet of selling space. The products offered are clothing, footwear, accessories, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares. As of April 2016, the Macy’s company operates 870 stores in 45 states, as well as Puerto Rico and Guam. Within the 870 stores, the workforce includes approximately 157, 900 employees. The company operates Macy’s, Macy’s Backstage, Bloomingdale’s, Bloomingdale’s Outlet, and their new project, Bluemercury. Macy’s is the largest U.S. department store company by retail sales (2015), and they are the 15th largest retailer in the U.S. in terms of revenue (2014). 2015 Fiscal sales totaled to an impressive $27.1 billion. In 2015, Macy’s came out strong holding a winning streak of five consecutive years of growth in earnings, return on invested capital, sales, and cash flow. However, throughout the year, the company experienced a conjunction of negative factors. Due to that, Macy’s was impacted within sales, profitability and margins. Some were caused by external issues and internal. According to Business Insider, Macy’s has blamed a variety of temporary factors for the slowdown in

it is important to identify key strengths of the company over upcoming threats and weak points. Macy’s differentiate itself from competition with upscale “Celebrity” brand exclusivity, merchandise based on local preferences, and unique store design atmosphere. Based on analysis performed the company weighted strategy is to move towards the online and technology advances with maintaining Macy’s upscale storefront culture, integrating new product offerings with revising promotions to satisfy its target market and expanding operations to a new markets with present demand. From opportunities analysis strategy can be divided in three fragments

Unlike Starbucks, Macy’s is not doing very well, as evidenced by the fact they announced last month the impeding closure of 68 stores (Peterson, 2017). The company has been struggling for a few years with the growth of the internet and online businesses such as Amazon making their brick and mortar stores impractical in modern times. While the number of stores may not seem like as much of a problem as it is, as other companies have had to close down more in recent years or go out of business in general, this is a symptom of larger problems in both the company and the industry.

Macy's Inc. is one of the nation's largest and well known department store chains. Started over 150 years ago, Macy's has continually generated excellent returns for its shareholders and employees. Currently, in the midst of a global recession, Macy's has generated huge profits with same store sales increasing 5.3% year to date. In 2012 same store sales increased 4.6% in the month of February alone (Macy's Inc., 2012). In fact, throughout the duration of 2012, Macy's is projecting even larger profits for its underlying business operations. Even though Macy's has experienced success with both its assortments and brand, its competitors haven't faired so well. Sears, due in part to part to a lackluster holiday season, has been forced to close nearly 120 locations to generate excess liquidity in an effort to shore up its balance sheet (Isidore, 2011).Other competitors who cater specifically to the middle class consumer have also lost significant amounts of market share as consumers trade down due to the economy. This performance is primarily due to the core functions and operations of the business. Planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Macy's excels at these forms of management, which has allowed the company to perform at a higher level relative to its peers in the industry.

This year Macy's department store in New York City hired five women to play the role of St.Nick. The women desperately needed jobs and there was a short supply of male workers. As a result, a lot of customers complained and some people even said they might never shop there again.

Macy’s visual merchandising process starts with appeal. Every detail influences a customer’s decision to remain in the store, to eventually make a purchase. The simplest elements like general color scheme can affect a customer’s character and determine a purchase decision, as well as more business (Davis).

Macy’s is one of America’s most popular and commercial department stores. Located in 45 states, includes approximately 157,900 employees and operating about 870 stores. To serve their diverse customers, they have to be a diverse company, which is why women represent 75 percent of the workforce and ethnic minorities represent 59 percent of associate teams and 36 percent of management teams. Macy’s has gained its reputation for many decades since it first opened. In 1858, Macy’s was first opened as a dry goods store in New York City by Rowland Hussey Macy.

I ordered three pizzas so that we could party at home with my friends. The ad said that if you order 3 pizzas, you get the third one free of charge. However,

Competitive Rivalry.  Retailers always face stiff competition. The slow market growth for the retail market means that firms must fight each other for market share. More recently, they have tried to reduce the cutthroat pricing competition by offering frequent points, memberships and other special services to try and gain the customer's loyalty.

Macy’s, Inc. is a department store company that currently operates over 800 stores under the names of Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Bloomingdale’s Outlet, and their newest acquisition Bluemercury, which offers luxury beauty products and spa services. All but one of its stores are located in the United States, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Additionally, Macy’s sells its merchandise via their websites and mobile applications. According to their 2014 annual report, Macy’s had sales of $28.1 billion last year.

Macy’s Inc. is one of the oldest enterprises in the United States, belonging to the department stores industry. (Hoovers.com) It is a national brand, owning 850 department stores. During the development of the company, there had several key decisions that were beneficial for the company. However, in recent years, the competitions in department stores industry become more and more serious.

SF does not want the product overproduced, provide timely reporting of product sales in order to avoid this problem. For this reason, the company's inventory becomes a serious problem.