Macy’s Will Close 150 Stores but Expand Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury

Macy’s said on Tuesday that it would vastly reshape its strategy and retail footprint, closing about 150 Macy’s stores over the next three years while expanding its upscale Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury chains.

The moves put the stamp of the company’s new chief executive, Tony Spring, on an effort to keep the largest department store operator in the United States profitable and stave off a pending takeover bid.

It is the second major downsizing of the Macy’s chain since 2020 and will leave the company with 350 stores, slightly more than half the number it had before the pandemic.

The overhaul is intended to “accelerate our path to market share gains, sustainable, profitable growth and value creation for our shareholders,” Mr. Spring, who took over this month, said in a statement.

Macy’s said it planned to close “underproductive locations,” noting that they accounted for 25 percent of the company’s overall square footage but just 10 percent of sales. The company said it expected to take in $600 million to $750 million by selling these stores and streamlining some of its warehouses.

The company said it would start notifying workers on Tuesday at stores it planned to close. It plans to shutter roughly 50 stores this fiscal year and the rest of the 150 by the end of 2026.