Macy's Still Has a Lot of Work to Do
Holiday sales showed improvement after a dismal third quarter, but investors need more sustained evidence that turnaround efforts are taking hold.
Macy’s must show that its better-than-feared holiday showing isn’t another false dawn.
Photographer: Victor J. Blue/BloombergGive Macy’s Inc. a polite clap, and no more, for kicking off the retail holiday reporting season in reasonable style.
The department store giant said Wednesday that like-for-like sales from company-owned stores fell 0.7% in November and December, compared with the year earlier period. That’s by no means stellar, but it was much better than its dismal third quarter, when same-store sales sank 3.9% and the company cut its profit forecast, leaving some investors to wonder whether its slew of turnaround efforts would ever be enough to revive an aging, challenged business.