Closing: 5 Macy's and 4 Bloomingdale's stores

[January 05, 2012]  CINCINNATI (AP) -- Macy's Inc. says it will close five Macy's and four Bloomingdale's stores that are underperforming.

Clearance sales will begin at the stores Sunday and run for 10 weeks.

More than 830 workers will be affected by the closings -- 375 at Macy's stores and 463 at Bloomingdale's. But many may have the option of taking jobs at new stores the company plans to open.

The closing Macy's stores are in Topeka, Kan.; Laurel, Md.; Parma, Ohio; Antioch, Tenn.; and Texas City, Texas. The Bloomingdale's closures are in Atlanta; Oak Brook, Ill.; North Bethesda, Md.; and in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn.

"We continue to be committed to maintaining a healthy portfolio of stores that allows us to focus on growth from our best and most productive locations," CEO Terry J. Lundgren said in a statement. "This requires us to make some difficult decisions to close stores that no longer meet our performance requirements, as well as to open stores where we see opportunity."

The company said it will record costs of $25 million to $30 million associated with the store closings in its fiscal fourth quarter. It said it has not included the costs in past forecasts.

Macy's previously announced the opening of five new Macy's stores and one replacement store. They are planned in Victorville, Calif.; Gurnee, Ill.; The Bronx, N.Y.; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Greendale, Wis. The replacement store will be built in Bay Shore, N.Y.

When the planned openings and closings are complete, Macy's will operate 804 stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.

Workers at closing stores will be offered jobs at nearby stores if possible, and those who are laid off will get severance benefits, the company said.

About 276 workers will be hired at new stores opening this year and another 745 workers with the openings in 2013.

A new store opening in 2013 in Glendale, Calif., will create 175 jobs. A store to open in Palo Alto, Calif., in 2014 is expected to employ about 180 workers, about the same number as now work at a store in the same shopping center that will close when the new one opens.

The company also says five new Bloomingdale's outlet stores will open in 2012, hiring about 35 workers

The changes will result in 38 Bloomingdale's full-line and home stores, as well as 12 outlet stores. Bloomingdale's also operates in Dubai under a license agreement with Al Tayer Group LLC.

Cincinnati-based Macy's shares fell 3 cents to close at $32.65, but they've risen more than 40 percent since last February. They have traded between $21.69 and $32.95 in the past year.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.