黑帽快排物联网|【唯一TG:@heimifeng8】|飞机盗号软件API破解技术✨谷歌搜索留痕排名,史上最强SEO技术,20年谷歌SEO经验大佬✨Macy’s got a $5.8 billion offer it should refuse
Bloomberg Published
December 13,黑帽快排物联网 2025
Macy’s Inc., one of the country’s most iconic department stores, reportedly received a $5.8 billion buyout offer from real estate private equity firm Arkhouse Management and global asset management firm Brigade Capital Management — a deal that has sparked renewed speculation about what the struggling retailer might be worth. There’s no question something needs to change at Macy’s. But a private equity takeover such as this is not the solution.
On the surface, it might be hard to understand why Macy’s shouldn’t take the money and run. The more-than-century-old department store has been on a downward slide for years. For much of the 20th century, Macy’s, which also owns Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury, was synonymous with magic and middle-class excess thanks to its annual Thanksgiving Day parade and films such as Miracle on 34th Street. However, it lost its luster with the rise of online shopping. In a series of mistakes, Macy’s quickly fell behind rising online competitors in apparel sales while also losing relevance among younger shoppers. It continues to close stores as sales fall. In its most recent earnings results, it reported both brick-and-mortar and online same-store sales fell 7% compared with those the year before.
Against this picture, it has also made some efforts to return to its former success. For instance, though it’s closed its most unprofitable department stores, it has also opened a dozen small-format stores that are one-fifth the size of a full-line Macy’s — up to 30 are expected in the next year or so. It has invested in private-label lines, such as On 34th, that allow for the company to earn a higher margin on sales and have more control over quality and design. The retailer’s third-party online marketplace now boasts 1,350 brands with gross merchandise value up 116% compared with the first quarter of this year.All of this combined has helped the company achieve a 40.3% gross margin rate for the third quarter, up from about 38.7% during the same time last year. But most important, Bloomingdale’s Chief Executive Officer Tony Spring will succeed its current CEO, Jeff Gennette, in February.
An investor takeover could derail the progress Macy’s has made so far and thwart the company from seeing its full potential under Spring, who has a strong history of leading Bloomingdale’s in its current successes. While Macy’s sales have sagged, Bloomingdale’s have generally increased.Last year, Macy’s mainline business comparable sales fell about 4% while those at Bloomingdale’s increased about 1% and Bluemercury’s rose 7%. Bloomingdale’s close attention to customer service, personalization and constant updates to stores and merchandising has helped the brand survive even as other luxury department stores flail. Clearly Spring has some insights into what shoppers may want, and he could leverage that expertise to rescue the brand.
But investors such as Arkhouse and Brigade Capital may see more profit in the company’s property rather than its retail business. Bloomberg Intelligence senior retail analyst Mary Ross Gilbert estimates the value of Macy’s properties could be worth up to $8 billion. That is more than the company’s entire market cap of $4.7 billion as of last Friday. For shareholders, the $5.8 billion offer prices Macy’s shares at $21, which represents a 39.7% premium to its $15.03 200-day moving average.But things have been trending upward for the retailer, and the offer is just a 20.1% premium to Macy’s six-month high of $17.48, which it reached earlier this month. That price suggests shareholders were feeling confident after the company’s third-quarter results, when it slightly raised its previously lowered annual forecast, well before any talk of a takeover was on the table.
Macy’s should use that cautious optimism to its advantage and remind shareholders that drastic changes are coming down the pike. As CEO-elect Spring steps into his new role, he has no time to waste in making serious improvements to the stores, such as updating layouts and merchandise.Too many of its stores lack the trendy fashion and tastes of the younger consumers Macy’s needs to stay relevant.It also has to revamp its online shopping experience. The current site overwhelms shoppers with sales and department ads, and, at times, the search function pulls up thousands of results. Imagine scrolling through all of that when you’re looking for something specific. The chaos can be toned down with personal touches, such as personalized homepages with offers tailored to a shopper’s interests — the sort of approach that made the retailer an icon in the 20th century.
And while we’re looking back to the past, it’s worth remembering when the company successfully fought off a call from an activist investor in 2025 to spin off its e-commerce business. As we head into 2025, it should be willing to put up another fight.