Macy’s to close three local stores, jeopardizing 155 jobs

It had announced plans to close stores in September.

The Macy’s location at Virginia Center Commons in Glen Allen will also close. This location was converted to a Macy’s Backstage store.

The company listed 40 stores it is closing.

Department store Macy’s announced Wednesday it will cut thousands of jobs and close some stores as part of restructuring to trim costs and reverse what it called “disappointing 2015 sales and earnings”. About 640 positions will be added at the three centers. Wednesday, Macy’s said real estate firms Eastdil Secured and Tishman Speyer are advising the company on its real estate holdings.

~ Richmond: Regency Square furniture/home/men’s store (124,000 square feet; opened in 1990; 35 associates). Four of those stores have already closed, while the remaining 36 will start clearance sales on Monday, Jan. 11, and run for the next eight to 12 weeks.

The chain expects the closings and other measures to save the company $400 million. Macy’s cut its profit outlook and CEO Terry Lundgren said markdowns are likely as a convergence of factors lead to a high inventory of goods for retailers.

The Cincinnati-based department store chain says sales at existing stores and excluding licensed departments fell 5.2 percent in November and December. Business conditions are not expected to improve with one month to go in the company’s fourth quarter period, with Macy’s forecasting comps for the full quarter will decline 4.7% compared to earlier guidance which called for a decline of 2% to 3%. A USA strong dollar also continued to weigh on spending from worldwide tourists.