Macy’s, the well-known department store chain, has recently opened a “small-format” store at the Interstate Shopping Center in Ramsey, Bergen County, New Jersey. With a retail space of 25,000 square feet, this store exclusively offers clothing for men, women, and children, beauty products, toys, bags, and gifts from brands like Levi’s, MAC, Calvin Klein, as well as Macy’s own brands INC, Bar III, and more.
Last October, Macy’s announced plans to open up to 30 of these small-format stores between 2024 and the fall of 2025, with 24 locations in New Jersey alone. These stores are about 1/5 the size of a standard Macy’s store and are strategically positioned in high-traffic shopping centers to capitalize on unique opportunities to provide top-notch digital experiences and leverage the Macy’s brand strength in lucrative markets to drive sustainable and profitable sales growth.
This shift towards smaller stores is aimed at meeting the modern consumer’s desire for simpler and more convenient shopping experiences, with reduced operating costs. Macy’s reported a net sales performance of $4.85 billion in the first quarter of 2024, slightly exceeding Wall Street expectations of $4.81 billion but still showing a 2.7% decrease compared to the same period last year.
As of March, Macy’s operates a total of 481 stores, including 25 in New Jersey. In March, the company announced plans to close 150 non-productive stores nationwide.
The small-format Macy’s store in Ramsey’s Bergen County shopping center is located in the former Bed Bath & Beyond space, which also houses other retailers like ShopRite, DSW, Burlington, Michael’s, and Old Navy.
Bed Bath & Beyond’s stores have always been sought after for their prime locations and ideal space. Since the company’s closure announcement, there has been fierce competition among businesses vying for these locations, including fitness centers, supermarkets, as well as retail giants like Marshalls, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, HomeSense, Sierra Trading Post, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Ashley, and Burlington Stores. Burlington Stores has already taken over several former Bed Bath & Beyond locations, including one in Clifton.
Real estate analysts suggest that with a limited number of small-format stores, their impact on Macy’s overall performance is “limited.”