Macy’s today confirmed plans to shutter 14 underperforming locations over the course of 2026, predominantly in the first quarter. These closures will span 12 states and follow 66 shuttered doors in 2025 and 55 in 2024. The company will initiate clearance events at impacted stores beginning next week, with merchandise discounts ranging from 30% to 70% off original ticket prices. Management expects lease terminations to be negotiated by year-end, with one-time charges related to lease exit obligations and inventory write-downs to be recorded in the second quarter financials.

With the latest round of 14 closures, Macy’s will have completed 120 of the 150 planned shutdowns outlined in CEO Tony Spring’s February 2024 ‘Bold New Chapter’ turnaround blueprint—representing 80% of the target. Spring reiterated that right-sizing the brick-and-mortar fleet is intended to reallocate capital toward digital innovation, store remodeling and omnichannel fulfillment. He noted that the company invested more than $500 million in technology and supply-chain upgrades in 2025, resulting in a 12% year-over-year increase in same-day delivery volume and a 9% reduction in shipping costs per order.

Macy’s CFO highlighted that lease exit obligations tied to the 14 stores are expected to total approximately $45 million, of which $30 million will be non-cash charges for accelerated rent amortization. Following completion of these exits, the company projects annualized rent savings of $75 million. Those savings, combined with improved inventory turns—recorded at 5.8 times in the 2025 fourth quarter—will underpin planned reinvestments in higher-return projects, including the rollout of up to 50 next-generation fulfillment centers over the next two years.

Analysts view the accelerated closure pace as a necessary but delicate component of Macy’s turnaround, noting that comparable-store sales gains of 3.4% in the 2025 holiday season were tempered by markdown pressure that squeezed gross margins by 120 basis points. Key risk factors include potential disruptions to customer traffic in adjacent stores, variability in lease negotiation outcomes and the broader retail environment’s sensitivity to consumer spending trends. Management intends to update investors on year-to-date progress and revised guidance for 2026 in its first quarter earnings call scheduled for late April.