April 18, 2024
Provided Image/Macy's
The new Macy's in Mount Laurel is at Centerton Square. It carries a curated collection of goods from the company's larger department stores.
Macy's will cut the ribbon Friday at a new location in Mount Laurel that's only about 20% the size of its typical stores. It's the first of its kind in New Jersey and one of only about a dozen in the United States.
The store in Centerton Square covers about 32,000 square feet and replaces a former Bed Bath & Beyond inside the shopping center. The company's smaller stores have a curated selection of the goods found in larger Macy's, which have seen lagging foot traffic due to struggling malls and more online shopping. Trending and seasonal collections of various products — from beauty products to clothing and toys — are stocked at the smaller stores, and they also partner on pop-up events with local businesses.
Macy's created the concept to reach more shoppers in new locations, like strip malls, that are surrounded by a mix of other businesses different from those it anchors at shopping malls. Big-box retailers like Sears, JCPenney, Neiman Marcus and Lord & Taylor have filed for bankruptcy in recent years after earlier attempts to restructure, and rising rents at distressed malls have continued to drive Macy's to shift strategies.
The shops at Centerton Square include a Wegmans, Target, Costco, T.J. Maxx and DSW.
Macy's opened its first smaller store in Dallas in 2020. It has since opened 12 more in cities including Chicago, Boston, St. Louis and Las Vegas. The company plans to open 30 by the end of next year. The second store planned in New Jersey will be in another former Bed Bath & Beyond at the Interstate Shopping Center in Ramsey, Bergen County. That store is expected to open later this year.
Bloomingdale's, the luxury department store chain also owned by Macy's, operates similar smaller stores called Bloomie's, which also has a limited number of locations.
Target opened about 150 small stores over the last several years, making up a small fraction of the company's roughly 2,000 locations. A handful of those stores have closed — including one in Philadelphia — but the company attributed those decisions to individual performance rather than the size of the stores.
In February, Macy's announced it will close 150 stores nationwide — about 30% of its existing locations — over the next three years. The company hasn't yet identified which stores will close. There are 12 in the Philadelphia area, including South Jersey. This year, 50 stores will close and about 2,300 people will be laid off from Macy's corporate staff. It's the company's second major downsizing since 2020, when Macy's announced plans to close 125 stores and cut 2,000 jobs.
The future of the 166-year-old company remains in flux as Macy's responds to pressure from activist shareholders and evaluates a potential buyout that would take it private as part of a turnaround plan.
