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Macy's Herald Square completes renovation of men's department

By Kristopher Fraser

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Retail

Macy’s Herald Square boasts the status of being the second largest department store in the world behind Shinsegae in Busan. Sometimes the world’s largest department store has to ask their customers to pardon their dust as they attempt to give them something more visually appealing. After several months of pardoning their dust, customers can now enjoy a completely renovated Macy’s men’s section.

The renovations, which took four years, have finally been completed. The former 1 ½ floor has been renamed the Mezzanine. Richard Arnstein, executive vice president and general merchandiser of men’s at Macy’s, said to WWD during a walk-through Thursday morning that “We’ve completed the transformation of what I believe is the world’s largest men’s store.”

Macy’s Herald Square men’s department now spans seven floors and covers 200,000 square feet of selling space. This is an increase of 50,000 square feet.

Macy’s finishes men’s renovations in time for holiday

This is just the beginning for Macy’s, however. The company has a four-year 400-million-dollar renovation plan in place for all 1.2 million square feet of their flagship store. Part of the plan includes expanding selling space for brands that are proving to be very successful, and reducing space for brands that aren’t doing as well.

The new floors are arranged as follows: lower level floors are devoted to socks, underwear, belts, sleepwear and accessories; the main floor is work wear like dress shirts and ties, in addition to fragrance, grooming, and other accessories; the newly renamed Mezzanine level hosts the department store’s designer and contemporary sportswear offerings; the second floor is home to sportswear; third is devoted to young men’s and denim; the fourth is home to activewear and shoes, and the fifth floor is home to tailored clothing and outerwear.

The Mezzanine floor has got to be one of the biggest improvements to the department store. The ceilings have been raised and the beams have been exposed to create a more industrial feel.

According to Arnstein, on the third floor there are approximately 15,000 pairs of jeans on display. In all the shops, video screens and high tech elements have been installed to give a more modern feel to the atmosphere.

The store selected the perfect time to finish these renovations with holiday season coming up, and it’s no secret there is no busier time for retailers than holiday.

What is interesting about Macy’s new renovations is that they went forward with expanding their square footage in an era when customers supposedly want smaller more intimate shopping spaces. That approach to store architecture however appears to apply to specialty stores, versus department stores which have always been larger than life. While Macy’s does not report their earnings for men’s, it is known that men’s made up 23 percent of the company’s 28 million dollar sales in 2014.

The affect that the new renovations will have on sales, if any, will be seen as prime holiday shopping season rolls around.

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