Macy's opens Backstage at Herald Square flagship

Macy’s Herald Square’s 8th floor is now home to a new tenant, but one the department store chain is all too familiar with. Macy’s Backstage, the company’s off-price retail chain, has officially opened, bringing the magic of Macy’s discounted offerings to Manhattan. This marks the first Macy’s Backstage in Manhattan.

The new space delivers a store-within-store shopping experience featuring an ever-changing assortment of products with significant savings. Over 15,000-square-feet of space has been dedicated on the eighth floor inside the full-line Macy’s flagship.

“We know our customer loves off-price and loves the thrill of the hunt,” said Michael Hersh, vice president of off-price at Macy’s, to FashionUnited. “By opening Macy’s Backstage at the Herald Square flagship, we’re allowing the local consumer as well as the tourists to shop the full breadth of Macy’s brands, from off-price to luxury, all under one roof.”

To properly juxtapose the full-price offerings versus the off-price offerings, Macy’s has a separate buying team dedicated to finding off-price products across every category. Backstage currently features women’s, men’s, kids, home goods, beauty, and gifting.

Backstage is very new for Macy’s, but the company has a lot of confidence in its growth. Last year, Macy’s Inc. announced plans to expand both Macy’s Backstage standalone stores and dedicated shopping areas in its full-line stores.

"The off-price market continues to grow, and Macy's wanted to make sure that we gave the customer to engage in both the thrill of the hunt experience that Backstage offers with the luxury experience associated with Macy's," Hersch said to FashionUnited. "Customers are looking for value, they're looking for the latest trends, and they're looking for a product they can wear now. These are things Backstage offers day in and day out."

Macy’s has long been focused on a full omnichannel approach to give customers a whole shopping experience from whatever point of sale. Backstage is fully devoted to a brick-and-mortar operation to give customers a reason to shop in person. Macy’s is on the cusp of opening 300 new Backstage stores.

“Backstage is an opportunity for us to generate footsteps in store, and also the potential to attract the younger customer too,” Hersch said to FashionUnited.

With rising inflation costs, more people are turning to off-price chains to save money. There is the threat of a looming recession, meaning consumers will be increasingly smarter about shopping value price chains to save money.