Macy’s Jeff Gennette And Tony Spring Met Jim Cramer

Jeff Gennette, CEO of Macy’s and Tony Spring, CEO of Bloomingdale’s and CEO-elect of Macy’s met with Jim Cramer this week to discuss Macy’s (and introduce Tony to Jim Cramer and his CNBC audience.)

Cramer raised one of the key questions quickly. He pointed out that the market-price of Macy’s Inc was under 4x earnings while Kohl’s was at 7x earnings and Nordstrom
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at 8x earnings. It brought an avalanche of responses.

Both executives pointed out that their companies have good sales potential and the flexibility they need. They noted that the company just has announced that Macy’s will open 30 new small stores by the end of 2025. Bloomingdale’s has opened two small stores in Fairfax, Virginia, and Skokie, Illinois. and will open a 19,000 square foot “Bloomie” on November 2 in Seatle, Washington.

Sales growth of Macy’s is on both men’s mind. Tony Spring stresses the need to curate the private label to keep current with customer’s taste. The company must also constantly review national brands and that sales are a priority for Macy’s. The lack of foreign visitor this year gives Macy’s an opportunity over the next two years to recapture at least 1 1/2 points growth as more foreign visitors will again visit and shop at Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s. Jeff Gennette spoke highly of his friendship with Tony Spring over the past 20 years, and spoke about the quality and contribution of Bluemercury health spas. There are now about 176 Bluemercury free-standing units in operation.

Tony Spring called Macy’s a portfolio company. Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury. The latter is in many convenient city locations, Bloomingdale’s appeals to the luxury customer and Macy’s has a broader customer appeal.

POSTSCRIPT: Both Tony Spring and Jeff Gennette are long time Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s executives. They have worked together and know each other well. Gennette spoke highly of Spring’s success at Bloomingdale’s. This promises to be an exciting moment for the company. Gennette saw the company through the pandemic and the uncertainty that retailing is facing right now. His retirement is well deserved and I wish him good health and a long happy life.