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Macy's to shutter 100 more stores in light of growing competition from e-commerce rivals like Amazon

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By Rebecca Stewart, Trends Editor

August 12, 2016 | 3 min read

US department store Macy's is to shutter a further 100 stores by early 2017 in a latest wave of bricks-and-mortar closures.

Macy's to close 100 stores Amazon

Macy's will close a further 100 stores nationwide / Macy's to close 100 stores Amazon

The move follows on from the iconic brand's latest earnings report, and will affect around 15 per cent of its 675 full-line locations. The shops affected have no yet been disclosed.

Macy's sales have been in decline now for six consecutive quarters, and the shut downs are part of a strategic plan for the retailer to achieve greater growth in the future. The US firm will also seek to improve its SEO, host more in-store events to drive footfall and bring in more branded shops within its current stores in order to offset the growing rivalry from the likes of Amazon.

The rise of online shopping has contributed significantly to Macy's falling sales, but during its most-recent earnings call the brand's chief financial officer Karen Hoguet said she believes it still has a key advantage over platforms like Amazon.

"And let's not forget the critical importance of stores for most of our vendors. We have the ability of showing merchandise and providing instantaneous not only purchasing," she said, "but also the ability to put outfits together in a store, which, again for many customers, to be able to see the color, feel the fabric, see how it fits, it's still where the lion's share of where this merchandise is being sold."

Speaking on CNBC's Sqawk Box show, Macy's chief executive Terry Lundgren said "Whenever there's been a setback in our company, we've been first in the industry to take a very aggressive stance at moving us forward. That's just part of it. By closing 100 stores… we're getting out in front of this."

Macy's recently joined forces with the parent group of Chinese retailer Alibaba to establish an e-commerce pilot in the country.

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