On Wednesday, December 28, 2022, shoppers pass a Bloomingdale store in the SoHo district of New York, US.
- ESSENTIAL POINTS
- Olivier Bron, a French native and experienced multinational retail leader, has been chosen as Macy’s next CEO.
- With the change, the established merchant gives its luxury department store a fresh viewpoint and a touch of international flare.
- Tony Spring, who will take over as CEO of parent firm Macy’s, is being succeeded by Bron.
The next CEO of Macy’s upmarket department store, Bloomingdale’s, will be worldwide retail expert Olivier Bron, the company said on Tuesday. Tony Spring will be replaced by Bron. In March, Spring, a Bloomingdale’s employee for 36 years, was elected CEO of parent company Macy’s. Jeff Gennette, a seasoned executive who is retiring in February, will be succeeded by him.
Early in November, Bron will begin serving in his new position. With the transition, the established retailer gives the higher-end department store a fresh viewpoint and a touch of international flare. The 46-year-old Frenchman Bron most recently served as the CEO of the Central and Robinson department shops in Thailand.
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Prior to that, he served as the chief operating officer and director of strategy for the French retail chain Galeries Lafayette in Paris. Additionally, he worked as a retail consultant with Bain & Company for more than ten years. By hiring a retail leader from a different organization and nation, Macy’s may be indicating that Bloomingdale’s has more international aspirations. The chain has a modest global footprint, having branches in Kuwait and Dubai. However, Bloomingdale’s main location in Manhattan’s Midtown indicates how well-liked it is with visitors to New York City. Flags from several nations adorn the store’s façade.
Bloomingdale’s has also been referred to by Macy’s as “a cornerstone” of one of its main initiatives, expanding its luxury division.
Spring referred to Bron as “an authentic and charismatic leader” who is prepared to lead Bloomingdale’s into the future and who is aware of the brand. “His extensive international retail career and deep knowledge of the luxury market will be invaluable as we pursue additional opportunities for growth,” Spring said.
In the press release, Bron said that he has long appreciated Bloomingdale’s as a brand. Adding to it, he stated, are “new store formats and continued digital expansion.” Since 1991, Macy’s hasn’t appointed an outside executive as Bloomingdale’s CEO; this will be the first time. Spring, who became chain president in 2014, followed Michael Gould, who left Giorgio Beverly Hills after serving as its CEO in 1991.
In addition to running 34 locations nationwide, Bloomingdale’s has lately experimented with creating more compact stores named Bloomie’s. It now has two sites and wants to establish a third in Seattle, a potential new market for Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom’s competition. 20 outlet locations for Bloomingdale’s may be found all throughout the country.
As several of Macy’s traditional department shops closed or suffered, Bloomingdale’s served as a growth engine and a more reliable source of revenue. Bloomingdale’s tends to lure a more affluent consumer since it promotes designer labels and more expensive things.
However, even Bloomingdale’s sales declined in the most recent quarter due to increased financial strain on customers and a trend toward experiential purchasing. Customer purchases of handbags decreased, resulting in a 2.6% fall in comparable sales on an owned-plus-licensed basis. The beauty brand Bluemercury, which witnessed sales growth in the most recent reported quarter, is a part of Macy’s along with its namesake locations.
The majority of the company’s sales, however, still come from Macy’s original locations. Although Macy’s shops make up the majority of its footprint and draw the majority of its customers, the parent corporation does not break out revenue by store brands. On a trailing 12-month basis, as of the end of July, Bloomingdale’s had 4 million active consumers as opposed to 41.5 million active customers at Macy’s and around 736,000 at Bluemercury.
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image source: google
