By Ananya Mariam Rajesh
(Reuters) -Macy’s Inc beat estimates for holiday quarter results and forecast annual profit largely above expectations as the department store operator looks to rein in promotions to beef up its margins, sending its shares up 10% on Thursday.
Like many retailers, Macy’s offered steep discounts during the holiday season to get rid of excess inventory and attract inflation-weary consumers. But Chief Executive Jeff Gennette said those promotions were “competitive but measured.”
“(We) took strategic markdowns and intentionally did not chase unprofitable sales,” Gennette added.
As a result, margins fell 2 percentage points to 34.1% at Macy’s, compared with a 10 percentage point hit at Kohl’s Corp.
With the extra inventory mostly gone, Macy’s is just going to be more cautious with the way it offers promotions, M Science analyst Matthew Jacob said.
Macy’s forecast adjusted full-year…
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