Macy's closing Eastland and Westland stores

[Wesley Mouch]

So what Macy's are left now?

[Shai_Hulud]

hopefully the sale prices will be substantive. Men's clothes in particular.

It's not that likely. Macy's will ship the some of the best items to other stores. Then they will most likely bring in a liquidation company who will buy the whole store for cents on the dollar and that company and their staff will set prices and handle the sale. The sales at the Northland closing weren't that amazing.

[Bham1982]

So what Macy's are left now?

Pretty much every remaining mall in Metro Detroit has a Macys. The only exceptions would be Laurel Park Place [[which is small, and not particularly successful) and the newer outdoor lifestyle centers.

[Scottathew]

[[Sears) have already pulled their hardware & electronics sections here in Canada and closed their best Toronto stores in order to raise cash by selling the leases.

I also see in the news that Sears is selling the Craftsman brand for $900 Million. That's pretty crazy they are THAT desperate for cash that they're selling off their vital organs to survive.

[stasu1213]

Eastland was originally anchored by Hudson's a local Detroit department store. The beginning of the end for Eastland was when Hudson's had closed and Marshall Fields had taken over. Macy had decided to franchise it store and had taken a loss doing it. Now it's rightsizing itself and probably will return to having just it's flagship store only. Eastland old still remain open with Lowes, Target, Home Depot, and Burlington. The mall itself could be razed

[mtburb]

Pretty much every remaining mall in Metro Detroit has a Macys. The only exceptions would be Laurel Park Place [[which is small, and not particularly successful), Great Lakes Crossing, Macomb Mall, Mall of Monroe, and the newer outdoor lifestyle centers.

Corrected.

[Bham1982]

Corrected.

Yeah, I missed Macomb Mall.

I was just counting the traditional tri-county metro definition, so wouldn't count anything in Monroe, and Great Lakes Crossing is an outlet mall, so by definition, can't have traditional anchors. Would not be surprised if they get a Macys Close Out in the coming year, though [[that's Macy's new outlet brand).

[BankruptcyGuy]

Westland was killed by Ford Road. If you go about one mile south, and starting from Newburgh west to Canton Center, there is virtually every retailer located in the Midwest.

Tough location, changing demographics, and demise of the "destination" in favor of convenience.

[aj3647]

How many malls had to shut down in the days after Christmas because of fights involving dozens or more, organized on social media? I can't imagine why regular people are staying away!

[Former_Detroiter]

Eastland was originally anchored by Hudson's a local Detroit department store. The beginning of the end for Eastland was when Hudson's had closed and Marshall Fields had taken over. Macy had decided to franchise it store and had taken a loss doing it. Now it's rightsizing itself and probably will return to having just it's flagship store only. Eastland old still remain open with Lowes, Target, Home Depot, and Burlington. The mall itself could be razed

Eastland hit rock bottom when Shoppers World moved in.

[casscorridor]

Westland was killed by Ford Road. If you go about one mile south, and starting from Newburgh west to Canton Center, there is virtually every retailer located in the Midwest.

Tough location, changing demographics, and demise of the "destination" in favor of convenience.

Yeah, no good freeway connection to Westland.

[313WX]

Eastland was originally anchored by Hudson's a local Detroit department store. The beginning of the end for Eastland was when Hudson's had closed and Marshall Fields had taken over. Macy had decided to franchise it store and had taken a loss doing it. Now it's rightsizing itself and probably will return to having just it's flagship store only. Eastland old still remain open with Lowes, Target, Home Depot, and Burlington. The mall itself could be razed

I'd say Eastland definitely peaked after its 1993 renovation through the late 1990s.

The closing of Montgomery Ward [[followed closely behind by JC Penney) was the start of the end.

[313WX]

Well, I'm surprised Target didn't announce the closure of their Eastland store in the lead of the Macy's announcement [[like what happened with Northland).

They may do so next.

I don't think Target has announced their store closures [[if any) yet.

[313WX]

I'm surprised Westland is still kicking. Sadly this may truly be the death blow just as Hudson's departure did to downtown. I haven't been to Westland in quite a while but it seemed in its death throes when I did the following 'ring of death' photoshoot in 2009. Several big box stores and strip malls had sprung up along the perimeter road of the core mall. Most had failed. It gave meaning to the long-running nickname for Westland among my truck-driving days friends: Wasteland.

Best Buy


TJ Max


Sam's Club


Service Merchandise


Mexican Restaurant?


Mega Grocery Store


Circuit City


BP Gas Station


No Name big Box


And of course the famous Quo Vadis theater

Based on the faded logo prints, the "Mega Grocery Store" actually appears to have been a Value City Department Store [[Crowley's).

[313WX]

As an Eastsider myself, this really seems like it should be a focusing event for east side communities to get together and plan action steps to improve the health of the area.

What is the future of east side communities? They are aging, they have decaying infrastructure, the homes are small and not in keeping with trends in U.S. real estate. There is no walk-ability. Something must be done.

I might just go see my local planning officials.

1953

Not sure honestly.

The east side was always the working class side of town with all of the good-paying manufacturing jobs.

Unfortunately, between the move towards automation / globalizaton and the Big 3 automakers now having less than 50% of the market share [[versus 75-90% during the 50s - 90s), those jobs aren't coming back. And even if they did, they wouldn't pay nearly as well as they did in the past).

[EastsideAl]

As an Eastsider myself, this really seems like it should be a focusing event for east side communities to get together and plan action steps to improve the health of the area.

What is the future of east side communities? They are aging, they have decaying infrastructure, the homes are small and not in keeping with trends in U.S. real estate. There is no walk-ability. Something must be done.

I might just go see my local planning officials.

1953

Really astonishing how little shopping is left in the eastern part of the metro area. Even though, outside of the long decline of the city itself, the population really hasn't declined. On this occasion of the closure of the Eastland Macy's my dad and I were just talking nostalgically about the shopping options gone and going over the few reasonably reachable shopping options still available to an east side senior like him. What a depressing conversation that turned into...

[Onthe405]

Included in the Macy's closings is downtown Minneapolis which was the flagship of the old Dayton stores [[later Dayton-Hudson and now evolved into Target). Somehow, it hung on while downtown Hudson's went down years ago. Target sold their Dayton-Hudson chain to Macy's.

Another surprise closing is the former Meier & Frank flagship in Portland, as both Minneapolis & Portland have bustling downtowns. In both cases, the real estate is probably much more valuable than the volume of sales that could be generated by the store. They are also selling the former Joseph Magnin building in SF, across the street from the main Union Square store.

Wall Street has been urging Macy's to leverage their valuable real estate to either create a lease-back arrangement [[like Sears did with Seritage) or outright sell some of it off in order to generate funds to upgrade existing profitable stores [[many of them are appalling in their current condition), expand the off-price brand, and increase focus online. Guaranteed there will be changes at Herald Square, Center City, & State Street, too.


Slight correction: Target Corp [[formerly Dayton-Hudson Corp) didn't sell their department store division directly to Macy's [[formerly Federated). They initially sold it to May Company Stores. Within a very short period of time, May was acquired by Federated.

Eastland was originally anchored by Hudson's a local Detroit department store. The beginning of the end for Eastland was when Hudson's had closed and Marshall Fields had taken over.

Technically, Hudson's never closed. The doors certainly didn't, anyway. The product lines & management had the same lineage [[Dayton-Hudson Corp) from 1969 until the sale to May Stores in 2004. In 2000, with the intent of a spin-off and eventual sale, Dayton-Hudson simply re-branded all Marshall Field's, Hudson's, and Dayton's stores uniformly to "Marshall Field's", since it had the most name recognition nationally. Any perceived differences before and after the name change were purely psychological on the part of metro Detroiters.

However, in support of your initial statement, the power of psychology, when it comes to choosing a store or brand, should not to be discounted.

Would not be surprised if they get a Macys Close Out in the coming year, though [[that's Macy's new outlet brand).

The correct name for the off-price brand is Macy's Backstage:


https://www.macysbackstage.com/home

[Zacha341]

Well Foreman Mills always threatens to close but never does. Macy's perhaps can create a close out exit to stave off for more time [[with prices far lower than Target of course)!

[Zacha341]

Yes, that was a VCDS. I loved those. They were a decent step up from Foreman Mills--sometimes you could really find some nice things! The one at the old Livonia Mall was the best.

Based on the faded logo prints, the "Mega Grocery Store" actually appears to have been a Value City Department Store [[Crowley's).

[Bigb23]

I live in downtown Rochester/Hills, and on a smaller scale than above, local strip malls have been mostly vacant for the last seven years. Can ANYTHING be put in there, other than another yoga/spa/ nails emporium?

The Schostak Bros. group must be getting a better tax write off than selling leases. Even a dollar store is better than a empty store front with peeling paint and a droopy faux ceiling.

I guess we are in a wicked economic upturn, but someone will leave vacant stores in one of the richest cities in one of the richest counties in America for profit.

[Bigb23]

I remember buying American made stereos in a early 70's Kmart with a knowledgeable gent who was just there for questions. Now you can search a whole store for a worker who sees you heading her way, and disappears in a second.

Despite what Donald Trump says, he can't hope to fix the simple things, let alone world diplomacy.

[ArchNigel]

Lowell, I think the "Mexican Restaurant" you speak of was more than likely an Olive Garden at some point. Many of them have/had this "stone walls and a tile roof" faux-Mediterranean architecture to them. Here is a similarly designed Olive Garden in Auburn Hills.

I'm surprised Westland is still kicking. Sadly this may truly be the death blow just as Hudson's departure did to downtown. I haven't been to Westland in quite a while but it seemed in its death throes when I did the following 'ring of death' photoshoot in 2009. Several big box stores and strip malls had sprung up along the perimeter road of the core mall. Most had failed. It gave meaning to the long-running nickname for Westland among my truck-driving days friends: Wasteland.

Best Buy


TJ Max


Sam's Club


Service Merchandise


Mexican Restaurant?


Mega Grocery Store


Circuit City


BP Gas Station


No Name big Box


And of course the famous Quo Vadis theater

[EstateSale]

Based on the faded logo prints, the "Mega Grocery Store" actually appears to have been a Value City Department Store [[Crowley's).

Yep. That was a Value City. I think there was supposed to be a big national pharmacy/discount chain in there at one time--I forget the name, but the company went out of business amid some kind of questionable financial situation before it could open. It was quite a big story at the time.

Incidentally, that old Circuit City has been repurposed as the new Westland City Hall.

[Bham1982]

Another surprise closing is the former Meier & Frank flagship in Portland, as both Minneapolis & Portland have bustling downtowns. In both cases, the real estate is probably much more valuable than the volume of sales that could be generated by the store. They are also selling the former Joseph Magnin building in SF, across the street from the main Union Square store.

Wall Street has been urging Macy's to leverage their valuable real estate to either create a lease-back arrangement [[like Sears did with Seritage) or outright sell some of it off in order to generate funds to upgrade existing profitable stores [[many of them are appalling in their current condition), expand the off-price brand, and increase focus online. Guaranteed there will be changes at Herald Square, Center City, & State Street, too.

Macys just sunk about a billion into the Herald Square flagship, and it's wildly profitable. It's an incredibly busy store.

Something crazy like 25% of Macys sales happen in this single store [[one of 800 or so).

The SF and Downtown Brooklyn stores are also extremely profitable downtown locations. Both are undergoing sale-leasebacks, but will undergo major renovations too [[though not as elaborate as Herald Square, which now has high end brands like Chanel, Hermes and the like, as if it were Saks or Barneys or Harrods).

Department stores aren't necessarily doing poorly, depending on location and brand. And downtown shopping isn't really declining, depending on location. In Manhattan, there are new flagships for Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks [[the second Manhattan location), Barneys [[the third Manhattan location) and possibly yet another Nordstrom either under construction or planned. The existing department store flagships are almost all doing lavish renovations, and many are expanding. The Bloomingdales flagship is even more profitable than the Macy's flagship.

The bigger issue is that there's just too much retail in the U.S. The country basically doubled retail space in the 80's, and we have been paying the price ever since. Even absend the internet, there would be many store closings.

Case in point- the Eastside of the metro area has had stagnant incomes and population for 40 years, but they basically built a giant new shopping corridor along Hall Rd. That has slowly killed all the major retail to the south. The same thing happened in Wayne County, when Ford Rd. around IKEA boomed, dooming Fairlane and Westland areas.

[Bigb23]

The Schostak Bros. group must be getting a better tax write off than selling leases. Even a dollar store is better than a empty store front with peeling paint and a droopy faux ceiling.

Why would a management company sit on a tax write off, rather than be involved in the community ?