One-fifth of Macy’s stores to shutter

Macy’s announced it is closing 125 stores and cutting 2,000 corporate jobs. The department store chain also is closing its offices in Cincinnati and San Francisco, leaving New York City as its sole corporate headquarters. The company didn’t say how many store employees will lose their jobs, but it currently employs about 130,000 people.

Is this a portent of the future? Like many of its brick-and-mortar competitors, Macy’s is struggling to reinvent itself in the age of online shopping. The company is testing a new smaller-store format located at a strip shopping center instead of a mall. The Market by Macy’s, opening in Dallas on Thursday, will feature a mixture of Macy’s merchandise and local goods, as well as food and beverages.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Andrée Seu Peterson’s reflections on shopping malls, fads, and what survives the test of time.