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Nordstrom has a similar concept, called Nordstrom Rack, that similarly takes inspiration from off-price stores like TJ Maxx and Ross Stores. It makes sense that department stores would want to emulate an off-price model.
Same-store sales numbers have been strong at off-price stores while many department stores have suffered in recent years. But department stores have one major disadvantage while operating in this space. Their off-price stores have to co-exist with their full-price stores, which also offer discounted products, potentially leading to brand confusion for customers and vendors.
The analysts wrote that off-price stores such as TJ Maxx have a structural advantage over department stores since they have a large vendor base that has been built up over decades. Some of the products sold at TJ Maxx are made specifically for the store by certain brands.
Visit your local Macy's Backstage department store for amazing deals on We do not accept coupons on Macy's Backstage merchandise since we offer savings . Off price, on trend, arriving daily. Visit your local Macy's Backstage department store for amazing deals on affordable clothing for both women & men, designer.
Macy's Backstage has a separate buying team and sells a mix of products from new and existing vendors, both from the current and the last season. A spokesperson for Macy's confirmed that Backstage also sells overstock from its other full-price stores but said this makes up a limited amount of its inventory. We decided to put the two stores to the test. Maxx or Marshalls store.
However, in , Macy's pivoted toward opening Backstage stores within existing Macy's full-line locations, most of which are in shopping malls. It further refined and grew the Macy's Backstage store-within-a-store concept last year.
Macy's plans to double down on this strategy in , dramatically expanding the number of Backstage outlets it operates. This move holds significant promise for improving the sales productivity and profitability of its store base.
During the past two years, Macy's has opened Backstage outlets in dozens of its full-line stores. The goal -- at least initially -- was to boost the sales productivity of lower-performing stores. The early results have been promising.
Macy's Backstage carries many of the same brands as Macy's full-line stores. However, it has a completely separate buying organization from the full-line business.
Maxx and Marshalls chains. Furthermore, whereas Macy's full-line pricing strategy entails high starting prices combined with a variety of sales and coupons, everything at Backstage is marked down from day one -- but with no additional discounts allowed.
Thanks to these differences between its full-line and off-price businesses, cannibalization hasn't been a significant problem when Macy's has opened Backstage outlets within its full-line stores. Meanwhile, management believes that the Macy's Backstage pilot locations are stimulating extra customer visits and higher spending. In total, adding Macy's Backstage in an existing store has provided a nearly 7-percentage-point sales lift on average.
As of the end of , there were about 45 Macy's Backstage locations within Macy's full-line stores. During , the company plans to open another Backstage stores, significantly expanding the off-price concept's footprint. However, there's more to this expansion than pure numbers.
First, Macy's will begin testing the Backstage concept in some of its best stores, to see if it can help those locations become even more successful. Second, Macy's will start actively marketing its Backstage brand.
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