Macy’s affirms commitment to Trumbull Mall
Meanwhile, company will be closing 150 U.S. stores
TRUMBULL — Macy’s is staying in Trumbull after the company announced it is closing 150 stores nationwide.
Trumbull Director of Economic and Community Development Rina Bakalar said the location’s performance is improving and the decision to stay is beneficial for both the company and the mall.
“Obviously, we’re very pleased they are going to stay open in Trumbull,” she said. “It is my understanding that business is up at the Trumbull location by about 20 percent over the previous year.”
A Macy’s spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the closures elsewhere are “designed to return Macy’s Inc. to profitable growth and enhance the customer experience.”
The 150 stores are expected to close over the next three years, the statement read.
Bakalar said Macy’s brought a new manager to the Trumbull store, Darrell Alexander, in October and he is working to improve the store’s overall quality with new ideas, better staff training and making necessary improvements.
“I think the new manager they brought in is very active, engaged and has good ideas,” Bakalar said.
“We talked to him about improving the exterior facade of the store and he made the changes. He’s doing a great job with getting their staff engaged and trained.”
Bakalar said it’s possible the location is also benefiting from the departure of the popular Lord + Taylor department store chain, which left the mall in February 2021.
Lord + Taylor and its parent company filed for bankruptcy in August 2020, which led to the closing of all of its 38 stores nationwide. This included its four Connecticut locations.
Its Trumbull location occupied an approximately 117,000-square-foot space since 1992.
“We’re happy Macy’s is staying because it’s one of the few full-service department stores in the area. We’d like to see them have additional inventory and to be an overall vibrant store,” Bakalar said.
“It’s positive for the mall, and we’re glad they’ve re-signed their lease and decided to stay. I
think the store will continue to increase in terms of performance in the years to come if they continue to manage it well. And the town wants to help them.”
Trumbull Mall management did not respond to a request for comment.
Macy’s plans to close 50 stores this year based on their performances on a
sales-per-square-foot basis, according to a Macy’s spokesperson.
In 2020, the company cut almost 130 jobs when it closed its Meriden store and later closed its stores in both Waterbury and Waterford.
Macy’s now has six Connecticut stores — at the Trumbull Mall, Connecticut Post Mall, Danbury
Fair, Stamford Town Center, Westfarms and the Shoppes at Buckland Hills malls.
The company also owns Bloomingdale’s, a store located at the SoNo Collection mall in Norwalk, along with eight Bluemercury stores statewide, including those in Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan and Westport.