Could Macy’s Be Closing in Rochester?

Macy's department stores started with one location in New York City back in 1858, and has grown to have nearly 730 stores across the country. The store here in Rochester is one of the anchors of Apache Mall. But is there a chance it could be closing down in the not-so-distant future?

A press release from Macy's today (August 11) indicates that the department store chain is planning on close approximately 100 of its 728 stores, beginning early in 2017. "While still maintaining a significant bricks-and-mortar presence in 49 of the top 50 U.S. markets, Macy’s will operate fewer stores and concentrate its financial resources and talent on our better-performing locations to elevate their status as preferred shopping destinations," according to the release.

The money that had been spent on the closing stores will instead be used to make improvements on their remaining stores, as well as focusing on their sales growth in the digital arena. This isn't the first time Macy's has closed stores, with approximately 90 locations shutting down over the past six years.

Could the Rochester store be among those to close down this time around? With the expected continued growth of the Rochester area in the years to come, it would seem unlikely. But with 11 current locations statewide, including nine Twin Cities properties, there's always the chance that the retail giant could decide to disappear from the Med City.

In any case, the Macy's says it plans to let the associates of the stores that are closing know before making the announcements public. Let's hope they don't pull out of our fine city...