Macy's Lays Off Chief Growth Officer
January 13 2017 - 7:04PM
Dow Jones News
By Suzanne Kapner
Macy's Inc., a company in search of growth, is losing its chief
growth officer.
Peter Sachse, who has held the post for about a year, will be
out of a job as of Jan. 30, according to a securities filing
Friday. His termination is part of broader layoffs announced by the
retailer last week that will eliminate 10,000 positions.
Mr. Sachse, a 34-year veteran of the company, was once
considered a contender to succeed Terry Lundgren, who will step
down as chief executive this year. But Mr. Sachse lost out to
Jeffrey Gennette, who was elevated to president in 2014 and named
to the top job in June.
Mr. Lundgren is expected to vacate the position some time
between February and April but will remain chairman.
A 2015 executive reshuffling at Macy's resulted in Mr. Sachse
moving from his job as head of stores to a newly created role
developing growth opportunities. At the same time, Mr. Gennette was
given more oversight of Macy's core business.
The move underscored the challenges Macy's faced in trying to
grow its department-store operations, where sales had begun to sag
amid declines in foot traffic at shopping malls.
The company said last week that sales at existing stores fell
2.1% in November and December compared with the same period a year
earlier. Assuming that business doesn't improve considerably this
month, it would mark the eighth consecutive quarter in which Macy's
sales have fallen on that basis.
As growth chief, Mr. Sachse, who previously served as Macy's
chief marketing officer and was instrumental in developing the
early stages of its e-commerce business, was part of a team that
created a new concept called Macy's Backstage to compete with
off-price chains like T.J. Maxx, which had been stealing market
share from department stores for years.
"If we're going to donate share to the off-price market, I'd
rather donate share to ourselves," Mr. Sachse told The Wall Street
Journal in 2015.
He also oversaw Bluemercury, the cosmetics chain that Macy's
bought in 2015, as well as the company's efforts to expand
overseas, particularly through a joint venture to sell goods in
China.
Macy's said last week that it plans to open 50 Backstage
locations inside its existing department stores, and will continue
to expand the Bluemercury concept.
The retailer doesn't plan to replace Mr. Sachse and will
reassign staffers who reported to him to other managers. Employees
were told of his departure in an internal company email earlier
this week, according to people familiar with the situation.
Mr. Sachse stands to receive an exit package worth more than $12
million, including $4.5 million in cash, as much as $1.3 million in
restricted shares, and retirement benefits valued a year ago at
$6.7 million.
--Theo Francis contributed to this article.
Write to Suzanne Kapner at Suzanne.Kapner@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 13, 2017 18:49 ET (23:49 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Macys (NYSE:M)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Macys (NYSE:M)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024