Shopping News
Restaurant to the rescue for debut of Macy's new store concept in Southlake
In an attempt to fight what has dubbed the "retail apocalypse," department store chain Macy's is launching a new store concept that is smaller and uses food as bait.
The new concept is called Market By Macy's, and the first of its kind is opening right here in North Texas, at Southlake Town Square. We're famous! It'll open on February 6.
The store has 20,000 square feet, significantly smaller than the usual 100,000 square feet (or bigger) that old-school department stores have always had.
The store is also incorporating an in-house eatery open for breakfast and lunch. Restaurants to the rescue.
Market by Macy's will debut two new brands:
- Getchell's Apothecary is an exclusive beauty shop and product inspired by the first female executive to work in retail, Margaret Getchell.
- Herald is an in-store food and beverage concept, offering breakfast, lunch, and snacks daily. A menu online includes salads, toasts, deviled eggs, $6 spiced nuts, onion dip with potato chips, pastries from Empire Baking, plus cocktails, beer, and wine.
A release uses the word "curated" about a dozen times, and that is almost always a cry for help:
"The store is immersive shopping experience that celebrates discovery, community, and convenience by offering distinctive products curated with an editorial approach. Market by Macy’s retail assortment includes a curated selection of the best of Macy’s branded fashion offerings mixed with newness from specialty designers and local Texas brands for men, women, kids and the home."
"Retail apocalypse" refers to the closures of numerous retail chains, a trend that began around 2010 and gets worse every day. According toThe Atlantic, more than 12,000 physical stores have closed across the U.S., due to over-expansion of malls, rising rents, horrible leveraged buyouts, and e-commerce, IE shut-in millennials who rely on Amazon and do not realize how totally fun it can be to spend an entire weekend afternoon hanging out at the mall.
This new Market by Macy's will also have event spaces for things like cooking tutorials, book signings, crafting, and fitness classes.
And as with regular Macy's stores, shoppers can buy online (at macys.com) and pick up in the store, as well as make returns.
Macy's began to shrink the size of some of its stores in 2018, and also started testing pop-up stores inside their stores, which stocked lesser-known brands. They're making their best effort.
