Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette to retire in 2024

Macy's CEO Jeff Gennette has announced that he will be retiring early next year after more than four decades with the company, the department store chain announced on Wednesday.

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The 61-year-old Gennette is planning to retire in the month of February. Upon his retirement, Tony Spring, the CEO of the company's higher-end department store banner, Bloomingdale's, will succeed him as CEO.

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Along with the change in the CEO at Macy's, Adrian Mitchell, 49, Macy's Chief Financial Officer, will also take on an expanded role as Macy's Chief Operating Officer in addition to his role as the company's Chief Financial Officer. It will be his responsibility to lead the teams in charge of store operations, technology, and supply chain, in addition to his existing role as director of finance and real estate.

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Gennette took over Macy's top spot in 2017 when sales were down and hard questions arose about whether the storied retailer, as well as department stores in general, would survive a period where customers moved online and increasingly shopped at discounters, e-commerce players, and fashion-forward brands.

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As president, he spearheaded efforts to reinvigorate the nearly 165-year-old company and give it a fresh start. As part of Macy's three-year turnaround strategy, Polaris, announced in February 2020, he formally launched the company's turnaround plan. For the company to increase profits, the report recommended accelerating digital growth, closing underperforming stores, and investing in its best-performing stores.

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Gennette has led Macy's through another major challenge over the past three years, a pandemic that forced Macy's to temporarily shut down nearly 800 stores and furlough most of its employees over a period of three months.

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In the wake of the pandemic, the retailer emerged with a smaller workforce and store footprint, but with less debt and a more modern, data-driven organizational structure.

Shares of the company have decreased by roughly 50% after Gennette assumed the position of CEO in March 2017, however the stock has recovered significantly from its lows in March and April 2020, immediately following Covid's declaration of a pandemic.

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Last year, the retailer was able to avoid many of the inventory woes of its peers in the retail industry, putting it in a better position for the holiday shopping season and the start of the fiscal year. The company has recently begun to break out of its typical role of being the anchor tenant in shopping malls and has opened and tested several smaller and off-mall locations.

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The fact that Gennette is an openly gay leader of a publicly traded company has also made him stand out. In the past, he has been a loyal supporter of equal rights in a variety of ways, such as publicly expressing his support for the Respect for Marriage Act as well as expressing company support behind it.

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After an internal and external search, Macy's announced that it had selected Spring, 58, as its next leader following an internal and external search.

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One of the strongest parts of Macy's business has been its Bloomingdale's division, which Spring is currently in charge of. Each quarter of the previous fiscal year, the banner surpassed Macy's namesake banner. It has fewer locations but more luxury products and a higher-spending clientele.

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Additionally, the company also comprises the the beauty banner Bluemercury, which Spring was also able to help reposition as another point of strength for the company.

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Gennette gave Spring credit for her work.

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“Through Tony's leadership, we have strengthened our culture and have been able to consistently innovate for the customer. He has been an exceptional brand builder and an excellent talent developer. He has impacted our culture in a positive way," Tony said in a recent statement.

Gennette spoke to Spring and Mitchell as "the perfect team to capitalize on our momentum and advance Macy's, Inc."