Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren to step down

Macy’s longtime CEO, Terry Lundgren, will step down in the first quarter of 2017, to be succeeded by a company veteran.



Lundgren, who has been CEO of the department store giant since 2003, is stepping down as the retailer finds itself challenged with a transformed retail landscape and changing consumer demands. He will be succeeded by Jeff Gennette, 55, who was named president of Macy’s in 2014 after serving as chief merchandising office since 2009. Lundgren will continue as executive chairman of the company and work side-by-side with Gennette as president and CEO.



Gennette is a 33-year Macy’s veteran who came up through the ranks. He began his retail career in 1983 as an executive trainee at Macy’s West. Macy’s said his appointment was part of the company’s succession plan.



“I have been honored to lead this enterprise through a period of unprecedented reinvention,” Lundgren said. “While our company is larger, stronger and more resourceful than we were 13 years ago, now is the time to reset our business model to thrive in a future that is being driven by rapid evolution in consumer preferences and shopping habits. Our company must and will change in response to the profound secular forces that are driving consumer spending.”



Lundgren’s tenure at Macy’s is a distinguished one, and includes nearly doubling topline sales, acquiring the May Department Stores Company, and consolidating an array of regional department banners under the Macy’s banner. But the chain has been caught in the crossfires recently of a challenging consumer environment and increased online competition. In May, Macy’s reported its fifth-straight decline of same-store sales, and lowered its 2016 sales and profit forecast due to what it said was “the uncertain direction of consumer spending.”



As part of the transition, Gennette will join the Macy’s board of directors, effective June 23, bringing the size of the board to 14 members. He will assume additional management responsibility during the transition period, including oversight of the Macy’s stores organization.