Macy's closing Oviedo location

Macy's announced the closing of 100 stores across the country, at least five in Florida - including the one in Oviedo. This comes on the heels of disappointing holiday sales.

Other Florida closures were in Tampa, Sarasota, Lakeland, and West Palm Beach. There may be more on the horizon, since Macy's only announced 68 of the hundred closures. Not great news for Maria Hagen, who loves shopping at the Oviedo Macy's.

“It's convenient,” Hagen says, “I don't have to go down to Florida Mall or out to Fashion Square. I don't really like that location.”

Mark Johnston, a professor at the Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business, says many traditional department stores are losing out in a digital world.

“The retail store - the brick part of retailing - has been declining over the past several years because of the growth of online shopping,” Johnston said.

He says Macy's will be using this opportunity to grow online and open smaller, boutique stores.
Macy's hopes this will compete with discount stores like TJ Maxx and Marshall’s, which have been thriving.

“They're closing not only underperforming stores,” Johnston says, “but they're repositioning themselves and opening up more specialty-type shops in other areas.”

But it's cold comfort for more than six thousand Macy's workers nationwide who'll be laid off. It’s also a loss for Hagen, who prefers shopping face-to-face.

“Of course I use online shopping,” she said, “but I prefer to go to the store where you can touch everything, talk to a salesperson, they have input and know their stock. They can give you advice - it's just a personal touch I enjoy.”

The price of Macy's stock tumbled more than nine percent on Wednesday on the news of the disappointing sales and closures.