Shoppers stroll by an indication for the Macy’s division retailer at a mall in Long Island, N.Y.

Ted Shaffrey/AP

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Ted Shaffrey/AP

Shoppers stroll by an indication for the Macy’s division retailer at a mall in Long Island, N.Y.

Ted Shaffrey/AP

Macy’s, an anchor of so many purchasing malls, plans to shut 150 malls in a bid to reinvigorate gross sales and shift its public picture extra towards luxurious items.

The firm on Tuesday said it is going to shutter “underproductive” shops, whereas opening extra of its better-performing, higher-end siblings: Bloomingdale’s and beauty-focused Bluemercury. Macy’s additionally plans so as to add smaller shops at outside purchasing facilities, which have been rising in sharp distinction to indoor malls.

All that is a part of a do-or-die activity for the quintessential American division retailer beneath a brand-new CEO. His plan, dubbed “A Bold New Chapter,” seems to acknowledge that Macy’s for years has been shedding its conventional middle-class shopper — each to the yawning wealth hole dividing America and easily to different retailers, together with manufacturers that promote instantly on-line.

Macy’s has but to specify which shops will shut, saying solely that fifty will shutter this yr and the remaining by the top of 2026. Chief Executive Tony Spring mentioned these places accounted for 1 / 4 of the corporate’s sq. footage however lower than a tenth of its gross sales.

In January, Macy’s individually instructed workers it could shutter 5 shops and reduce 2,350 jobs, round 3.5% of its workforce. This adopted a number of different waves of closing stores and offices lately. The scale of layoffs from the newly introduced retail closures is unclear. Once they’re accomplished, Macy’s can have 350 places — simply over half of what it had earlier than the pandemic.

At the identical time, the corporate expects to open 15 new Bloomingdale’s and 30 or extra Bluemercury shops, along with transforming one other 30 Bluemercury places. Spring instructed analysts he desires so as to add a dozen small-format Macy’s shops this yr to places outdoors the standard mall this yr, which might double their rely, with plans for extra subsequent yr.

As it struggles to entice buyers, the chain additionally has been battling activist traders. In December, the group of traders launched an unsuccessful $5.8 billion bid to purchase out the retailer and take it non-public. They are actually try to gain control of the board of directors.

Spring took the helm earlier this month after a long time at Bloomingdale’s, hoping to steer Macy’s again into dependable profitability. He described shopper surveys wishing for “neat, easy and convenient” purchasing on-line and in shops, trendier alternatives, clearer pricing, extra workers to assist.

“Our thresholds to keep a store open have become more stringent,” Spring instructed traders on a name on Tuesday. “The core formula for success is … going back to basics and balancing the art and science of retail by putting the customer first.”