Macy’s on Wednesday said it plans to hire 80,000 seasonal staff members, boosting hiring for its online operations, as it expects a “strong” holiday shopping season, even as Wall Street has reined in expectations for department stores in the current quarter.
The Cincinnati-based department store said it plans to hire these workers for positions at its Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores, call centres, distribution centres and online fulfilment centres.
The number was the same as the 80,000 it announced in 2017, although the company added an additional 7,000 workers in December due to strong traffic in stores.
“Macy’s anticipates a strong and successful holiday shopping season,” the company said.
The company on Wednesday said about 23,500, or nearly a third of these workers, would be in its so-called direct-to-consumer fulfilment facilities, up from 18,000 last year, suggesting it expects growth in its ecommerce operations. Macy’s and other department stores have invested heavily in their online businesses to stave off competition from Amazon and other online rivals.
Macy’s chief executive Jeffrey Gennette cited “strong consumer sentiment and good spending across all of retail” when the department store chain delivered a rosier outlook last month. However, Wall Street soured on the stock following its earnings results, which had jumped 66 per cent year-to-date in the run-up.
Macy’s shares climbed as much as 2.3 per cent on Wednesday before trimming those gains to trade flat.
