Macy's to Remodel Herald Square Store
POSTED November 6, 2011
NEW YORK -- Macy's announced it will renovate its flagship store at Herald Square in New York City. The Macy's on 34th Street and Herald Square is the world's largest department store and NYC icon. The project will create up to 1,600 construction jobs and 800 new jobs at the store when completed.
The company plans to invest $400 million in the project over the next four years. Additional selling space will be added in the store to allow for expanded assortments and upgraded presentations in key merchandise categories including shoes, handbags, cosmetics and fashion brands for millennial-generation customers.
Work will begin in early spring 2012 and continue in phases through the
fall of 2015. The majority of every floor, virtually every department
and the exterior of the building will be improved over the life of the
project. The store will remain open and operating during construction,
with the location of some departments shifting temporarily as work
progresses.
"The excitement, size and scale of this remodel reinforces our conviction that Macy's Herald Square is and will remain a retail store in a class by itself. It is our company's most productive store, and experience shows that improvements in this location consistently result in higher customer traffic and sales volume. Our upcoming top-to-bottom remodel represents an investment in the future growth of our business as New York City continues to evolve as a world capital and shopping destination," said Terry Lundgren, Macy's, Inc. chairman, president and chief executive officer.
"Herald Square is a national and international symbol of the Macy's
brand. It already is one of the top tourist attractions in New York City
and North America. It is the hub of the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day
Parade. And generations of fashion designers and celebrities have
gravitated to Macy's Herald Square as a place to launch products and
showcase their newest ideas," Lundgren said.
"While we will be creating a modern, customer-centric shopping
experience for customers at Herald Square, we also will be careful to
preserve and restore the historical integrity of this landmark building.
Macy's Herald Square is a treasure that we intend to protect and
nurture. Blending Macy's architectural legacy with advanced technology
and contemporary design is what makes this project so special," he added.
Key elements of the remodel project include:
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A 100,000-square-foot expansion of the store's selling space to a
total of 1.2 million square feet by opening up space currently used
for stock and offices and extending the mezzanine level in the
Broadway Building.
-
A new hall of luxury brands, a dazzling series of two- and three-level
shops in the Broadway Building. The current Louis Vuitton shop will be
updated and enlarged to multiple floors. Other new shops to be
announced will be added to provide a robust shopping experience for
luxury goods, including handbags and shoes.
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Creating the world's largest women's shoe department - a total of
39,000 square feet of continuous selling space (63,000 square feet
including stockrooms) on the second floor. The department will offer
an unequalled assortment of fashion and luxury footwear (as many as
300,000 pairs of shoes available on any given day), including access
to the second level of luxury brand shops. Part of the footwear space
will be an all-new concept for a coffee/wine/chocolate bar.
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Dazzling, updated presentations of new and expanded apparel
assortments from top fashion brands for which Macy's is well-known.
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Restoring the first floor "great hall" with an all-new presentation of
cosmetics, fragrances and fine jewelry that will incorporate the most
advanced thinking on merchandising of the top brands and products for
which Macy's is well-known. The original great hall's ceiling height
will be restored.
-
Creating an entirely new Impulse presentation of contemporary apparel
and accessories for the millennial customer.
-
Creating an entirely new "mstylelab" presentation of juniors and young
men's in the Lower Level. This will be a technology-infused
environment of products and services appealing to the social instincts
of younger customers. The hottest apparel brands will be complemented
by juniors' accessories, shoes, cosmetics and services such as a nail
bar and salon. Also incorporated into the Lower Level will be a
complex of casual dining experiences, including concepts created by
Macy's Culinary Council of celebrity chefs and a brew pub that will
remain open beyond normal store hours.
-
A significant expansion and enhancement of men's merchandise, which
will grow to cover about 200,000 square feet of selling space over
seven floors of the Seventh Avenue Building. This will become one of
the premier men's shopping destinations in the world.
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Infusing technology and new media into the shopping experience
throughout the store. This includes interactive store directories, a
system to stream live video feeds of Macy's events nationwide, digital
product information, an enhanced shoe locator system, new wayfinding
signage and a new mobile app to guide customers as they shop. Detailed
design of the latter phases of the renovation project are yet to begin
so new technologies and ideas may be incorporated as they emerge.
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A new table-service restaurant on the sixth floor with window access
along Broadway that will provide stunning views of the Empire State
Building and Midtown Manhattan. This all-new restaurant will be among
22 restaurants and foodservice stations throughout the store that will
accommodate seating for about 1,100 customers, an increase of nearly
40 percent.
-
An entirely new world of home merchandise on the eighth and ninth
floors, including an enhanced demonstration kitchen and relocated De
Gustibus Cooking School.
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A restoration of the store's exterior to re-capture its original
grandeur and take full advantage of foot traffic along America's top
retailing block. The ornate "Memorial Entrance" on 34th
Street will be restored and reopened. Windows along Broadway, 34th
Street and Seventh Avenue, which have been covered up over the years,
will be reopened. Windows on the upper floors also will be uncovered
to allow more natural light into the building. Sidewalks will be
replaced, with Macy's-branded paved "welcome mats" added at every
entrance. Awnings and canopies reminiscent of the original building
will be added. New exterior lighting will highlight the building's
elegant architectural details.
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Preservation of 42 of 43 historic wooden escalators in the current
store - a unique and distinguishing feature of Macy's Herald Square.
(One current wooden escalator will be removed to supply replacement
parts for the others.)
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An enhanced Visitors Center on the newly expanded Mezzanine level with
technology in nine languages to serve a growing volume of
international visitors.
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Expanding and upgrading amenities. Nearly 300 additional fitting rooms
will be added over the next four years. Restroom facilities will be
added and improved.
-
Operating systems to improve environmental sustainability, including a
new state-of-the-art energy management system and expanded use of LED
lighting, that is expected to reduce annual energy use by 15 to 20
percent.
"Our design of the new Macy's Herald Square reflects how a new
generation of customers prefers to shop. In many cases, product will be
organized by lifestyle to help customers create looks and build
wardrobes across categories. On every floor and across departments, our
shopping environment will be new, fresh, interesting and entertaining,"
Lundgren said.
Macy's Herald Square anchors two of the top retail corners in America -
Broadway/34th Street and Seventh Avenue/34th
Street. The first portion of the current Macy's Herald Square store (the
majority of the current Broadway Building) was opened in 1902. The store
was expanded in three additional phases to its current form by 1931. The
current building includes nearly 2.2 million gross square feet.
Over the course of the remodel project, an estimated 1,600
construction-related positions will be created. The total ongoing
workforce in the Macy's Herald Square store is expected to grow steadily
as each phase is completed and the level of business accelerates. By
fall 2015, Macy's plans to add about 800 new positions to the store's
existing year-round workforce of about 4,600 persons.
Macy's, Inc.'s internal planning, design and construction team is
leading the Macy's Herald Square renovation program, with master
planning support from STUDIO V Architecture of New York. Component
elements were designed by Highland Associates of New York, Kevin Kennon
Architects of New York and Charles Sparks + Company of Westchester, IL.
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