Mall Retailer Shuttering 150 Stores, Louisiana Locations Closing?

For the longest time, the "status" of a city or town in Louisiana was based on one simple fact. Does that town have a mall? If it did, like Acadiana Mall and Northgate Mall in Lafayette, or Prien Lake Mall in Lake Charles, or Pierremont Mall in Shreveport, then you knew the town was "legit".

That's because Hollywood had convinced back in the 80s that the center of life as we knew it occurred in the center court of the mall in our town. I remember many times back in the day going to see an up-and-coming musical star perform at the mall.

There were also pictures with Santa at Christmas, and I think we all hold a special place in our hearts for that poor soul who had to sit out in front of the music store and play the Wurlitzer Fun Machine for the tens and ones of thrilled shoppers.

In Louisiana, malls were anchored by stores such as Godchaux's, Maison-Blanche, Dillard's, and Macy's. Many of those time-honored names have faded into history while others are still fighting the good fight in hopes of keeping the retail ship afloat. One of those "ships" that has been taking on a lot of water in the form of "red ink" has been Macy's.

From my personal observations, I can tell you the Macy's store in Lafayette is barely a shell of its former self. That doesn't mean the people that work there and the merchandise aren't still top of the line though. It's just the selection is diminished from what it once was.

The brand, Macy's currently operates three stores in Louisiana. We mentioned the Lafayette location. There are also locations in Baton Rouge and Metairie. The company is not showing its hand as to whether any of these locations will be affected by plans to reduce the company's store roster by 150 locations over the next two years.

A recent earnings call with Macy's financial brain trusts suggested that the company plans to sell off store locations that can generate profit because of their real estate value. If the company believes a market can support and sustain a store, it will stay. Those stores are described as "go-forward" stores. The locations that will be sold for real estate purposes are described as "non-go-forward" stores.

Macy's did not comment on a specific timetable for announcing the closing of store locations but there is a thread on the website Reddit that has unofficial information from store employees at affected locations. Don't expect this process to be accomplished swiftly, the plan is for the "economic adjustment" to take several years. This should give the retailer enough time to identify and invest in the most profitable locations before shuttering those locales that are underperforming.