Why Department Store Stocks Were Climbing Today
Shares of department store stocks were climbing broadly today after Macy's (NYSE: M) unveiled a three-year turnaround strategy at its investor day conference this morning. Its plans include closing 125 underperforming stores in malls, building four in-house $1 billion brands, cutting staff, and establishing a single corporate headquarters in New York City. The company also issued guidance for fiscal 2020 and targets for fiscal 2022.
The stock gained over the course of the trading session, and the market seemed to warm to the turnaround plan, which helped lift the broader retail sector. Among today's winners were Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) and Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN), which closed up 6.6% and 5.6%, respectively, and the S&P SPDR Retail ETF (NYSEMKT: XRT), which also gained 2.3%. Macy's itself finished up 6.0%.
The venerable department store chain is still seen as a bellwether in the industry, despite its ongoing challenges, so optimism for its recovery sparked a broader bullishness for other beaten-down department store stocks.
Source Fool.com
