Macy's, Inc.
Acquisitions
3
Major Deals Covered
$11.2B
Disclosed Deal Value
Macy's's largest disclosed acquisition here is The May Department Stores Company for $11B in 2005. This page covers 3 major deals from 2005 to 2018, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.
| Company | Year | Price | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| The May Department Stores Company | 2005 | $11.0B | Federated (later Macy's, Inc.) bought May to gain national scale and hundreds of additional department stores. |
| Bluemercury | 2015 | $210.0M | To add a specialty prestige-beauty and spa format outside the department store. |
| STORY | 2018 | Undisclosed | To bring an experiential, rotating-theme retail concept and founder Rachel Shechtman into Macy's. |
2018
To bring an experiential, rotating-theme retail concept and founder Rachel Shechtman into Macy's.
STORY concepts were rolled into Macy's stores before the program was wound down.
A small experiment in experiential retail rather than a material financial deal.
2015
$210M
To add a specialty prestige-beauty and spa format outside the department store.
Bluemercury became Macy's third nameplate and a growth banner under the Bold New Chapter plan.
Bluemercury comparable sales rose 6.2% in Q2 2026.
2005
$11.0B
Federated (later Macy's, Inc.) bought May to gain national scale and hundreds of additional department stores.
Most regional banners, including Marshall Field's, Hecht's, Foley's and Famous-Barr, were converted to the Macy's name in 2006, creating a national brand.
The deal gave Macy's national reach but also a large mall-based fleet that it has been shrinking since the 2010s.
Macy's Bold New Chapter strategy, announced in February 2024, has three parts: close roughly 150 underperforming Macy's stores through 2026, invest in a go-forward fleet led by the Reimagine 200 stores (more staffing, better assortments and visuals), and accelerate Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury, including small-format Bloomie's and new Bluemercury stores. It also leans on digital, private-brand refreshes, the Citi credit-card program and Macy's Media Network.
Macy's is an omnichannel retailer that buys national brands (and develops private brands such as INC International Concepts, Charter Club and Hotel Collection) and sells them through stores and digital sites under three nameplates: Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury. Merchandise net sales were $21.764B in FY2025. The remaining $857M of FY2025 revenue was 'other revenue', chiefly credit-card income from its partnership with Citi plus Macy's Media Network retail advertising. In Q2 2026, other revenue was $193M, including $156M of credit-card net revenue and $37M from Macy's Media Network.
In 1994, following Macy's bankruptcy resulting from an overleveraged buyout in the late 1980s, Federated Department Stores acquired R.H. Macy & Co. for $4.1 billion, creating the largest department store conglomerate in the United States.
In August 2005, Federated Department Stores completed the transformational $11 billion acquisition of The May Department Stores Company, adding nearly 500 stores and historic regional nameplates (Lord & Taylor, Marshall Field's, Famous-Barr, Hecht's, Foley's, Robinsons-May) to its portfolio.
In September 2006, then-CEO Terry Lundgren executed a bold national branding strategy, converting over 400 diverse regional department store banners into a single, unified national 'Macy's' brand, enabling nationwide advertising campaigns and centralized purchasing.
Macy's acquired Bluemercury in March 2015 for $210 million in cash to establish a powerful, high-growth footprint in specialty luxury skincare, cosmetics, and spa services, expanding Bluemercury from 60 to over 180 freestanding and shop-in-shop locations.
In 2018, Macy's acquired STORY, an innovative Manhattan concept store founded by Rachel Shechtman that changed its merchandise theme and brand sponsors every few months, bringing experiential retail and founder Shechtman into Macy's brand experience team.
Throughout the 20th century, Macy's and Federated acquired well-known regional retail leaders including I. Magnin, Bullock's, The Broadway, Goldsmith's, Rich's, Burdines, and Bon Marché, consolidating them under the national Macy's banner.
Macy's has executed billions in real estate transactions, partnering with Brookfield Asset Management and Tishman Speyer to redevelop excess upper-floor space in urban flagships (such as Brooklyn Fulton Street and Seattle) into modern commercial office towers.
Under CEO Tony Spring, Macy's prioritizes capital discipline, investing in organic luxury growth at Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury, expanding small-format stores, and returning cash to shareholders rather than pursuing debt-funded retail M&A.
Macy's is the result of massive, multi-decade retail consolidation (formerly known as Federated Department Stores). They own Bloomingdale's, entirely capturing the ultra-luxury shopper. In 2015, they executed their most critical modern acquisition, buying Bluemercury (a high-end luxury beauty and spa retailer) for $210 million, securing massive dominance in the highly lucrative prestige cosmetics market.
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