Macy's CEO Tony Spring Talks Big Earnings Beat, Macy's Brand Evolution

Summary

Bloomberg Talks: Macy’s CEO Tony Spring Talks Big Earnings Beat, Macy’s Brand Evolution

Date: June 3, 2026 | Host: Bloomberg | Guest: Tony Spring (CEO, Macy’s Inc.)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Bloomberg interviews Tony Spring, CEO of Macy’s Inc., following the company's impressive earnings report. The discussion centers on Macy’s recent turnaround, the evolution of its iconic brand, its multi-part strategy across Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury, and how the company is navigating broader retail trends and economic conditions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Macy’s Earnings Beat and Turnaround Momentum

• Macy’s reported strong comp sales growth: 3% overall; Bloomingdale’s at 10% comp growth; Macy’s brand itself up 1.5%; reimagined Macy’s stores showing 2.4% growth.
• Tony confirms this is the fourth straight quarter of comp growth and the fifth consecutive quarter beating guidance.
  "We feel like we are on the curve of beginning to transform the Macy’s Inc. portfolio company." (00:55, Tony Spring)

2. Dispelling the “Obituary” for Department Stores

• The host notes that a year ago, industry observers were predicting the decline of department stores and Macy’s.
• Tony pushes back:
  "I never bought into the extinction of department stores... Great stores, people love... I really just took it internally and challenged our team to say let's satisfy the customer." (01:28, Tony Spring)
• Emphasis on boosting customer experience, modernizing the in-store product mix, and enhancing service (like in the fitting rooms).

3. Brand Relationships and Product Evolution

• Macy’s is attracting new and returning brands: Donna Karen, Donna Karen Weekend, Rothy’s (new to both Macy’s & Bloomingdale’s), Ted Baker, Reese (at Bloomingdale’s).
• Macy’s value to brands:
  "Macy’s 38 million active customers—that is not easy to buy in the media market." (02:26, Tony Spring)

4. Three-Part Strategy: The “Bold New Chapter”

• Macy’s transformation is not solely about closing stores; focus is on:
  • Strengthening & reimagining Macy’s: Enhanced staffing, more inventory, new brands, upgraded web presence.
  • Expanding Bloomingdale’s: Leveraging its “organic, physical, and digital” potential.
  • Efficient & effective operations: Improved supply chain, faster inventory flow, higher Net Promoter Scores.
    "The strategy is making it better for the consumers... I’m proud of the fact that the supply chain team... we’re having less issues with the consumer." (03:40, Tony Spring)

5. Competition and the Luxury Market

• Host suggests part of Bloomingdale’s recent growth is due to rivals (Saks, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf) being hampered by bankruptcy.
• Tony focuses on Bloomingdale’s internal execution:
  "If you depend on other people failing for you to succeed, you're not going to get very far... Our focus is on delivering a great experience for the Bloomingdale's customer." (05:11, Tony Spring)
• Recalls the 150th anniversary in 2022 and ongoing brand investments.

6. State of the US Consumer & Economic Headwinds

• Higher gas prices and a ‘K-shaped’ economy present challenges.
• Tony expects consumer “retail therapy” to persist, with accessible luxury being part of Macy’s/Bloomingdale’s appeal:
  "We are in categories that for the most part, our core customer can buy multiple times without putting a dent in their wallet." (06:31, Tony Spring)

7. Pricing, Margins, and Tariffs

• Macy’s success is also due to disciplined inventory and pricing strategy—even amidst economic volatility.
• Last year, tariffs and cost uncertainty affected operations; this year, focus is back on the customer.
• Recent news of possible tariff reinstatements (Trump administration). Tony downplays the immediate impact:
  "This year we can be focused on taking care of the customer ... I'm excited about the opportunities this year." (08:22, Tony Spring)
• Macy’s is upbeat about upcoming sales moments (Father’s Day, World Cup, Knicks).

8. Notable Investment: Berkshire Hathaway Stake

• Berkshire Hathaway recently disclosed a stake in Macy’s, the first in a department store in decades.
• Tony sees it as “a shot in the arm” and a signal of long-term confidence:
  "Sometimes you plant seeds and you want to go pick the fruit—it doesn't work that way ... If you believe in what you're doing, you have to take the time." (09:35, Tony Spring)

9. Looking Ahead: Year Four and Beyond

• Future includes more new brands, more reimagined stores, deeper AI integration, and further Bloomingdale’s expansion (currently only in 14 of top 50 US DMAs).
• Continuous focus on customer experience is paramount:
  "I think it’s going to include more brands... new ways of incorporating AI into powering a bold new chapter... making sure that we continue to stay focused on the customer." (10:29, Tony Spring)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Department Store “Obituaries”:
  "I never bought into the extinction of department stores... Great stores, people love, people love Harrods, they love Selfridges, they love their department stores." — Tony Spring (01:28)

• On Bloomingdale’s Success:
  "If you depend on other people failing for you to succeed, you're not going to get very far. Our focus is on delivering a great experience for the Bloomingdale's customer." — Tony Spring (05:11)

• On Retail Therapy:
  "We talk about retail escapism or retail therapy and the gas prices being higher is not helpful to the business, there's no question. But it's not an excuse to not do business every single day." — Tony Spring (06:31)

• On Investor Confidence:
  "My father used to call it a shot in the arm... We love all our investors. I think Berkshire just has a wonderful reputation of believing and investing for the long term..." — Tony Spring (09:35)

• On Macy’s Future:
  "I think it's going to include more brands. It's going to include more reimagined stores. For Macy’s ... and new ways of incorporating AI into powering a bold new chapter." — Tony Spring (10:29)

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Key Timestamps

• 00:24 – Introduction of Tony Spring and review of Macy’s strong earnings
• 00:55 – Four straight quarters of growth and details of comp sales
• 01:28 – Addressing the supposed extinction of department stores
• 02:26 – Discussion of new brands and Macy’s vendor value proposition
• 03:40 – Explanation of Macy’s three-pronged “Bold New Chapter” strategy
• 05:04 – Reaction to luxury competitor disruptions and Bloomingdale’s
• 06:31 – Macroeconomic environment, “retail therapy,” and consumer spending
• 07:40 – Operating margins, pricing power, and recent tariff concerns
• 09:35 – Berkshire Hathaway stake and implications for Macy’s
• 10:29 – Vision for Macy’s Inc. in years four and five

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Conclusion

Tony Spring confidently outlines Macy’s resurgence, emphasizing that smart strategy, relentless customer focus, and ongoing innovation are breathing new life into the company. With robust sales, investor validation, and a clear roadmap, Macy’s is not just surviving the retail revolution—it’s thriving and evolving for the future.

Transcript

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[Tony Spring]

Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio News.

[Bloomberg Host]

I'm pleased to say that the CEO of Macy's Inc. Joins us right now, Tony Spring here in Studio 2. Tony, great to see you here. Great to see 3% comp sales growth. Bloomingdale's, your old job, which used to run their phenomenal 10% comp sales growth. And the turnaround that you've been trying to execute for the Macy's brand seems to be really taking hold. 1.6 one and a half percent growth there. And I think if you just take the stores that you've remodeled, you're over 2% correct. This is now what, four straight quarters of this?

[Tony Spring]

This is four straight quarters of growth, five quarters of beating our guidance. 10.2% growth you mentioned at Bloomingdale's, 2.4% growth at the reimagined stores. We feel like we are on the curve of beginning to transform the Macy's Inc. Portfolio company.

[Bloomberg Host]

The conversation was a bit different even a year ago. I mean, people were writing your obituary, the Macy's obituary. They were writing the department store obituary. Is this turnaround just about a better experience in the stores or is it about something different that we're not really picking up on?

[Tony Spring]

Well, I never bought into the extinction of department stores. I think it's bad. Stores don't have a place in the retail ecosystem. Sometimes they can survive longer than they should. Great stores people love, people love Harrods, they love Selfridges, they love their department stores. We are a department, so we do a really good job. When we do, we get credit from the consumer. When we don't, we don't get credit from the consumer. So I really just took it internally and challenged our team to say let's satisfy the customer. Let's put people back in the stores. Let's, let's update the product mix. Let's do a little storytelling on the visuals. How about some help in the fitting room where the customers craving support when she's taken her clothes off and is looking to figure out what size is going to work for her.

[Bloomberg Host]

So customers seem to be a little bit more excited about what's going on. I am curious about the brands, the vendors that the things you sell there, are they also excited? I mean, are you seeing more interest from brands that maybe had left the Macy's ecosystem in the past and maybe are knocking back on your door.

[Tony Spring]

Yeah, we've talked about new brands coming in. Donna Karen. Donna Karen Weekend Rothy is new to both Macy's and Bloomingdale's. The the addition of Ted Baker and the and Reese Bloomingdale certainly big luxury expansion. So I think the brands we're looking to see, are you ready to take care of the business? Will you be accretive to my brand positioning? Will you help me to reach customers I can't reach without your support? And I think the team has done a good job of explaining that Macy's 38 million active customers, that is not easy to buy in the media market. So how do we make sure that we're presenting our brand in the right way so that we're capturing new customers, that maybe we're the first time that they're learning about our brand and that we're proud of the level of business we do?

[Bloomberg Host]

I am curious. One of the big criticisms of your bold New chapter, your turnaround plan, is that you're basically shrinking the idea that you're leaning too heavily on Bloomingdale's, which is obviously a success story. And there are a lot of people that want to know sort of is this sort of a big structural shift for you with regards to what Macy's Inc. Overall is going to be? Is it going to be weighted more towards luxury and Bloomingdale's or is it going to be the complete sort of ecosystem? Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Blue Mercury was the

[Tony Spring]

three part strategy from the very beginning. The first chapter of Bold New chapter was strengthen and reimagine Macy's. And while we had to close some stores, we still have a few more stores to close. The primary focus was reimagining stores. I think when you and I talked the last time I said a strategy is not a strategy if it's just about closing. Underproductive stores are monetizing assets. The strategy is making it better for the consumers. So we put more people in the stores, we added more inventory, we brought in new brands, we made the website, you know, more inspirational. But the second part of the chapter is to grow Bloomingdale's because why wouldn't we? We own Bloomingdale's. It's a great brand and has so much potential, organic potential, physical potential, digital potential. And then the third piece of the strategy was to make sure that we were operating efficiently and effectively and serving the customer. So I'm proud of the fact that the supply chain team were in stock better. We're flo inventory to the customer faster. We're having less issues with the consumer. That's why our net promoter scores, how we measure customer service are going up.

[Bloomberg Host]

Bloomingdale's growth, there are some people that said, certainly in the most recent quarters, has benefited partly from, let's just say the relative absence of Sachs Global. Neiman Marcus, Bergdorff Sachs, they're in bankruptcy proceedings. They are expected to come out sometime this year. And I've spoken with their CEO and he's got some pretty ambitious plans for what he think Sachs can be. Does that potential increase in competition worry you with regards to Bloomingdale's trajectory?

[Tony Spring]

No, I'm focused on Bloomingdale's. I'm focused on Olivier. Do you want his team?

[Bloomberg Host]

You never. You don't go into Saks.

[Tony Spring]

Oh, I certainly shop the competition. Yeah. But I'm focused on what we do. You know, I learned a long time ago, if you depend on other people failing for you to succeed, you're not going to get very far. Our focus is on delivering a great experience for the Bloomingdale's customer. You and I could go over and walk 59th street across the street from this great building and see new brands, great people, great visuals, inspiring marketing. 40 carrots, yogurt. There's so much interest within the Bloomingdale's brand. Does competitive missteps help Bloomingdale's? Yeah, of course. But if Bloomingdale's wasn't running effectively, wasn't healthy, and this strategy started a number of years ago as we added new brands, as we declared our right and reason for being at our 150th anniversary in 2022, we said we can do better.

[Bloomberg Host]

Yeah. Also just as a personal note, you know, they had a sun life pop up there, by the way. You need to get that back. It was only temporary. In all serious, I do want to ask you about just the consumer overall. I mean, it's one thing to say, okay, your business is doing great. There are certain things you control. You don't necessarily control the economy. Gas prices are significantly higher than where they were three months ago. Most economists don't think they're coming down anytime soon. You already had a consumer as you have characterized in the past as being kind of a K shaped or even E shaped economy here. Do you see the state of the US consumer improving anytime soon?

[Tony Spring]

I think the consumer is going to continue to buy rewards and things that they can enjoy, find a way to escape. We talk about retail escapism or retail therapy and the gas prices being higher is not helpful to the business, there's no question. But it's not an excuse to not do business every single day. We are doing business at Macy's and Bloomingdale's in Blue Mercury. How much business? How do we take business from the competition? How do we inspire you to find things? So if we have a new brand in sunglasses, if we have a new Hoka sneaker, if we have a new pair of Paige denim jeans, there's a reason for you to buy. And by the way, we're actually accessible luxury. We are in categories that for the most part, our core customer can buy multiple times without putting a dent in their wallet.

[Bloomberg Host]

Just a reminder for our Bloomberg audiences on television and radio, speaking right now with Tony Spring, the CEO of Macy's Inc. And with regards to that though, Tony, are you able going to hold a price? Because part of the success of Macy's isn't just the comp sales growth, but it's also been on the bottom line as well to avoid having to heavily discount. If we are indeed seeing economic pressures

[Tony Spring]

out there, I think it's our job to manage the bottom line. You know, it starts with first the top line, delivering the right experience for the consumer. If we have the right brands, if we don't over buy the inventory, we're going to be fine on the bottom line. Last year we had to navigate the uncertainty of tar, what country we were going to make products in, how we're going to adjust orders, how much of the cost was going to be shared by the vendors vs shared by Macy's vs shared by the customer. This year we can be focused on taking care of the customer. This year we can be focused on what are going to be the impacts of some of the macro and geopolitical issues.

[Bloomberg Host]

But you bring up tariffs. I mean, I thought the tariff thing was behind us. And then yesterday we had news here on Bloomberg that the Trump administration is kind of reopping a lot of those.

[Tony Spring]

But it's not last year's tariffs and I don't like tariffs in general as a policy. But we accept what happens. They're not the high rates and inconsistencies country by country. You have people moving production from China to Vietnam and back to China again. So that's not going on this year. How much opportunity cost did we lose last year because we weren't focused on the consumer because we weren't focused on taking care of the customer? I'm excited about the opportunities this year. I walked through the Father's Day assortment, we looked terrific. I looked at the World cup assortment. We got lots of fun jerseys and we've got the Knicks and the playoffs. So there's so much opportunity for us to do business and play into fandom. I think that exists in every family.

[Bloomberg Host]

Are you a Knicks fan?

[Tony Spring]

I am a Knicks fan.

[Bloomberg Host]

Okay. Well, congratulations. I'm a fan, but I still wish you the best here. I am curious though. Recently, and I know it's a small investment, but we had the disclosure from Berkshire Hathaway that they had taken a stake in Macy's. A relatively small stake, but it was significant because it was, I believe, the first stake that they've taken in a department store in decades. What does that say to you? Not just with what Berkshire and Warren Buffett might be doing, but just overall the confidence that maybe might finally be returning to Macy's Inc. As a stock.

[Tony Spring]

My father used to call it a shot in the arm. And. And we all need them every once in a while. We love all of our investors. I think Berkshire just has a wonderful reputation of believing and investing for the long term. And I think it's good. A pretty proof to our team that doing the right things, even if you don't see the immediate success, they will be beneficial over time. As long as you're honest with yourself. I have an adage about the garden. Sometimes you plant seeds and you want to go pick the fruit. It doesn't work that way. If you believe in what you're doing. You have to take the time. You got to water, you got to till the soil. Some things we do are going to take a little bit of time. I believe this strategy is the right strategy for Macy's Inc. You came into

[Bloomberg Host]

this job as CEO of Macy's Inc. With this bold new chapter is a three year plan. This is basically the third year. I am curious if you can look ahead year four or five and beyond and maybe articulate what you think that next chapter, if you will, to use the analogy, might actually look like.

[Tony Spring]

Yeah, I think it's going to include more brands. It's going to include more reimagined stores. For Macy's, it's going to include new ways of incorporating AI into powering a bold new chapter so that we're able to be ahead of the consumer and be able to deliver more of what he or she are looking for. I think it's going to be that continued expansion of Bloomingdale's because with only 14 of the top 50 DMAs in the country there is plenty of expansion potential for for Bloomingdale's and it's going to be making sure that we continue to stay focused on the customer. Because sometimes when you get distracted by a problem, an opportunity outside of the business, you stop taking care of the people that make the everyday business happen, which is the consumer.

[Bloomberg Host]

All right, Tony, we have to leave it there. Really appreciate you joining us.

[Tony Spring]

Thank you. Good to see you.

[Bloomberg Host]

Tony Spring There he is, the CEO of Macy's, fresh off the company's earnings, four straight quarters of comp sales growth.

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