Hit by online sellers, Macy’s to close 100 US stores

Macy's, the largest department store in the US, said yesterday that it would close 100 stores, as they were more valuable as pieces of real estate than retail outlets.

Walmart, the world's largest retailer, announced on Monday that it would buy online rival jet.com for over $3 billion, which commentators say is an effort at a multi-billion dollar revamp of its e-commerce division.

Other retailers too have have heavily in e-commerce efforts, while brick and mortar stores had resorted to sharp discounting that temporarily lifted sales but hurt profits.

According to commentators the decision by Walmart and Macys' pointed to the pressure on brick and mortar retailers.

The New York Times quoted Mark A Cohen, the director of retail studies at Columbia Business School, ''These legacy players are having a terrible time navigating through that shift successfully.''

For decades, US citizens had relied on numerous shopping centres and department stores for just about everything from paper towels to electronic goods. They were also often willing to drive down to the mall, pay full price or wait for annual sales to get a deal.

However, that had changed in the last decade, with the rapid growth of the online giant Amazon, discount and low-cost stores like TJ Maxx gaining popularity, as also an extended recession that reset the value of a dollar.