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Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren: Corporate profile

Marketplace Staff Nov 25, 2008

Macy’s Corporate Profile

On October 28, 1858, Macy’s opened its doors in New York City. Sales totaled $11.06 on that first day of business. Today, Macy’s is the nation’s top department store chain, with more than 800 stores in 45 states and annual sales of more than $26 billion. The retail behemoth operates four regional divisions: Macy’s East, Macy’s Central, Macy’s Florida and Macy’s West, and the Bloomingdale’s chain.

Quaker businessman Rowland Hussey Macy founded Macy’s as a dry goods store in downtown Haverhill, Mass. in 1851. New owners Isidor Straus and his brother Nathan Straus were at the helm by the time Macy’s flagship store was moved to New York’s Herald Square.

The company went public in 1922 and began a period of expansion outside of New York City. It acquired department stores in Atlanta, Newark, San Francisco and Kansas City, among other places. In the 1980s, Macy’s opened stores in Houston, Dallas, Atlanta and several cities in Florida.

In 1994, Federated Department Stores merged with Macy’s. And in February 2007 Federated Department Stores announced it was changing its corporate name to Macy’s Group, Inc.

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