A shopper carries a Macy’s bag on Market Street in San Francisco, California, United States, Wednesday, November 13, 2024.
David Paul Morris | David Paul Morris Bloomberg | Getty Images
macy’s department store It released preliminary third-quarter results on Monday and said it would delay releasing full earnings as it completes an investigation into accounting issues.
The company is scheduled to report quarterly earnings before the market opens on Tuesday.
Macy’s said in a statement on Monday that third-quarter sales fell 2.4% to $4.74 billion. Comparable sales at its self-operated stores, authorized stores and online markets fell by 1.3%.
Macy’s did not release profit data for the third quarter. The retailer said it expects to release full results and fourth-quarter and full-year guidance by Dec. 11.
Macy’s said that while preparing its quarterly results, it discovered “an issue in an accrual account related to delivery charges.” After an independent investigation, the company found that an employee handling “small package delivery expense accounting” made incorrect accounting and concealed approximately $132 million to $154 million in deliveries from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the third fiscal quarter of this year. cost. The company said its delivery expenses for the period were approximately $4.36 billion.
The retailer added that the actions would not affect its cash management and supplier payments and said the employee no longer worked for the company.
“At Macy’s, we promote a culture of ethical conduct. While we work to complete the investigation as quickly as possible and ensure this matter is handled appropriately, our colleagues across the company are focused on serving our customers and executing our strategies for a A successful holiday season,” chief executive Tony Spring said in a statement.
The department store owner also reported some updates on its efforts to close its troubled namesake stores and return to growth. The company has been beefing up staffing and merchandising efforts at its 50 Macy’s stores and plans to open more stores at Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury, two of its stronger-performing brands.
Over the past three months, comparable sales at the top 50 Macy’s stores that received the additional investment increased 1.9% annually, the company said. This marks the third consecutive quarter of growth for these stores.
At Bloomingdale’s, comparable sales grew 3.2% on an owned and licensed basis (including third-party markets). Bluemercury’s comparable sales grew 3.3%, marking the beauty brand’s 15th consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth.
Macy’s shares fell about 3% in pre-market trading on Monday.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
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