Department store giant Macy’s said Thursday that it is set to bring on a new chief executive in 2017. Terry Lundgren, the company’s current CEO and chairman, will stay on as chairman but turn the CEO reins over to Jeff Gennette, a longtime executive at the retailing chain.
The announcement by Macy’s comes as the retailer struggles to put a a long stretch of turbulence behind it. The company saw sagging sales throughout 2015. It disappointed investors again in the first quarter of this year by recording a 7.4 percent dive in revenue and slashing its forecast for the rest of 2016. The retailer has blamed a variety of factors for the dismal performance, including a drop in spending by international tourists at its flagship stores, unseasonable weather that may have kept shoppers from buying clothes and a preference by shoppers to spend on experiences such as dining out instead of on goods.
“We have successfully navigated our way through changing customer trends in the past and there is no doubt that Macy’s Inc. will need to be a significantly different retailer in the future in the way we operate and approach the marketplace,” Gennette said in a statement.
He also said that he has an “outstanding relationship” with Lundgren and stressed that they would be collaborators in the transition.
Macy’s said that Gennette would become chief executive in the first quarter of 2017, after the busy holiday season has wrapped up. Gennette has served as president of Macy’s since 2014, and before that had been the chain’s chief merchandising officer. He has also held other senior positions in the company, including chief executive of Macy’s West and of Macy’s Northwest.