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Gennette, Greiner Spearhead Macy's Localization
Jeff Gennette is clairvoyant. Thanks to some sophisticated new tools, the recently installed chief merchandising officer for Macy's Inc. is unearthing important information that will reveal the choicest growth opportunities for the $25 billion company.
Working in tandem with his counterpart, Julie Greiner, chief merchandise planning officer, the two executives have been charged with implementing the corporation's My Macy's localization strategy at its more than 800 stores across the country. My Macy's, which was rolled out nationally last month, provides the company with detailed sales information which can then be exploited. It's the strategy the company turned to when it centralized operations earlier this year, and it also addresses vendor complaints the retailer was unwieldy and not a good partner.
In their first interview since the completion of the restructuring, which resulted in the elimination of Macy's four operating divisions, Gennette and Greiner said they're encouraged by what they see in their crystal ball.
We are the curators, Gennette explained. We set the national strategy in terms of vendors, trends and classifications. We see the future and then [our colleagues] in the field get that information and shape it to the local level.
My Macy's employs 1,600 people across eight regions and 69 districts. The district planners are the analytical engine, while the district merchants are the merchandising and execution arm of the company. Adding the merchants and planners work in tandem, Gennette said the New York-based team decides how the floors should be merchandised as well as their adjacencies information that is then adapted to each community.
Greiner said it's a lot like the old days of retail, when merchants in their local communities knew their customers and the sales associates. We're really going back to that intimate knowledge, Greiner said. Then we're leveraging technology as a communication tool.
The way it works, she said, is a merchant in a particular store or district will make a request for example, more woven shirts in Florida. They must provide reasons for the request and the anticipated outcome. If the dress business is hot, a buyer will say, We want to increase our assortment by X percent so I need more breadth or depth, she said. During the pilot, the company...