US retailer Macy's comparable sales up 10.7% in Q1 FY22

Gross margin for the quarter was 39.6 per cent, up from 38.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2021. Merchandise margin improvement was largely due to higher average unit retail driven by lower promotions on regular price merchandise, ticket price increases and category mix, the company said in a press release.

“Our company delivered solid results in the first quarter despite a challenging operating environment. We delivered strong earnings, beating our estimates, and sales that were in line with our expectations. While macroeconomic pressures on consumer spending increased during the quarter, our customers continued to shop. We saw a notable shift back to occasion-based apparel and in-store shopping, as well as continued strength in sales of luxury goods. Our omni-channel ecosystem, which spans the value spectrum, has supported our ability to flex our wide assortment of categories, products and brands to capture consumer demand despite the volatile environment,” said Jeff Gennette, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc. “As we look ahead to the rest of 2022, we remain focused on our customers and the successful execution of our Polaris long-term growth strategy. We believe that the efficiencies we built into our business enable us to navigate through the current uncertain macro environment.”

“We believe that our first quarter performance reflects the durability of the Polaris strategy. The actions we took in the quarter to boost our liquidity and increase our financial flexibility provides us a long runway to invest further in our transformation, navigate the unprecedented macroeconomic environment and return capital to shareholders,” said Adrian Mitchell, chief financial officer of Macy’s, Inc. “As we move into the rest of this year, we have confidence in our ability to flex and pivot quickly in this dynamic environment.”

ALCHEMPro News Desk (RR)