Macy's to close 100 stores and increase focus on digital

US department store giant Macy's is to close 100 more of its bricks and mortar stores and increase its focus on its online operations.

The closures would represent around 15% of the group's portfolio of 728 stores, which also includes the more upscale Bloomingdale's stores.

Macy's did not reveal the location of the stores which would be shuttered but it is believed the closures will take place in early 2017 following the holiday and post-holiday clearance trading periods. The group has already closed 38 stores this year.

The news of the closures was revealed as Macy's revealed that sales had been falling for the past 18 months (though it had been experiencing significant online growth). Revenues in the last quarter were down 4% on last year at $5.9bn.

US department stores have been suffering from a drop in footfall at the nation's malls and from increasing competition from online giants such as Amazon.

Many US premium brands have announced their intention this week to reduce their exposure to department stores and opt out of the almost endless discounting which has conditioned the customer to being unwilling to pay full price.

Coach, Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors have all revealed they will focus more on direct sales, as opposed to wholesale, with Kors saying it will opt out of department store discounting and promotions.  “[We] will be removing ourselves from all of the department store ‘friends and family sales’,” said Michael Kors chairman and CEO John D Idol, as he announced the business's quarterly results.

Macy's is one of the best known names in US retail. It's iconic New York store in Herald Square, which covers around 1.1m sq ft of space and boasts of being the largest in the world, was founded in 1858.