ST. LOUIS COUNTY — Macy’s confirmed this week that its South County Center location will shutter, along with 65 other locations as part of the company’s new strategy to boost its profitable stores.
Macy’s has been an anchor tenant at the South County mall, situated at the intersection of interstates 55 and 255, since 2006.
The department store’s plan, coined Macy’s “Bold New Chapter,†was announced last year and includes closing about 150 lower-performing stores over three years and investing in 350 other stores through 2026.
The new Famous-Barr department store in south St. Louis County is seen the day before it opened.
“Closing any store is never easy, but as part of our Bold New Chapter strategy, we are closing underproductive Macy’s stores to allow us to focus our resources and prioritize investments in our go-forward stores, where customers are already responding positively to better product offerings and elevated service,†Tony Spring, Macy’s chairman and CEO said in a statement.
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The mall, which opened in 1963 was designed by architect Victor Gruen, who is known for pioneering the design of shopping malls in the U.S.
Before Macy’s, St. Louis-based department store Famous-Barr was an anchor tenant under the mall’s domed roof for over four decades.
Famous-Barr was a division of the The May Department Stores Company until 2006, when parent company Federated Department Stores moved to rename all its regional stores under the Macy’s banner. Federated Department Stores eventually changed its name to Macy’s, Inc.
Other major retailers that have come and gone from the South County Center are National Supermarkets, Sears and Stix, Baer, & Fuller, a St. Louis chain that was later acquired by Dillard’s. In 2019, the mall announced that indoor entertainment concept Round1 Bowling & Amusement would open in the empty Sears space, but those plans were eventually scrapped.
Dillard’s and JCPenney will be the only major department stores left at the shopping mall after Macy’s leaves.
The vacant space previously occupied by Sears is seen inside South County Center on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022.
The change comes at a time when department stores and malls are seeing falling foot traffic thanks to the rise of online shopping. After coming out of bankruptcy in 2022, has continued to slowly close its stores across the country. In 2020, filed for bankruptcy. Now it is merging with a company that owns other formerly bankrupt brands, such as Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers and Eddie Bauer, in an attempt to remain viable.
Macy’s did not disclose when the South County Center Macy’s will permanently close its doors. The company said that clearance sales will begin this month and will run for approximately eight to 12 weeks.
Stacey Keating, spokesperson for mall owner, Tennessee-based CBL Properties, called the Macy’s closure unfortunate.
“We have been monitoring this situation and having proactive discussions with prospective replacement tenants, however, it’s too early in the process to share additional details,†she said in a statement.
The other Macy’s stores in the region will remain open, at Chesterfield Commons, Mid Rivers Mall, West County Center, the St. Louis Galleria and St. Clair Square in Fairview Heights, Illinois.
A Macy’s in Kansas City and one in Springfield, Illinois will close.
