Walk into the main floor of the Macy’s on 34th Street today, and you’ll see the same thing millions of tourists have gawked at for a century. The wooden escalators are still creaking. The perfume cloud still hits you like a brick wall at the 7th Avenue entrance. But if you’ve been reading the headlines lately, you might think the whole place is about to be boarded up.
There’s a lot of chatter about the Macy’s 34th Street closing, and honestly, it’s mostly a giant misunderstanding of how corporate real estate works.
People see "150 store closures" in a news crawl and assume the flagship is doomed. They think the "Miracle on 34th Street" is finally out of miracles. It’s a fair worry. Retail is a bloodbath right now. Just this week, the parent company of Saks and Neiman Marcus filed for bankruptcy, which feels like another nail in the coffin for the old-school department store model. But here’s the thing: Macy’s Herald Square isn't going anywhere. In fact, it's actually getting a massive, 900-foot-tall neighbor built right on top of it.
The Truth About Those 150 Store Closures
Macy’s CEO Tony Spring hasn't been shy about the "Bold New Chapter" strategy. It sounds like corporate speak, and it kinda is, but the math is brutal. The company is axing 150 underperforming stores by the end of 2026. They already shuttered 66 last year and just announced 14 more for early 2026.
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If you live in Duluth, Georgia, or Ramsey, New Jersey, your Macy's might be Toast. But the 34th Street location? It’s the "go-forward" golden child.
Basically, they are cutting off the limbs to save the heart. The strategy is to shrink down to about 350 high-performing stores and dump all the cash into making those locations actually worth visiting. Have you been in a mall Macy’s lately? Some of them look like a scene from The Last of Us—unfolded clothes everywhere, dim lighting, and zero staff. Spring knows this. He’s explicitly stated that the "experience" is what was alienating people, not the brand itself.
Why Macy's 34th Street Isn't Closing Anytime Soon
The flagship at Herald Square is more than just a store; it’s a 2.2-million-square-foot piece of leverage. It's one of the most valuable pieces of real estate on the planet. Closing it would be like Disney closing Magic Kingdom because they had a bad quarter at the gift shop.
Instead of closing, Macy's is "doubling down." Here is what is actually happening:
- The Tower Project: Macy’s is planning to build a massive commercial office tower above the existing store. We're talking 1.5 million square feet of office space.
- Neighborhood Upgrades: They’ve committed $235 million to fix up the area around Herald Square. This includes making parts of Broadway car-free and fixing the crumbling subway entrances that smell like... well, New York.
- Interior Overhauls: They’ve already spent hundreds of millions renovating the main floor and the "luxury" sections. Louis Vuitton and Gucci didn't set up shop there because they thought the building was closing.
The plan is to keep the store open through the entire construction process. It's going to be a mess of scaffolding for a while, sure. But "closing"? Not even close.
What Most People Get Wrong
The confusion usually stems from the "Reimagine 125" list. Macy's picked 125 stores to turn into "models of the future." These stores got more staff, better lighting, and cleaner displays. The results actually look decent—sales at those stores rose 2.7% recently while the rest of the fleet struggled.
When people hear about the "Reimagine" stores and the "Closing" stores, they assume if you aren't one, you're the other. But the 34th Street flagship exists in its own category. It’s the brand’s identity.
The "Death of the Department Store" Narrative
Is the department store dead? Tony Spring says no, but he would, wouldn't he?
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Actually, the data is starting to back him up—if the store is actually good. People still like touching fabric. They still like trying on shoes without the "return by mail" headache. The problem was never the concept of a department store; it was the execution. If you give someone a "warm and welcoming" environment—his words—they show up.
The 34th Street location is the testing ground for this. If they can’t make it work at the most famous store in the world, with a 900-foot tower paying the bills on top, then the industry really is in trouble.
What This Means for You
If you’re a New Yorker or a frequent visitor, don't panic. You can still see the wooden escalators. You can still visit Santaland. The 34th Street location is safe, even as the Macy's in your local suburban mall likely prepares for a clearance sale.
Practical Next Steps for Navigating the Changes:
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- Check the "Bold New Chapter" List: If you shop at a suburban Macy’s, check the 2026 closure list. Stores in places like La Mesa, CA, and Raleigh, NC, are currently hitting their 10-week liquidation cycles.
- Visit the Flagship Now: If you want to see the "old" Herald Square before the major tower construction begins in earnest, go this year. The streetscape is going to change significantly once the $235 million infrastructure project kicks off.
- Watch the "Reimagine" Results: If you’re an investor or just a retail nerd, keep an eye on the 125 revamped stores. Their success or failure will dictate whether the 34th Street upgrades actually happen or if the "Tower Project" gets scaled back.
The "Macy's 34th Street closing" rumors are a classic case of a national trend being misapplied to a local icon. The brand is shrinking, yes. The store footprint is getting leaner, definitely. But the heart of 34th Street is being built up, not torn down.