Macy's at Sunrise Mall closing on April 11, laying off 77 workers, state says

Long-struggling Macy's will lay off 77 people at its Sunrise Mall store in Massapequa, one of three locations the retailer will close on Long Island.

The Massapequa store will close due to “economic” reasons April 11, according to a state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification dated Jan. 9 and filed with the New York State Department of Labor.

The agency posted the notice on its website Feb. 12. 

On Jan. 9, Macy's announced that it planned to close 66 stores in 23 states, including the Sunrise Mall location and two Macy's Backstage off-price stores on Long Island — at the Lake Success Shopping Center in New Hyde Park and Melville Mall in Huntington Station. At that time, Macy's said most of the closings would occur in the first quarter of this year but it didn't disclose how many people would be laid off.

Employees of the Sunrise Mall store were told shortly before Christmas the store would be closing, which didn't come as a complete shock since the mall is nearly vacant, said Nefta Golding, a 15-year employee who works in merchandising. 

But the timing of the closing was surprising, said Golding, 39, of Amityville.

"I thought we’d have, like, the rest of the year ... and close maybe then," she said.

No layoff notices for the two closing Macy's Backstage stores on Long Island have been posted on the state Department of Labor’s website.

In a statement emailed Thursday night, Macy’s Inc. said it had not disclosed the number of employees who will be laid off at those stores.

"We are committed to supporting our impacted colleagues with severance benefits for those who are eligible, or by offering opportunities across Macy’s Inc. wherever available," the Manhattan-based company said. 

'I just like to shop'

Macy’s in Sunrise Mall occupies 208,078 square feet split among three floors. The store opened the same day as the mall, Aug. 30, 1973. When Macy’s closes, the only tenant left in the struggling shopping mall will be Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Inside Macy's on Thursday afternoon, signs advertised sales of up to 60% off the lowest-ticketed prices.

The store was bustling with deal-seeking shoppers, including retiree Gillian Obedekah, who said she typically visits the store at least once a week.

She was disappointed to learn of the store's impending closing, especially since it's so close to her Amityville home.

"I just like to shop, and I'm always looking for a sale," said Obedekah, 62.

Liz Contillo, 60, of Massapequa, was in the store looking through racks of baby clothes for friends' grandchildren Thursday.

"I think their prices are really good compared to Kohl's," and other places, she said.

The Macy’s Backstage stores in Huntington Station and New Hyde Park were among six that Macy’s opened in the New York metro area in 2015 in a pilot of the off-price chain.

Each store was expected to hire 30 to 45 employees, Macy’s said in a June 2015 statement.

Macy’s Backstage in the Lake Success Shopping Center occupies two levels — 18,000 square feet on the first floor and 8,800 square feet on the basement level, said Ellen F. Wasserman, accounting manager at the shopping center.

Macy’s told the shopping center’s management that the store will close March 16, she said.

Macy’s Backstage in Melville Mall occupies 32,314 square feet.

The shopping center’s owner, Federal Realty Investment Trust, did not “have a definitive answer” on when the store will close, the North Bethesda, Maryland-based company said.

On Long Island, aside from the closing stores, there are seven Macy’s — in Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove, South Shore Mall in Bay Shore, Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station, Roosevelt Field in Uniondale, Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream, Manhasset and Hampton Bays.

Also, there is a Macy’s Smith Haven Furniture and Mattress Gallery at the mall in Lake Grove.

In addition, Macy's Furniture Clearance Center and Macy's Furniture Gallery share the same building in Carle Place.

Struggling to compete

The store closings Macy's announced in January are part of its Bold New Chapter strategy, which was revealed in February 2024.

The plan, which includes closing 150 underproductive stores over a three-year period, is aimed at returning the company to profitable sales growth, while investing in 350 go-forward Macy’s stores through fiscal 2026, the company said.

Like most department store chains, Macy’s has been struggling against growing competition from online retailers and discount stores.

Macy’s sales growth and operating margin results have been weak for at least 10 years, but closing stores should help because it will allow the retailer to focus on fixing the more productive stores, said David Swartz, senior equity analyst in consumer equity research at Morningstar Research Services LLC, a financial services firm in Chicago.

"Macy’s has too many stores, the stores are too large, and the malls that house many Macy’s stores are in trouble. It has been closing stores for years but is getting more aggressive about it under CEO Tony Spring, who took over about a year ago," he said.

Macy's Inc. has 735 stores, including 479 full-size Macy’s, 24 small-format Macy’s, nine Macy’s Backstage stores that are not inside other stores and 164 Bluemercury cosmetics stores.

In its fiscal third quarter, which ended Nov. 2, Macy’s Inc.'s net sales decreased 2.4% to $4.7 billion compared to the same period a year earlier.

By Tory N. Parrish

tory.parrish@newsday.comToryParrish1

Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.