Macy's Had a Great Quarter. The Weather Helped Push It Over the Top.
Tax refunds made the list. The weather didn't. It was in the room. Nobody introduced it.
Last week, I wrote that Gap had nowhere to hide in Q1. The warmest spring in more than 130 years couldn’t save Old Navy’s dress business.
Macy’s told a different story this morning — comparable sales up 3%, the strongest first quarter performance in four years, with dresses as a standout category in the same weather window that Old Navy couldn’t convert.
That contrast tells you something important: the weather was the same for everyone. What differed was execution, assortment, and, importantly, who walked through the door.
Macy’s customer base skews middle- to upper-income. That customer is less exposed to fuel cost pressures and the collapse in sentiment that is hitting lower-income households. With the S&P 500 near record highs and wealth effects still positive for highe…
