Department Stores
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 16 department store companies in the US carry a variety of merchandise organized into separate departments, with no one line of merchandise dominating sales. Major product categories include women’s, men’s, and children’s apparel; cosmetics and fragrances; footwear and footwear accessories; and accessories. Other product categories include domestics (sheets, tablecloths, towels) and other textile home furnishings; fine jewelry and watches; and small household appliances.
“Retail Apocalypse”
The impact of digital retailing hit department stores especially hard.
Trends and Fads
Because apparel generates over 50% of industry sales, department store business is subject to fashion trends and fads.
Industry size & Structure
The average department store retailer employs around 60,000 workers and generates nearly $8 billion annually.
- The department store industry consists of 16 firms that employ about 960,000 workers and generate over $130 billion annually.
- The industry is highly concentrated; the top 4 companies account for over 70% of industry revenue; the top 8 companies account for over 94%.
- Large firms include Kohl’s, Macy’s, JC Penney, and Nordstrom. The largest companies have locations in almost every state
Industry Forecast
Department Stores Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Nov 10, 2024 - Services Sector Expansion
- Economic activity in the services sector expanded for the fourth consecutive month in October 2024, according to the Services ISM Report on Business. The Services PMI registered 56% in October, up 1.1 percentage points from September. Of the 14 of the 18 services industries reporting growth in October, Retail Trade reported the fastest growth during the period. Sales for department stores increased 1.4% in June 2024 compared to a year ago and were down 4.6% from the previous month, according to the Census Bureau. Meanwhile, consumer spending has improved modestly, rising 2.6% in June 2024 compared to a year ago and up 0.2% from the previous month, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Producer inflation rose 2.3% in July 2024 compared to a year ago, according to producer price data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Employment at department stores grew 1% year over year in August 2024. Average wages for nonsupervisory employees at general merchandise retailers increased 0.6% in July 2024, reaching $17.62 an hour, per the BLS.
- The US department stores industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of -4.3% between 2024 and 2028, according to a forecast from Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. The expected growth rate is slower than the overall economy‘s anticipated growth. The report noted that consumer confidence is expected to improve in the forecast period, which bodes well for the retail and wholesale industries. Factors that continue to limit consumer spending are lower consumer sentiment levels, higher interest levels, and elevated price levels. On a positive note, inflation is subsiding, which supports a moderate increase of real disposable income by about 1.9% in 2024 and 2.4% in 2025. Retailers have seen internet sales increasingly grow in share since the pandemic, growing from 12.8% of total sales in February 2020 to 17.9% in April 2024.
- Several large department store chains posted disappointing results in Q2 2024, according to Retail Dive. In Q2, Kohl’s net sales dropped 4.2%, Macy’s net sales fell 3.8%, and Dillard’s total retail sales were down 5% year over year. Dillard’s blamed the weak performance on higher expenses, which squeezed profitability. Macy’s performance decline was attributed in part to poor sales at 100 stores slated for closure. Kohl’s said sales suffered from restrained consumer spending, even as it better managed its expenses, per Retail Dive.
- Kohl is expanding its in-store returns services with a new partnership with Inmar Post-Purchase Solutions and Navar, according to Retail Dive. The Return Drop @ Kohls will allow shoppers to make merchandise returns from several brands including Carhartt, Hanes, and Levi’s at Kohl’s 1,100 stores locations nationwide. Customers initiate the returns process online and choose “Kohl’s Drop Off” to receive a QR code generated by Navar before bringing the item and code to the Kohl’s location. According to Gregg Barta, Kohl’s executive vice president of supply chain and logistics, “Providing shoppers with convenient services is critical to Kohl’s ongoing commitment to the customer experience.” Kohl’s first began accepting Amazon returns at its stores in a pilot program before expanding in 2019 to all locations, with the goal of driving traffic to stores. The company said the Amazon partnership brought in 2 million new customers in 2020, with a third being millennials, per CNBC. The department store retailer is struggling to improve its sales. Kohl’s saw net sales fall by 5.3% year over year in Q12 2024, following a net-sales decline of 3.4% in its full-year results for 2023.
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