Business Coaching

Macy's, national chain, is focusing on individual stores for locally-demanded merchandise.

It’s smart to think local, especially during a recession. So smart that even national chains are thinking locally in order to succeed in their market sectors.

Macy’s is one of the biggest retail chains in America, but due to the recession, changes needed to happen. It might have seemed daunting to try to think local as a national chain, but CEO Terry Lundgren took baby steps into that change, and it looks like it’s paying off.

For starters, he replaced merchandise managers who oversaw product assortments at two dozen stores each with more local managers responsible for half that many outlets. With fewer stores to cover, each manager spent more time figuring out what was selling.

Then they made the necessary changes in certain stores’ inventory. In Chicago, Macy’s started carrying more size 11 shoes. In stores near water parks, they’re stocking more swimsuits.

Thinking locally didn’t start paying off until the fourth quarter in 2008, but it is – slowly but surely – paying off.

Macy’s isn’t the only national chain trying to think locally – Wal-Mart, Tesco and Best Buy are thinking locally in terms of its product offerings, too.

If your business, like Macy’s, is losing money due to economic conditions and resisting change rather than changing, you might want to rethink your strategy. If there’s any way your business can shift focus from national to local, it could mean better business. After all, local businesses have more support from locals for a reason – they cater to them, personally, therefore their products are locally driven and they sell what people need, thus spurring their success.

Even though Macy’s may never be a small, quaint storefront, its business model is smart, and worth a notice from other businesses.