I agree about the slow painful death, but if there’s no future in brick and mortar, they why is Amazon partnering with Kohl’s for returns and also possibly buying Target? It’s because they know they need some kind of physical footprint to increase their business! There has to be a mix of both kinds. Do you think Macy’s online business would be as strong as it is without the customers ability to bring all those returns back to the actual store? It would not. And store closures affect .com business in those zip codes where the store used to be. Those customers stop shopping online too.

Good for you! Telling them no to a-- position. I know a few that it happened to and one told a VPSM. "You just told me I wasn't meeting Macys criteria to be a Sales Manager and in an assesment with my peers I wasn't talented enough. Yet your offering me a-- position?" Laughed in her face and walked out of her office. Still remember this story.

I took the severance package last year which wasn't much after taxes. I was an SM and my position was eliminated but was offered an SS position at another store. I moved 100 miles to one of the most expensive city in the nation and to be demoted in a year was like a slap on the face. So, I thanked the VPSM for the opportunity but declined her offer and told her I didn't want to work in constant fear about my future with Macy's. Now I'm back in school for a medical degree. The truth is, with customers shifting to online shopping, there is no future in brick-and-mortar retail. Even giants like Walmart and Sam's Club are affected by e-commerce and have shut down stores and eliminated positions. I think Macy's will either follow the Sears path and die a slow painful death or convert a majority of their stores into a packing and shipping warehouse. Like you said, this is just the beginning, the company will release grimmer news for the remaining quarters.