Macy's stock has lost nearly 50% in 2019, making it the worst retail stock in the S&P 500. Thenation's largest department store has struggled to lure shoppers away from online retailers like Amazon and big-box stores like Target and Walmart.Once a venerable American institution, Macy’s is now among the ranks of tired department stores that have struggled to differentiate their offerings and give shoppers a reason to trek to their sprawling, mall-based stores.
“The sales deceleration was steeper than we expected,” said Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette in November, after the retailer reported its first same-store sales decline in two years and. Gennette placed part of the blame on weak performance at its lower-tier malls.