On March 18, 2026, Macy's Inc. reported fourth-quarter and fiscal-year results that exceeded its own guidance — and confirmed where the growth lives. Per Reuters, the company simultaneously issued a cautious 2026 outlook, forecasting annual net sales of $21.4 to $21.7 billion, down from $21.8 billion in 2025, while saying tariff pressure should ease later in the year. Inside that split message sits the quarter's real finding: Bloomingdale's, the New York-born luxury chain anchored by its 59th Street flagship, posted comparable sales up 9.9 percent for the quarter — the standout in the entire portfolio.
The Numbers, Quickly
Fourth-quarter net sales came in at $7.6 billion, above the company's $7.35–$7.5 billion guidance range though below the prior year's $7.8 billion, with the decline tied to store closures rather than demand. Total comparable sales grew 1.8 percent, the core Macy's nameplate managed a modest 0.4 percent, and net income rose 48.2 percent. The company also marked its return to annual comparable sales growth — a milestone for a chain that has spent years shrinking to stability.
What the Gap Means
The spread between the two nameplates — Bloomingdale's at nearly 10 percent comps, Macy's at essentially flat — is the clearest data point yet for an argument New York shoppers have been making with their wallets: the affluent customer kept spending, and everyone else became picky. Bloomingdale's rides that wave with a portfolio concentrated in exactly the categories New York buys to signal taste — designer Ready-to-Wear, handbags, shoes — and with its flagship on 59th Street plus the downtown SoHo store functioning as the brand's laboratory.
Why It Matters for the City's Wardrobe
Department stores set the middle of the market. When the luxury banner in a department-store group outgrows the mass banner by ten-to-one, buying decisions tilt: more floor space and open-to-buy for designer labels, less for the mid-priced basics that once defined Herald Square. For New York, that is a full-cycle moment — the city that invented the department store is now the market proving the format survives only at the top.
The tariff thread matters too. Per Reuters, Macy's expects tariff relief to arrive later in 2026, and its cautious guidance embeds the assumption that import costs squeeze margins through the first half. Apparel is among the most tariff-exposed categories on the shelves, so the timing of that relief will shape fall price tags on everything from cashmere to denim — in New York before almost anywhere else, since this market absorbs new-season pricing first.
The takeaway from March 18 is not that Macy's is healed. It is that the healthy part of Macy's is the part closest to Fifth Avenue.
For more context, read Ralph Lauren Beats Again — and Warns Tariffs Will Bite This Spring.
For more context, read saks.