Philadelphia

Customer Lament for Disappearing Macy's at Philadelphia Region Malls

Macy's loyalists at three area malls will have to trek to different locations soon. The owner of two malls with soon-to-shutter Macy's say they expect quick anchor store replacements.

Anne Venezia prefers shopping at Macy's to shopping at Macys.com.

And the Montgomery County woman prefers the Macy's at Plymouth Meeting Mall to fighting the hustle and bustle (and parking woes) to shop at the department store at the King of Prussia Mall.

Soon, her top option will be gone.

Macys Anne Venezia

"I always shop at Macy's. And I prefer coming into the store, seeing what I'm purchasing," the longtime West Norriton resident said as she perused the women's wear for some post-Christmas deals at the Plymouth Meeting Mall's Macy's. "King of Prussia is too overwhelming for someone my age. I've been coming here for years."

She said she doesn't know what she'll do when it closes later this year.

The Plymouth Meeting Mall's anchor store is among three in the Philadelphia region that will close as part of a corporate downsizing by Macy's, which announced the closures of 68 stores nationwide along with 10,000 job cuts by the end of 2017.

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In addition to the Plymouth Meeting Mall store, which celebrated its 50th year at that location in 2016, the Macy's stores at Moorestown Mall and Voorhees Town Center in New Jersey and Neshaminy Valley Mall in Bucks County will also close.

The Neshaminy location opened in 1968 and the Moorestown location opened in 1999. The three stores had a combined staff of 270, according to a press release announcing the locations to close.

Macy's previously announced 100 store closures, of which these stores are part of that move in a large corporate restructuring.

"As we’ve noted, it is essential that we maintain a healthy portfolio of the right stores in the right places. Our plan to close approximately 100 stores over the next few years is an important part of our strategy to help us right-size our physical footprint as we expand our digital reach,” the company said in statement.

One of the region's largest real estate holdings trusts, PREIT, which owns the Plymouth Meeting and Moorestown malls, said in a statement Thursday that the corporation is confident it will fill the large retail spaces when Macy's vacates.

"Demand for the Macy's spaces is robust with new opportunities situated in desirable locations in quality, high barrier-to-entry markets," PREIT CEO Joseph Coradino said. "For Moorestown and Plymouth Meeting Malls, we are negotiating (letters of intent) for replacement stores and anticipate making detailed announcements in the near future."

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