Macy's plans new restructuring to reduce top executives, save $100M annually

(Reuters) - Macy's Inc on Tuesday announced a restructuring plan that would see the departure of some top executives to speed up decision-making and reduce costs.

The biggest U.S. department store operator said it expects the move to yield annual expense savings of $100 million, starting fiscal 2019. For fiscal 2018, the company recorded one-time charges of about $80 million pre-tax for restructuring activities.

"The steps we are announcing ... will allow us to move faster, reduce costs and be more responsive to changing customer expectations ... These actions impact colleagues who have made strong contributions to the company over the years," Chief Executive Officer Jeff Gennette said.

The company said it would introduce initiatives to grow margin through efficient management of its inventories and supply chain, while it also looks to improve the way it sources its private label brands.

Macy's also reported a smaller-than-expected rise in holiday quarter same-store sales on Tuesday, while it also forecast fiscal 2019 adjusted profit below analysts' expectations.

Macy's restructuring efforts comes a month after it tempered expectations for the holiday season by slashing its fiscal 2018 revenue and profit forecast on weak demand for women's sportswear, seasonal sleepwear, fashion jewelry, fashion watches and cosmetics.

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Shares of the company were up 1.4 percent at $24.71 in early trading.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)