“Be customer-obsessed. All aspects of customers need to be brought to the fore. You have to ruthlessly prioritize what is important,” Gennette said.
The 62-year-old chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s Inc., and a 40-year veteran of the company, in March announced his impending retirement and was intimately involved in the succession planning. There was a whirlwind of promotions at the highest divisional and corporate levels, some triggered by his impending departure. There were several directional strategies disclosed, including the rollout of the scaled-down Macy’s format and the introduction of Macy’s private brand, On 34th.
He stressed the importance of maintaining a balance in life, between the personal and the professional. “I have created that for myself, though at times I had difficulty with it. Retailing can be so obsessive.” After the energy crisis in the ’70s, mopeds became popular and Gennette started selling them at Moped Motors in El Cajon, a suburb of San Diego. “I was 16, on commission, and I was pretty good at it. I learned how to match customer needs with the products we had. That got me into the idea of listening to the customer intently.”
As a gay man working at Macy’s, “To be out and open was not an impediment,” Gennette said. “It really gave me the encouragement and confidence to achieve.” Another big reason for sticking with retail and Macy’s for so long were his mentors – and he cites seven. Then there was Sue Kronick, a former vice chairman, who conveyed how to stay connected with consumers, and the value of intellectual curiosity for breeding good taste. “Sue was all about the latest in ballet, theater, travel. She had a wide aperture to cultural influences.”
Gennette has been widely respected for his leadership qualities and showmanship, and is credited with successfully navigating Macy’s through a profusion of challenges, including the pandemic, inflation, recession worries, the rise of Amazon and fast-moving shifts in consumer shopping behaviors, as well as pressure at times from activist investors.
During his tenure leading Macy’s, Gennette remade much of the company’s senior leadership, led headcount consolidations and dozens of department store closings, while resources were redirected to beef up the top 100 or so locations. The buying shifted to a “net cost model,” which involves purchasing merchandise up front at lower costs and reducing markdown allowances. It’s more conservative, and there’s built-in liquidity to respond more quickly to the trends, categories and brands that consumers are shopping.
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