“During the first quarter, we delivered a solid beat on our gross margin rate and bottom line expectations enabled by our disciplined teams, strength of our inventory management and operational efficiencies. We planned the year assuming that the economic health of the consumer would be challenged, but starting in late March, demand trends weakened further in our discretionary categories,” said Jeff Gennette, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc.

“We have moved quickly to take the appropriate actions to meet current consumer demand and manage our expenses. Our revised guidance reflects incremental clearance markdowns to address excess spring seasonal merchandise in the second quarter, along with adjustments to the category composition and inventory levels in the back half of the year. Supported by our solid foundation of financial health, we remain focused on strengthening our core business and advancing our five growth vectors – which we believe will drive sustainable and profitable sales growth in the future,” continued Gennette.

Highlights:
*Net sales of $5 billion, down 7% versus the first quarter of 2022.
-Brick-and-mortar sales decreased 6% versus the first quarter of 2022.
-Digital sales decreased 8% versus the first quarter of 2022.
*Comparable sales down 7.9% on an owned basis and down 7.2% on an owned-plus-licensed basis.
*Gross margin rate for the quarter was 40.0%, up from 39.6% in the first quarter of 2022. Versus the first quarter of 2019, gross margin rate increased 180 basis points from 38.2%.
more at: https://www.macysinc.com/newsroom/news/news-details/2023/Macys-Inc.-Reports-First-Quarter-2023-Results/default.aspx