NorthTown Mall anchor Macy’s to close after 27 years
Macy’s will be closing at Spokane’s NorthTown Mall after 27 years, the company confirmed Tuesday.
The closure is part of Macy’s “company strategy” announced last year. The announcement follows the 2016 closure of the downtown Macy’s at 612 W. Main St.
“After careful consideration, Macy’s has decided to close our NorthTown location,” said Emily Workman, director of media relations for Macy’s Inc.
The company will begin a clearance sale this week that could last eight to 12 weeks.
“The decision to close a store is always a difficult one, but Macy’s NorthTown is honored to have served our customers and the community over the past 27 years,” Workman said in a statement, “and we look forward to continuing to do so at Macy’s Spokane Valley, online at macys.com or on the Macy’s app.”
Calls to NorthTown management and Chicago-based Brookfield Properties, which owns NorthTown Mall, were not immediately returned Tuesday afternoon.
The closure will leave the Macy’s at Spokane Valley Mall, at 14740 E. Indiana Ave., and the store in Silver Lake Mall in Coeur d’Alene as the last two area locations for the iconic retailer. All three malls are owned by Brookfield Properties.
The pandemic has created more havoc in an already stressed retail environment, particularly for malls that have struggled for years as more shopping moved online and consumers grew tired of them. Their plight even inspired a YouTube channel called the Dead Mall Series.
The coronavirus has delivered a devastating blow to those that remain and also to stores with a big mall footprint. J.C. Penney, Neiman Marcus and J.Crew, have all filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020
The NorthTown closure will end Macy’s run in Spokane, which already was reduced when it closed the downtown River Park Square location in 2016.
That closure was one of 40 company store closures across the country that year.
The downtown Macy’s store, which was home to The Bon Marche department store for more than 50 years, had 94 employees.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.