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Macy's is officially entering the outlet market. The department store chain announced today that it will open four pilot Macy’s off-price stores this fall, called Macy’s Backstage. All four stores will be located in the New York City area and merchandise will consist of clearance items from Macy’s stores and special buys from name brands. It's all expected to be 20% to 80% off original and comparable prices. Besides rock bottom prices, Macy's is trying to bring some amenities to the locations: all will have free WiFi and roomy dressing rooms, and one store will even feature a café concept.
Getting into off-price stores is something Macy's hinted at this winter, following in the footsteps of department store outlets like Nordstrom Rack, Saks Off Fifth, Neiman Marcus Last Call, and Bloomingdale's The Outlet Stores. If this works, look for more Macy's Backstage stores soon. "Backstage is a new retail concept that the Macy’s team has built from scratch over the past six months," Macy’s chief innovation and business development officer Peter Sachse said in a press release. "As with all of Macy’s innovations, we will test and learn to see what resonates most with customers so we can adjust before rolling out additional locations."