M Macys Inc

By Suzanne Kapner 

Macy's Inc., a company in search of growth, is losing its chief growth officer.

Peter Sachse, who has held the post for about a year, will be out of a job as of Jan. 30, according to a securities filing Friday. His termination is part of broader layoffs announced by the retailer last week that will eliminate 10,000 positions.

Mr. Sachse, a 34-year veteran of the company, was once considered a contender to succeed Terry Lundgren, who will step down as chief executive this year. But Mr. Sachse lost out to Jeffrey Gennette, who was elevated to president in 2014 and named to the top job in June.

Mr. Lundgren is expected to vacate the position some time between February and April but will remain chairman.

A 2015 executive reshuffling at Macy's resulted in Mr. Sachse moving from his job as head of stores to a newly created role developing growth opportunities. At the same time, Mr. Gennette was given more oversight of Macy's core business.

The move underscored the challenges Macy's faced in trying to grow its department-store operations, where sales had begun to sag amid declines in foot traffic at shopping malls.

The company said last week that sales at existing stores fell 2.1% in November and December compared with the same period a year earlier. Assuming that business doesn't improve considerably this month, it would mark the eighth consecutive quarter in which Macy's sales have fallen on that basis.

As growth chief, Mr. Sachse, who previously served as Macy's chief marketing officer and was instrumental in developing the early stages of its e-commerce business, was part of a team that created a new concept called Macy's Backstage to compete with off-price chains like T.J. Maxx, which had been stealing market share from department stores for years.

"If we're going to donate share to the off-price market, I'd rather donate share to ourselves," Mr. Sachse told The Wall Street Journal in 2015.

He also oversaw Bluemercury, the cosmetics chain that Macy's bought in 2015, as well as the company's efforts to expand overseas, particularly through a joint venture to sell goods in China.

Macy's said last week that it plans to open 50 Backstage locations inside its existing department stores, and will continue to expand the Bluemercury concept.

The retailer doesn't plan to replace Mr. Sachse and will reassign staffers who reported to him to other managers. Employees were told of his departure in an internal company email earlier this week, according to people familiar with the situation.

Mr. Sachse stands to receive an exit package worth more than $12 million, including $4.5 million in cash, as much as $1.3 million in restricted shares, and retirement benefits valued a year ago at $6.7 million.

--Theo Francis contributed to this article.

Write to Suzanne Kapner at Suzanne.Kapner@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 13, 2017 18:49 ET (23:49 GMT)

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