Apparel Retailers Feel COVID-19 Pain

At least two national retailers with a significant presence in the Kansas City area are furloughing most of their workers in anticipation that they will need to keep their stores closed longer than they had previously planned.

Macy’s, with six stores in the metro area, one of them currently shutting down for good, said all stores “will remain closed until we have clear line of sight on when it is safe to reopen,” equating in the furloughing of most of the New York-based company’s 130,000 employees.

Kohl’s, with about a dozen stores from Topeka to Sedalia, is taking similar measures.

Meanwhile, Gap, Inc., with three stores around Kansas City, is doing the same with its 135,000 total employees. “We know that tens of thousands of people rely on us to support themselves and their families, and that millions more around the world rely on our business,” said Sonia Syngal, President and CEO of San Francisco-based Gap, in a press release. “We are doing everything we can to provide support during this time, and we are intensely focused on welcoming back our store teams and customers as soon as we are able.”

Both brands are keeping their e-commerce operations in tact.

Meanwhile, a recent MarketWatch report says that “Macy’s Inc. has about 4.5 months of available cash and Kohl’s has five months,” which makes them vulnerable to prolonged closures, according to a Cowen analysis.