Macy’s Departure To Leave Retail Hole in Prairie Village

About 120,000 square feet of retail space will become vacant when Macy’s shuts its doors at Prairie Village Shopping Center. The city’s mayor, Eric Mikkelson, announced at a city council meeting that the center’s owner, First Washington Realty, told him that the store will close.

A local representative at First Washington, which is based in Bethesda, Md., did not say what could replace the department store. Macy’s is by far the largest tenant in Prairie Village Shopping Center, which also includes a Hen House grocery store, US Bank, Euston Hardware, and several restaurants and independent tenants. The department store has reportedly been in the city for 62 years.

The closure will leave the Kansas City area with Macy’s stores in Independence Center; Summit Fair, in Lee’s Summit; Overland Park’s Oak Park Mall; Town Center Plaza, in Leawood; and in the Northland on Barry Road.

A Macy’s representative said that clearance sales will begin this month and last approximately eight to 12 weeks. The Prairie Village store is not the only one in the United States closing. Macy’s is reportedly closing more than 20 stores across the country this month.

Last year Macy’s, which has about 190 locations, closed nine stores. The retailer had seven consecutive quarters of sales growth until 2019’s third quarter, when year-over-year sales plunged 3.9 percent, prompting management to revise full-year 2019 financial guidance, forecasting a one-percent-to-1.5-percent drop in revenue for the full year. Over the November and December holiday season, stores open at least a year saw sales slide 0.7 percent.