Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M) today announced that it will expand its online order fulfillment center near Portland in Robertson County, TN, to accommodate continued growth in sales at macys.com.
The Portland facility, with 600,000 square feet of space, was built by Macy's, Inc. and opened in spring 2007. The expansion will add 374,000 square feet of space. Construction is expected to begin this fall so the expanded facility, with a total of 974,000 square feet, can be operational in fall 2011.
"Our online sales at Macy's and Bloomingdale's have grown rapidly in recent years - by a total of 19.6 percent in 2009, followed by another 31 percent in the first half of 2010," said Tom Cole, Macy's, Inc.'s chief administrative officer. "It is important that our systems and support facilities also continue to develop so we can drive growth in the online business and serve customers effectively and efficiently. Portland already is a state-of-the-art fulfillment center, and this expansion will allow us to scale up its capabilities to handle the higher level of volume expected in the years ahead."
The Portland fulfillment center currently employs about 570 year-round associates. The expansion is expected to require another 250 full- and part-time associates when it opens in 2011. In addition, about 600 seasonal associates are hired at the facility each year to handle a significantly higher level of online orders from customers during the holiday shopping season.
In addition to Portland, the company's online orders also are supported by major fulfillment centers located in Goodyear, AZ, and Cheshire, CT.
Macy's, Inc., with corporate offices in Cincinnati and New York, is one of the nation's premier retailers, with fiscal 2009 sales of $23.5 billion. The company operates about 850 department stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico under the names of Macy's and Bloomingdale's, as well as the macys.com and bloomingdales.com websites. The company also operates two Bloomingdale's outlet stores.
(NOTE: Additional information on Macy's, Inc., including past news releases, is available at www.macysinc.com/pressroom).