Changes are afoot at Macy’s Inc.
On Monday, the retailer announced that it will eliminate the chief operations officer role after incumbent John Harper leaves the company on Aug. 1 as part of a leadership shakeup to further its Polaris strategy. Marc Mastonardi, chief stores officer, and Dennis Mullahy, chief supply chain officer, will now report to chairman and CEO Jeff Gennette.
Effective March 15, Laura Miller will replace outgoing chief information officer Naveen Krishna, who is leaving the company. Miller previously held the same title with hospitality titan InterContinental Hotel Group.
The company promoted Chuck DiGiovanna, currently vice president, real estate to lead its real estate function when Douglas W. Sesler, senior vice president, real estate, departs. DiGiovanna will report to chief financial officer Adrian V. Mitchell.
In addition, Marla Beck, who cofounded Bluemercury and serves as CEO, will part ways with the beauty chain this summer. A new Bluemercy CEO, once appointed, will report to Bloomingdale’s chairman and CEO Tony Spring, the company said.
“As a digitally led omnichannel retailer, Macy’s, Inc. is in the midst of an exciting transformation,” Gennette said in a statement. “We are building a diverse leadership team that includes a blend of new talent with outside perspectives along with our tenured and best developed leaders who will accelerate the progress of our Polaris growth strategy. I am confident that these changes in reporting structure will enable us to be nimbler and more efficient as we move forward in our recovery and drive top and bottom-line growth.”
Separately, Macy’s revealed plans Tuesday to issue senior notes totaling $500 million to raise capital to fund a separately announced tender offer, as well as for general corporate purposes.
The new notes, issued by subsidiary Macy’s Retail Holdings LLC, are due in 2029. Macy’s did not provide any information on the interest rates for the notes to be offered. The private offering will be considered senior unsecured obligations of the issuer.
The net proceeds, along with cash on hand, will be used to purchase up to $500 million in senior notes and debentures. The cash tender offer, also disclosed on Tuesday, is for notes and debentures due between 2022 and 2024, having interest rates ranging from 2.875 percent to as high as 7.6 percent. The tender offer expires on March 29, 2021. Any proceeds left over will be used for general corporate purposes.