Macy’s Adding Two Small-Format Stores in New Jersey

Macy’s is expanding its New Jersey presence with two leases for its smaller format concept, both in spaces formerly occupied by Bed Bath & Beyond.

One lease is for a 30,000-square-foot space at Centerton Square in Mount Laurel, Welco Realty announced. The store will join other anchor tenants including Wegmans, Target, Costco, TJMaxx, and DSW. The store is expected to open next year.

The other is for a 25,000-square-foot space at the Interstate Shopping Center in Ramsey. The store is also expected to open next year, joining ShopRite, DSW, Burlington, Michael’s and Old Navy at the shopping hub.

Prestige Properties purchased the Mount Laurel center in 2017, and Gabrelian Associates bought the Ramsey property in 2011. It was unclear if Gabrelian still owns it, but records show the firm uses the same address as the shopping center. Gabrelian did not immediately respond to a request comment.

CBRE’s James Creed worked on the Centerton Square lease and Ripco’s Brian Schuster represented the tenant in Ramsey.

Representatives from Welco declined to provide asking rents to The Real Deal. The spaces became vacant as Bed Bath & Beyond’s business crumbled. The Ramsey location for the company appeared to shut down a while ago, but the Mount Laurel store managed to hang on until the company declared bankruptcy, resulting in dozens of closures.

The Macy’s stores will have a smaller format, focused on convenience and accessibility. The stores are part of Macy’s expansion strategy. The retailer launched the concept in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in 2020 and now has a dozen small-format stores.

Macy’s on Thursday reported third-quarter profits that easily beat analysts’ estimates, and investors responded by pushing the stock price up in early trading.

In the previous quarter, Macy’s reported $5 billion in net sales, down 8 percent from the previous year. It suffered an 8 percent drop in sales at brick-and-mortar stores and a 10 percent decline in digital sales, but still beat revenue expectations for the period.