Macy's Plans To Hire 80,000 Staff For Holiday Season Rush

Holiday season and retail are synonymous, and with the upcoming festive season, the spotlight is back on the sector. Notably, the retailers have started unveiling their plans for the busiest part of the year. Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M) will hire nearly 80,000 seasonal workers to handle the rush, per media report. Notably, during prior-year holiday season the company hired 83,000 workers.

The overall decline in seasonal hiring is due the shutting down of stores. However with increase in online shopping, the company will hire 18,000 holiday workers to support online orders, up nearly 20% from the last year holiday season. Improved staffing will aid the company cater to customers in a better way during the hectic holidays.

Notably, during the holiday season retailers stay on their toes, flooding the market with offers and promotions. They sweep buyers off their feet with early-hour store openings, huge discounts, promotional strategies, and free shipping on online purchases. Since the season accounts for a sizeable chunk of yearly revenues and profits, retailers grab every opportunity to drive footfall.

Per media report, other retailers have also announced their hiring plans. Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) intends to employ 100,000 associates. Meanwhile, The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) has begun inviting applications for seasonal associate positions at all stores including Gap, Gap Outlet, Banana Republic, Banana Republic Factory and Old Navy across the United States and Canada. Gap’s hiring events will be organized at all concerned stores on Sep 23, 2017. Other retailers like Kohl's Corp. (NYSE:KSS) and GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) are yet to announce seasonal hiring plan.

Macy’s Stock Performance

Macy's shares are riding high of late, driven by previously announced measures revolving around stores closures, cost containment, real estate strategy and investment in omni-channel capabilities to improve performance. In a month, the stock has gained 9.3% but still below the industry’s gain of 12.8% primarily due to investors ongoing concerns about dwindling top and bottom-line results.

Now it is to be seen whether the company’s initiatives like integration of operations as well as developing e-commerce business and online order fulfillment centers can drive the top line during all important holiday season.

Macy’s currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?

Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.

Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.

See the pot trades we're targeting>>