Dartmouth Macy’s Hours Are Inconvenient [OPINION]

Macy's lost nearly $4 billion last year, according to the online site Retail Dive. The popular retail chain has closed stores and reorganized its debt and appears to be remaining afloat, at least for now. But let me offer this bit of advice to those who plot the company's strategy: if you want to make money, you've got to be open when people want to shop.

Now, I'm no financial wizard, but doesn't that make sense to you?

I stopped by Macy's on the way to the studio on Thursday morning. I try to get to the office by 11 a.m. to get my ducks in a row before the show begins at noon. I pulled into the Dartmouth Mall parking lot no later than 10:30 a.m. Much to my surprise and dismay, the doors were locked, and the place was closed. A sign on the door informed me that the store hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Those are odd hours for a retail establishment looking to regain some steam after being closed for months by the pandemic. Not only that, the holiday shopping season is here. Open up!

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Macy's hours are even crazier given that the North Dartmouth Mall is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Burlington at the other end of the mall is open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. J.C. Penney opens at 10 a.m. Hell, even my bank opens at 9 a.m.

Perhaps part of Macy's financial recovery plan is to reduce its hours of operation to save money on wages and utilities. If that's the case, it's a pretty silly strategy as I took my cash and spent it at another store that respects my busy schedule and wants my business.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.