An Unfiltered Opinion on Macy's Backstage

     It's not a secret that malls, department stores, and some inline tenants are struggling. Some of those have discovered solutions to keeping up with the present, and have saved themselves from bankruptcies, closing, and management changes. For example, Nordstrom has been doing extremely well recently, as Nordstrom Rack and their online store has been successful. Cincinnati, Ohio-based retailer Macy's has also seen the changing landscape of retail hurt their stores.
     Businesses owned by TJX (TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Sierra Trading Post, HomeSense) have been raking in profits the past few years, selling brand names for less, and hurting the original-price retailers. And today we will look at my opinion on Macy's Backstage, a twist on Macy's to try to create a TJX-type store with discounted goods.
     The Backstage location we will look at today is at Stonecrest Mall (expect a post there sometime too) in Lithonia, GA. Here we are as we walk in:

     I think the area itself looked nice. It looked nothing like the rest of the store, instead being much more colorful. The organization of the area was pretty iffy. While the layout was done well, the shelves were messy sometimes. I heard of problems similar to this; commenters on Tonetoatl said some locations were organized like a Goodwill. An example of this was that in the handbags area, there was a cluttered shelf of assorted handbags. This isn't very shopping-friendly.

A view of walking into the Backstage area.

     It looked as if decent work was put into the area and it wasn't just a fenced off area. If you are wondering, the "Center Stage" area contains more seasonal type goods. The checkout area is similar to that of TJX locations, in that it contains seasonal goods and different foods.

A view left from the entrance.

Right from entrance.

And here's the entrance from the other side.

Checkout, accessories, and luggage areas.

     The success of the new prototype will probably depend on the area. There are six TJX or Bealls Outlet operations closer to me than a Macy's Backstage. I am much more likely to take a five or ten minute drive to my nearest Marshalls for clothes instead of Macy's Backstage at Gwinnett Place Mall (not like I would go to GPM for shopping anyway). But in Lithonia, the nearest TJX is in Conyers, 20 minutes away. The Stonecrest Backstage may get more business because of this. 

     I totally think that if Macy's really tries hard on Backstage and can improve their online store, they will be with us a little longer. Online shopping is the new thing, and if a business can succeed there, they will succeed normally. 

What is your opinion on Backstage? How is the operation near you? Would you regularly shop at a Backstage location?