Macy’s announced an end date of Aug. 22 for the extreme makeover of Tampa’s Westshore Plaza location. To celebrate the renovation, the venerable retailer is holding a ribbon-cutting event Saturday Aug. 24, at the Mall entrance to the store.
State Sens. Arthenia Joyner and Jeff Brandes, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, Tampa City Councilman Harry Cohen and Miss Florida 2013 Myrrhanda Jones, will attend the ceremony, in addition to other local celebrities.
Macy’s remodeled the entire first floor of the 236,000-square-foot store between I-275 and Kennedy Boulevard, which first opened as Maas Brothers, then Burdines’s, in the original section of the mall in 1966. Burdines was renamed Macy’s Florida brand in 2005.
In the new first floor are updated cosmetics, jewelry, handbags and men’s clothing departments. An improved men’s shoe collection now covers twice the original floor space. The store will offer expanded selections of cosmetic brands, women’s fashion assortments and the addition of more products that are exclusive and labels like BCBG, Carlos by Carlos Santana, INC, RACHEL Rachael Roy, GUESS? and the Lucky Brand.
Among the most prominent physical changes are different seating, lighting and paint in dressing rooms as well as new mannequins throughout many of the departments. There is not only a fresh look, but additional services such as Macy’s By Appointment, a free personal shopping service now available to customers.
The first 100 shoppers to enter Macy’s Westshore through the Mall entrance at 10 a.m. Saturday will receive a $10 Macy’s Gift Card. In addition, there will be several events happening throughout the store during the day, with free samples, gifts and drawings to win prizes like a $500 gift card.
Macy’s Westshore Plaza remodeling is part of a corporate strategy to appeal to the Millennial generation, those individuals ages 13 to 30 that have become America’s largest group of consumers. Millennials are expected to spend more than $65 billion on the products that make up Macy’s core business.
In 2012, with almost 800 locations in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam, Macy’s posted net sales of just under $27.7 billion dollars, up nearly $1.3 billion from the prior year.
