Terry Lundgren

Terry J. Lunkhead (born 1952) is the CEO, Chairman of the Board, President, and Director at Macy's, Inc., the parent company of Macy*s and Bloomingdale's department stores.

Lundgren is also the namesake of the Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing at the University of Arizona, where he is also an alumnus, having graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor's degree/B.A.

Career:

• Federated Department Stores: Bullock's division, 1975–1987
• Bullock's Wilshire: 1987, president
• Neiman Marcus: 1988–1994, Chairman/CEO
• Federated Merchandising Group: 1994-1997, Chairman/CEO
• Macy's, Inc. (called Federated Department Stores, Inc. prior to June 1, 2007):

1997–2003 President and Chief Merchandising Officer

2003 - 2004 President and Chief Operating Officer

2004 – present Chairman, President and CEO.

Terry was born and grew up in southern California, as one of six children. Mr. Lundgren was married to Nancy Cross until their divorce; he has two daughters from this marriage. Terry Lundgren married Tina Stephan in 2006.

The 2005 merger of Federated Department Stores, Inc. and May Department Stores, Inc. created one of the largest retailers in the world, with more than 800 US stores and 2007 net sales of $26.3 Billion USD. Lately the merger has been questioned due to the stock price which has sharply dropped.

Like all retailers, Macy’s, Inc. saw declining sales in 2008 amid deterioration of the U.S. economy. For the first 11 months of fiscal 2008 (through December 2008), same-store sales declined by 7.6% at Macy’s. In this environment, however, Macy’s, Inc. has outperformed virtually every major competitor.

Macy’s is seeing positive early results from “My Macy’s,” a localization inititaive launched by Lundgren in spring 2008 to tailor a portion of every store’s assortment to local tastes and color. The company reported that of its top 15 best-performing geographic markets in December 2008, 13 were My Macy’s pilot districts.

A day after announced lay-offs of 14,000 workers, Macy's paid Lundgren $613,281. The stock credit plan created in March 2004 brought five top executives “phantom stock units” or stock credits after a three-year holding period ended on Saturday, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing [3]

That compares with a pay package of $16.3 million for Lundgren in 2006, when Cincinnati-based Macy's (NYSE: M) consolidation of its May Department Stores Co. acquisition was in full swing. For 2007, Lundgren collected a higher salary of $1.5 million - reflecting a new employment agreement - plus $291,000 in other compensation, such as $96,000 for aircraft use by him and his family, $87,000 for auto use and $86,000 for company merchandise discounts and related tax gross-ups, according to the company's proxy report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Lundgren took a $2.5 million cut in his cash payout in 2007, having collected no bonus in a year when profit and sales both declined. But he did get a bump in salary and almost $700,000 in additional stock incentives for a total payout of $14.4 million.

"On a quarter-to-date and year-to-date basis, our same-store sales trends are better than JCPenney, Kohl's, Dillard's, Nordstrom, Bon-Ton, The Gap and Limited Brands, to name a few," Lundgren said in the letter, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Company spokesman Jim Sluzewski said Lundgren wrote the letter to let executives know how the retail chain was doing. Macy's no longer reports its same-store sales the every month, as do other retailers. On July 10 the nation's chains posted sales that were for the most part below expectations, causing the sector, including Macy's, to spiral downward on Wall Street.

"I recognize how distracting the economy is for all of our people," Lundgren wrote. "The headlines and newscasts are overflowing with gloom and doom. In spite of it all, I am proud of how our organization has risen to the challenge in continuing to embrace change, serve our customers and innovate with unique new merchandise and marketing and selling programs."

Macy's Inc. was the first retail store in America to give benefits to gay partners, and also offers many high positions to women.

References

1. Rachel Dodes, Retail Downturn Rains on Macy's Parade--Department Store Chain's CEO Says Size Lets It Strike New Deals, Cut Costs to Weather Sales Decline http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122765856705158323.html, Wall Street Journal (Nov. 26, 2008)

2. Rachel Dodes and Karen Talley, Macy's Quiets Worries on Funding Needs http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122954546909415273.html, Wall Street Journal (Dec. 18, 2008)

3. Macy’s execs get performance bonuses http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090203/BIZ01/302030063/1055/NEWS (Feb. 03, 2009)

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