Despite inflation, Macy's Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury seeing growth

Even though Macy's took a hit, cutting its annual outlook for profit and sales as it tries to deal with excess unsold inventory, its higher-end stores are still seeing "robust" business.

Bluemercury and Bloomingdale's, both company-owned stores, saw sales at stores open for at least a year grow. 

"We're seeing our most affluent customers continue to spend at very strong levels," CEO Jeff Gennette told analysts during Macy's earnings call Wednesday about its Bloomingdale's locations. "We have not seen trade-down at Bloomingdale's either and their business continues to be quite robust." 

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
M	MACY'S INC.	18.35	-0.38	-2.03%

Same-store sales at Bloomingdale's – where medium household income is more typically $250,000 and above – has continued at a healthy pace, rising 8.8% during the quarter. 

Meanwhile, same-store sales for Bluemercury, the seller of cosmetics, were up 7.6%, which was driven by "continued strength in color and skin care," the chief executive said. 

Bluemercury's active customer count also increased 9% compared to the same time a year ago and Bloomingdale's active customers increased 14%, the company announced. 

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As for the overall business, Macy's stores had lackluster sales throughout the second fiscal quarter as "Macy's brand customers across all income tiers slowed and shifted their spend," Gennette explained.

At Macy’s, customers at every strata with household income below $250,000 are cutting back proportionately, Gennette said. 

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However, with inflation sitting at near 40-year highs it's tough to know how Americans will react during the holiday season, which is seen as one of the most pivotal times for retailers.