Macy's 2014 Annual Report Download - page 7

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Item 1. Business.
General
The Company is a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware in 1985. The Company and its
predecessors have been operating department stores since 1830. As of January 31, 2015, the operations of the Company
included 823 stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico under the names “Macy’s” and
“Bloomingdale’s,” as well as macys.com and bloomingdales.com. The Company operates thirteen Bloomingdale’s Outlet
stores. Bloomingdale's in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is operated under a license agreement with Al Tayer Insignia, a
company of Al Tayer Group, LLC.
The Company sells a wide range of merchandise, including apparel and accessories (men’s, women’s and children’s),
cosmetics, home furnishings and other consumer goods. The specific assortments vary by size of store, merchandising
character and character of customers in the trade areas. Most stores are located at urban or suburban sites, principally in
densely populated areas across the United States.
For 2014, 2013 and 2012, the following merchandise constituted the following percentages of sales:
2014 2013 2012
Feminine Accessories, Intimate Apparel, Shoes and Cosmetics..................... 38% 38% 38%
Feminine Apparel............................................................................................ 23 23 23
Men’s and Children’s...................................................................................... 23 23 23
Home/Miscellaneous....................................................................................... 16 16 16
100% 100% 100%
In 2014, the Company’s subsidiaries provided various support functions to the Company’s retail operations on an
integrated, company-wide basis.
• The Company’s bank subsidiary, FDS Bank provides credit processing, certain collections, customer service
and credit marketing services in respect of all credit card accounts that are owned either by Department
Stores National Bank (“DSNB”), a subsidiary of Citibank, N.A., or FDS Bank and that constitute a part of
the credit programs of the Company’s retail operations.
• Macy’s Systems and Technology, Inc. (“MST”), a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of the Company,
provides operational electronic data processing and management information services to all of the
Company’s operations.
• Macy’s Merchandising Group, Inc. (“MMG”), a wholly-owned direct subsidiary of the Company, and its
subsidiary Macy's Merchandising Group International, LLC., are responsible for the design, development
and marketing of Macy’s private label brands and certain licensed brands. Bloomingdale’s uses MMG for
only a very small portion of its private label merchandise. The Company believes that its private label
merchandise further differentiates its merchandise assortments from those of its competitors and delivers
exceptional value to its customers. MMG also offers its services, either directly or indirectly, to unrelated
third parties.
The principal private label brands currently offered by the Company include Alfani, American Rag, Aqua,
Bar III, Belgique, Charter Club, Club Room, Epic Threads, first impressions, Giani Bernini, Greg Norman
for Tasso Elba, Home Design, Hotel Collection, Hudson Park, Ideology, I-N-C, jenni by jennifer moore, JM
Collection, John Ashford, Karen Scott, Maison Jules, Martha Stewart Collection, Material Girl, Morgan
Taylor, Studio Silver, Style & Co., Style & Co. Sport, Sutton Studio, Tasso Elba, Thalia Sodi, the cellar,
Tools of the Trade, and Via Europa.
The trademarks associated with all of the foregoing brands, other than American Rag, Greg Norman for
Tasso Elba, Martha Stewart Collection, Material Girl and Thalia Sodi are owned by the Company. The
American Rag, Greg Norman, Martha Stewart Collection, Material Girl and Thalia Sodi brands are owned
by third parties, which license the trademarks associated with such brands to Macy’s pursuant to agreements
which have renewal rights that extend through 2050, 2020, 2027, 2030 and 2030, respectively.