Macy's, a well-known national department store, is going through a big change to boost its business. They've just announced a plan to shut down 150 stores across the country by 2026.

Right now, Macy's has stores in Wauwatosa's Mayfair Mall, Greendale's Southridge Mall, Appleton, and Madison.

Macy's strategic move to shutter stores is aligned with their overarching goal of enhancing operational efficiency and elevating customer experience. This entails a heightened emphasis on their upscale brands such as Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury, with concurrent plans for the expansion of these brand outlets.

This change comes as some investors are interested in buying Macy's, including Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management, who offered $5.8 billion. They think Macy's properties are worth more than what the company is valued at.

Macy's hasn't said exactly which stores will close, but there's talk that a big store in San Francisco might be one of them. This follows Macy's closing other stores in recent years, a trend seen across many big retailers, especially in malls.

Earlier this year, Macy's turned down the $5.8 billion offer because they weren't happy with the way it was going to be financed and didn't see the value in it. Arkhouse Management, one of the investor groups, is frustrated with Macy's board for not engaging with them but is still interested in buying the company.

Macy's got a new proposal from Arkhouse Management recently, but they haven't said much about it yet. They'll take their time to look at it carefully before saying anything else.

Arkhouse Management also tried to nominate some new people to Macy's board, but Macy's asked for more information about the financing first. When Arkhouse didn't provide it, Macy's rejected their request and went ahead with their own nominations.

In response to financial losses and a downturn in sales, Macy's revealed plans to shutter 150 stores within the next three years, with 50 slated for closure by the year's end.They're also planning to make improvements to the remaining 350 stores to try and turn things around.