Macy's, Not Amazon, is Responsible For Its Own Failures

Macy's Inc M's stock is flirting with its 52-week lows, and most investors might understand why: The department store is too bloated, under-monetized in terms of real estate and getting crushed by Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, right?

Not so fast, at least according to Recode's Jason Del Rey.

According to Del Rey, Macy's is solely responsible for its own woes. Simply put, if it wasn't Amazon stealing market share away from Macy's, someone else would have.

Del Rey recounted a visit to a Macy's store in Paramus, New Jersey, which was messy and felt like a "visit to a teenager's bedroom." Even if their store were clean, the selection was poor, with an assortment that could be found at other department stores, retailers and even online from the brands' own websites.

Needless to say, Macy's market cap has plummeted from its peak of $24 billion in 2006 to around $9 billion today. Over the same period, Macy's stores "have looked and felt the same."

And what is in store for Macy's in the future? Perhaps more of the same. Instead of looking outside for a CEO to replace the outgoing CEO Terry Lundgren, Macy's tapped its longing president Jeffrey Gennette to take over.

"Wish him luck," Del Rey concluded.