Lundgren Says Macy's Is Always Pursuing M&A

Macy's Inc M former CEO and now executive chairman, Terry Lundgren, was interviewed by CNBC's Courtney Reagan at the sidelines of the Global Retailing Conference.

Physical Stores Need To Be Improved

Lundgren stated the company is "very pleased" with its online business, as it actually ranks the third biggest online seller in its category and the fifth biggest internet company overall in the United States.

But this doesn't mean Macy's isn't focusing on the physical stores; management acknowledges there are many areas where it needs improvement. The company is focusing on turning the store experience as exciting as possible.

To help improve the business, Lundgren acknowledged that management "looks all the time" for suitable companies to acquire. If it were to see a scenario where acquiring a company is accretive to Macy's business and vision it would be open.

However, there is "nothing on the plate at the moment" even though valuations of many potential targets are "great" for a buyer.

Tax Reforms

Switching over to tax reform, Lundgren admitted there is a lot of good that can come out of a tax reform bill from the White House. In fact, the topic of making changes to the tax code to make companies more competitive has been going on long before President Donald Trump took office.

But the way the White House is trying to fund a tax reform through a border adjustment tax is "wrong" and "doesn't make sense" and the implications are beyond retail and apparel.

Related Links:

What We Know About Macy's New CEO Jeff Gennette

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