Macy's Execs Get Raises Despite Poor Sales Year
A poor sales year didn't stop Macy's executives from getting a pay bump. The department store chain's new CEO Jeff Gennette earned total compensation of $3.9 million in 2016, which accounts for a raise of 5.5 percent from his 2015 compensation of $3.7 million, according to Macy's 2017 proxy statement. Former Macy's CEO and now executive chairman Terry Lundgren received 4.7 percent more in compensation in his final year as head of the company, going from total compensation of $11.7 million in 2015 to $12.2 million in 2016. The pay raises come despite eight straight quarters of declining sales for the company.
Total Retail's Take: The reality is that these Macy's executives, including Gennette, Lundgren, CFO Karen Hoguet, and former Chief Growth Officer Peter Sachse, received only a small portion of the compensation available to them in 2016. The company's board noted in the proxy statement that executives received just 13.7 percent of the compensation they could have if the retailer had met its goals in 2016. However, I have a feeling that's little solace to the thousands of Macy's employees who will be losing their jobs this year due to store closures and corporate realignment. In the end, a raise — even if it's a small fraction of what you could have received — is a whole lot better than no job at all.
