Macy's acquires New York concept store Story, appoints Rachel Shechtman as brand experience officer

By

Robin Driver

Published
May 2, 2018

Cincinnati-based department store chain Macy’s, Inc. announced on Monday that it has acquired Story and that the concept store’s founder and CEO Rachel Shechtman will be joining the company as brand experience officer.

 
In her new role Shechtman will be responsible for driving initiatives aiming to enhance customer experience in Macy’s stores and will report directly to the company’s president Hal Lawton.
 
She brings over 10 years of experience in entrepreneurship and brand consultancy to the position and was named to the Board of Directors of the National Retail Federation in 2016. Before launching Story in 2011, she also founded retail and marketing consultancy firm Cube Ventures in 2003, attracting clients including Lincoln, Kraft Foods and Gap.

“Rachel is a unique and innovative voice in retail, and we are thrilled to have the Story team join the Macy's family. Bringing Rachel's perspective to the table will help create more enriched and engaging in-store experiences and brand activations,” said Macy’s CEO and chairman Jeff Genette in an official statement. “We are committed to growth in 2018, and this is one important step along the way.”
 
To better accommodate the changes set to take place following the Macy’s acquisition, Story’s current COO Jenny Shechtman will also become vice president.
 
Story is described in an official release as a “cohesive storytelling retail model that takes the point of view of a magazine, changes like a gallery, and sells things like a store”. The concept emphasises customer experience and brand partnerships, reinventing itself every four to eight weeks by changing everything from the space’s design and layout to the merchandise on sale.

“It's exciting to have a national stage to leverage Story's learnings and relationships to create impact at scale. I'm energized by the opportunity to further build new customer experiences across the Macy's portfolio, while also continuing to pursue new business models and brand partnerships,” commented Rachel Shechtman.
 
With the acquisition and Shechtman’s appointment, Macy’s has shown a clear desire to invest in improving customer experience, an increasingly important area for development as many traditional brick-and-mortar retailers implement experienced-based initiatives in order to differentiate their services from competitors in a challenging retail landscape dominated by e-commerce giants such as Amazon.
 
Initiatives employed by other retailers thus far have ranged from in-store pop-ups and events to the integration of new technologies into retail spaces, as in the case of Coty’s product-powered augmented reality magic mirror.

Story will continue to operate as normal at its Chelsea, NY location.