Macy's celebrates Black History Month with celebrity appearance series

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Jan 28, 2020

In honor of Black History Month, Macy's is set to launch a series of special appearances from luminaries within the black community at select Macy's stores, throughout the month of February. 

The campaign will kick off with an appearance from influencer Monica Veloz at Macy’s Baldwin Hills in Los Angeles, California, where Veloz will participate in a make-up tutorial and discussion about diversity and inclusion in the beauty industry, Macy's said.

Other featured celebrities will include Oscar nominee Matthew Cherry, who will screen his 2020 Oscar-nominated short-film 'Hair Love' at Macy’s State Street in Chicago; comedian Phoebe Robinson and activist Marley Dias, who will unite at Macy’s Herald Square in New York for a joint dialogue; NFL Hall of Fame player Jerry Rice, who will appear at Macy’s Union Square in San Francisco; and celebrity hair stylist Kim Kimble, who will lead a demonstration and celebration of the diversity of black hair at Macy’s Lenox Square in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Finally, Macy’s Aventura in Miami will host a discussion on the diversity of black people and black culture, featuring representatives from Macy’s 'Diversity and Inclusion' team and 'The Workshop' at Macy’s; the company's retail vendor development program, designed to give support to minority and women-owned businesses. At the event, these teams will also select a black-owned business to join The Workshop at Macy’s class of 2020.

ONYX, Macy’s black employee resource group, played a critical role in developing this year's Black History Month campaign, the company said. As an added boost to its impact, Macy's will contribute a total of $10,000 to charitable organizations such as Jerry Rice’s 127 Foundation and local Urban Leagues.

“Macy’s mission is to embed diversity and inclusion into how we think, act, and operate," said Shawn Outler, Macy’s chief diversity officer. "We are strongest when we are representative of the many communities we serve and we are thrilled to offer our customers engaging Black History Month events that honor and reflect the Black experience and its impact on global culture." 

Adding to the Black History Month campaign's customer-facing inclusive appeal, Macy's has worked to prove its internal commitment to diversity through a series of goals, including an initiative announced in fall 2019 to reach 30% ethnic diversity by 2025 at the senior director level and above.

In order to further commemorate the celebration, select Macy's stores in Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. will feature Black History Month-themed windows throughout February, created in partnership with artist, Lisa Hunt. 

At the beginning of this month, the Cincinnati, Ohio-based department store company reported slight declines in same-store sales over the holiday period, and announced its plans to shutter 28 Macy’s locations and one Bloomingdale’s store.

The retailer posted a 0.6% decrease in comparable sales during November and December 2019, beating out analyst estimates of a decline of around 1.8%, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.