Macy’s Acquires STORY, a New Retail Store Model

Macy’s announced that it has acquired STORY, a 2,000-square-foot concept store whose theme changes—from design to merchandise—every 4–8 weeks, with the goal of bringing light to a new theme, trend or issue. Past STORY themes have included “Work/Space,” “Love,” “Home for the Holidays,” “Beauty,” “Style.Tech” and “Color.” STORY was founded in 2011 and is currently located in New York City in the Chelsea district. Founder, Rachel Shechtman, a fourth-generation entrepreneur and former brand consultant, launched STORY as a matchmaker between brands and consumers, integrating the strategies of marketing, merchandising and business development. STORY hosts events, workshops, panels, book signings (as a few examples) nearly every week that promote customer engagement. Some examples include:

• Trunk Show + Tell with Juniper Books
• Snack ’n Shop for Cinco de Mayo: A Sweet + Savory Celebration
• Sproga Yoga Session with Yoga Dan
• Pitch Night with Bloomingdale’s CEO Tony Spring and O Magazine’s Creative Director Adam Glassman
• Workshop: F*it NYC
• The Future (of Design) Is Female: An Interactive Workshop

Shechtman to Serve as Brand Experience Officer

In her new role at Macy’s and in a new store format, Shechtman will serve as the company’s Brand Experience Officer and will focus on ways to enhance the in-store customer experience with the Macy’s brand. She will report directly to the President of Macy’s, Hal Lawton. Shechtman said that it is exciting to have a national stage to leverage STORY’s learnings and relationships to create impact at scale. STORY will continue to operate as usual in its Chelsea location while Shechtman takes on her role at Macy’s. STORY’s COO, Jenny Shechtman, will assume the role of Vice President, Operations at STORY under Macy’s ownership.