Intro

Macy’s wants to recapture its glorious past. The author of the Wimpy Kid books wants to rebuild his dilapidated hometown. We just want to listen in. (Part two of a two-part series, first published in 2024)

• SOURCES:
  • Mark Cohen, former professor and director of retail studies at Columbia Business School.
  • Will Coss, vice president and executive producer of Macy’s Studios.
  • Jeff Kinney, author, cartoonist, and owner of An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café.
  • Tony Spring, chairman and C.E.O. of Macy’s Inc.

• RESOURCES:
  • "How Macy’s CEO Tony Spring Is Turning the Retailer Around," by Suzanne Kapner (The Wall Street Journal, 2025).
  • “NBC Ready to Pay Triple to Gobble Up Thanksgiving Parade Broadcast Rights,” by Joe Flint (The Wall Street Journal, 2024).
  • “How Macy’s Set Out to Conquer the Department Store Business — and Lost,” by Daphne Howland (Retail Dive, 2022).
  • An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café.

• EXTRAS:
  • “Can the Macy’s Parade Save Macy’s?” series by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

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