Federated Department Stores Inc., parent of Macy's and Bloomingdale's, Wednesday reported a quarterly loss as it absorbed costs related to its acquisition of May Department Stores.
The retailer reported a loss of $3 million, or 1 cent per share, for its fiscal third quarter ended Oct. 28, compared with profit of $436 million, or 90 cents per share a year ago.
Excluding May merger integration costs and inventory valuation adjustments, Federated said its third-quarter earnings per share from continuing operations were 20 cents.
Federated acquired May Department Stores last year and converted more than 400 former May stores to the Macy's name in September, creating a national chain of more than 800 Macy's chain. The department store operator is betting the new, larger chain will give it more sway with advertisers and vendors.
In September, Federated also unleashed the largest advertising campaign in its history to promote the national Macy's chain, hoping the effort would draw former May shoppers into the Macy's stores.