Department Stores Suspend Dividends and Conserve Cash As Coronavirus Crushes Sales

Department stores already faced plenty of challenges -- most notably, ever-rising competition from e-commerce and off-price retailers -- before the COVID-19 pandemic started to sweep across America. Now, with non-essential businesses forced to close and many consumers at risk of losing their jobs at least temporarily, their problems have multiplied enormously.

In recent weeks, even the largest and financially strongest U.S. department store chains have had to scramble to conserve cash. Here's what Macy's (NYSE: M), Kohl's (NYSE: KSS), and Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) are doing to safeguard their businesses.

Department stores operate on thin margins, carry a lot of inventory, and have relatively high labor costs. All of these factors mean that careful working capital management is important for keeping cash flow stable.

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Source Fool.com