What: Macy's and Capri Holdings CEOs used the Goldman Sachs retail conference to detail how far their respective turnaround plans have progressed, with Macy's citing nine of ten quarters of growth at reimagined stores and Capri pulling back on price promotions at Michael Kors.

Why it is important: The two CEOs' contrasting timelines — Macy's multi-year proof point versus Capri's early-stage reset — offer a live comparison of what "turnaround progress" actually looks like at different stages of execution.

At Goldman Sachs' retail conference, Macy's CEO Tony Spring said the company's "Bold New Chapter" strategy, launched two-and-a-half years ago, is working: underproductive stores have closed, and the reimagined-store programme, expanded from an initial 50 doors to 200, has posted growth in nine of the last ten quarters. Spring described the overhaul as a recipe requiring simultaneous changes — better merchandising, improved fitting rooms, and more staff in handbags and shoes — all aimed at improving customer experience, accelerating luxury growth, and speeding up delivery.

Capri Holdings, still recovering from Tapestry's failed takeover bid, is earlier in its own reset. CEO John Idol said Michael Kors lost "the zeitgeist of the consumer" roughly 18 months ago and is now in the "early innings" of a full repositioning. That includes cutting price promotions sharply: Michael Kors inventories fell almost 27 percent last quarter, with 50 percent less clearance stock than a year earlier. Idol called the current quarter likely the most painful yet for the full-price business, but framed it as necessary groundwork for future growth.

IADS Notes: Macy's public messaging on its "Bold New Chapter" turnaround has held remarkably steady over the past year, moving from early credibility-building to accumulated proof. Investor sentiment shifted first, with Berkshire Hathaway's share purchase and a raised TD Cowen price target following the group's strongest first quarter in four years (WWD, June 2026). That period also marked out CEO Tony Spring's operational approach explicitly, framed around lessons drawn from Costco's discipline on private label and footprint focus (Bloomberg, December 2025). By September 2026, the pattern had compounded into a fifth consecutive quarter of growth and continued outperformance from the Reimagine 200 remodel programme, with the company raising full-year guidance again (Press Release, September 2026), a run of results now read by analysts as evidence the turnaround has moved past a one-off recovery (Inside Retail, September 2026). Capri's repositioning sits at an earlier stage by comparison: the group's decision to part with Versace, cleared as part of Prada's €1.25 billion acquisition of the brand following the collapsed Tapestry-Capri merger, set the stage for the narrower focus on Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo now underway (WWD, October 

Macy's and Capri CEOs talk turnaround