Macy’s has announced the launch of STORY, the narrative-driven retail experience in 36 stores nationwide. MAC Cosmetics, Crayola®, Levi’s® Kids & more than 70 small businesses partner with STORY at Macy’s on Color STORY, where customers will find hundreds of curated products and enjoy engaging community events.
These 36 stores include the Macy’s location at Polaris Fashion Place Mall.
“The discovery-led, narrative experience of STORY gives new customers a fresh reason to visit our stores and gives the current Macy’s customer even more reason to come back again and again throughout the year,” said Jeff Gennette, Macy’s, Inc. chairman & chief executive officer. “We’re excited about the potential for STORY and are happy to be launching Color STORY in 36 stores today.”
With themes changing every few months, STORY at Macy’s will deliver new concepts through its signature blend of unique collaborations, narrative-driven merchandising and dynamic event programming. “The simultaneous launch of STORY at Macy’s in 36 stores across 15 states is the successful outcome of a reimagined approach to cross-functional collaboration and the work of more than 300 Macy’s colleagues who contributed to creating this new, scalable business model nationwide,” said Rachel Shechtman, founder of STORY and Macy’s brand experience officer. “I’m so proud of the work this team did and look forward to continuing the STORY journey at Macy’s.”
In the lead up to launch, more than 270 dedicated STORY Managers and STORYtellers were hired and participated in “Know + Tell,” a new experiential retail training program that immerses staff with integrated roles on everything from building fixtures to customer engagement and event production. To bring the Color theme to the forefront, the team assembled a creative collective of industry leaders to design an unforgettable in-store experience. Award-winning NYC designer David Stark was given a blank canvas to envision a way to introduce the STORY brand at scale through a vibrant experience. Longtime STORY partner FLOR enlivens the space with a custom pixelated patterned carpet, creating an organizing principle to help navigate guests across a spectrum of color and cross-category merchandise. And to provide a versatile and easily adaptable canvas for its merchandise assortment, STORY leaned on its partnership with Italian fixture company ALU, which customized one of its signature fixture systems to serve STORY at Macy’s ever-changing model while offering a fresh look for the Macy’s shopper.
“The STORY at Macy’s experience feels a lot like a real life version of scrolling through Instagram. You discover things you weren’t looking for, but are inspired by all the fun finds – the second you see it, you need it! We aspire to create that feeling with the breadth of the narrative-driven merchandise edit we are bringing to life with the launch of STORY at Macy’s across the country,” added Shechtman.
For Color STORY, Macy’s brings its ‘feed’ to life via a bright journey expressed through a curated assortment of merchandise for men, women, kids and the home. More than 70 small businesses featuring more than 400 products come together to make the experience a gifting destination. From the national in-store debut of Primary, an online kidswear brand, to gourmet chocolate bars in unique flavors like coffee & doughnuts from LA-based chocolatiers Compartes – there is truly something for everyone. To further bring color authority to the conversation through color-inspired events and experiences, MAC Cosmetics, Crayola® and Levi’s® Kids contribute an exciting lineup of events and integrated merchandise moments.
MAC Cosmetics joins Color STORY with an experience that, up until now, has only been available at its professional stores. The experience features MAC’s custom-build service, a “Make Your Own” palette station, available at 30 select STORY at Macy’s locations. Color-curious guests will also have the opportunity to take beauty classes on-site from expert makeup artists, mastering spring’s must-have looks from smokey eyes to festival-ready unicorn beauty. “We are excited about MAC’s partnership with STORY. Creativity and innovation are an integral part of MAC’s DNA and will play well with STORY’s colorful new concept at Macy’s,” said Chris Good, president, MAC Cosmetics, North America.
Crayola will have hands-on workshops featuring its Create it Yourself (C.I.Y.) Network of creative and clever crafting videos. This series inspires inventive uses for Crayola products through hands-on workshops and classes like Melted Crayon Canvas artwork to creating custom patches to adorn classic Levi’s Kid’s Denim jackets and tees with Crayola fabric markers. “At Crayola, we inspire creativity through color and innovative play experiences. We are excited to partner with STORY at Macy’s to celebrate their new opening and debut select pieces from the Macy’s back to school exclusive Levi’s x Crayola collaboration,” says Smith Holland, president and chief executive officer, Crayola LLC. The colorful fun will also appeal to big kids through events like P.S. We Love Hue: CRAYOLIGRAPHY hand lettering workshops featuring Crayola Take Note! markers and pens with crafting influencers such as @AllWriteByMe, @theblondescribe and @angeliqueink, at select locations.
Levi’s Kids, manufactured and distributed by Haddad Brands, will preview a selection of pieces from its exclusive Levi’s x Crayola collaboration debuting at Macy’s for back-to-school. A few select pieces from the collaboration will be available before the full line officially launches mid-June at select Macy’s stores nationwide. “We have a successful history with Macy’s and, when we heard that STORY was launching, we knew it was the right channel to build buzz around our future collaboration,” explained Sam Haddad, principal, Haddad Brands.
STORY at Macy’s averages 1,500 square feet, cumulatively representing more than 55,000 square feet of main-floor retail space across all 36 stores. Herald Square serves as the flagship location, where STORY at Macy’s covers more than 7,500 square feet of continuous retail space on the main floor and mezzanine levels. The expanded space showcases a broader range of partners and interactive experiences. New York designer David Stark expands his vision into a colorful circus, complete with faux fur columns and endless Instagram-able moments. The in-store design is animated with a giant interactive Lite-Brite® experience produced by LiteZilla and an illuminated rainbow tunnel featuring colorful Tetra Contour technology from Current by GE. And further building on STORY at Macy’s commitment to supporting small businesses, the Herald Square flagship features an expanded range of independent brands, such as Brooklyn-based handbag customization kit ‘I Made that Bag,’ Fun Socks and colorful glasses from Izipizi. Longtime STORY friend and collaborator, NY-based artist Georgia Elrod lent her creativity to bring the experience full circle with an original mural in the expanded event space – complete with an LED ping pong table.
Opening today and running through Wednesday, June 26, Color STORY will engage customers through its calendar of events and classes, focused on self-expression and creativity. For more information on STORY at Macy’s locations and for a listing of events by store, please visit macys.com/STORY.
Photo: Macy’s
