Sunrise Mall loses longtime anchor store as Macy’s shutters

By Sara Beth Williams–
After over four decades residing in Sunrise Mall, Macy’s has officially closed its doors.

Both Macy’s Men’s and Women’s stores ceased operations early last week with final sales on store fixtures and merchandise occurring over the preceding weekend. A sign inside the store on Saturday, March 22 notified customers that only two days remained before closure.

By Tuesday afternoon, all entrances were locked, and exterior doors were blacked out. Earlier in March, employees had indicated that they expected to close to the public sometime in March while working to clear out merchandise and store fixtures through the end of the month.

Macy’s originally announced in a third-quarter financial earnings call in December that it planned to close 66 stores—an increase from the 50 locations it had previously slated for closure by the end of the fiscal year.

These closures are part of a broader strategy to eliminate approximately 150 “underperforming” stores over the next three years, according to the company. The retail giant hopes that its “Bold New Chapter” strategy will help “return the company to sustainable, profitable sales growth,” according to a Jan. 9 press release.

Macy’s at Sunrise Mall faced several challenges in the past year, including multiple instances of reported retail theft and, most recently, water damage inside Macy’s Men’s in mid-December due to a roof leak.

According to Citrus Heights Historical Society President Larry Fritz, Sunrise Mall opened in 1972, with Macy’s Women’s joining the more than 100 tenants after Liberty House closed in the 1980s. Later, when the Weinstock’s department store chain closed at, Macy’s Men’s relocated from its original site across the street to its current location.

The Citrus Heights location is one of nine Macy’s stores in California listed for closure, according to the press release. Other notable California closures include Macy’s locations in Downtown Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego. The closure list also notes that the Sunrise Mall closure includes “two boxes within the same location and therefore is counted as one location.”

Macy’s departure leaves JCPenney as the last remaining major anchor store at Sunrise Mall.