Pros
I started at Macy's as an Estee Lauder makeup counter manager and within 6 months I was promoted to executive management as a sales supervisor! I enjoy all of the other executives I work with and the vast majority of the associates as well. It's also not a corporate cult. More than any other place I've worked (most not retail--I was a high school English teacher and a lawyer in previous lives) they don't expect you to pledge your life, your honor, and your sacred loyalty to them. They just care that you do a good job while you're there on your shift. Beyond that, there's a lot of flexibility and you can just get on with your life.
Cons
The health coverage is poor and has a very high deductible. As an executive level manager, the closing one night and opening the next morning can be hard unless your body is great at switching shifts. As a cosmetics manager, it wasn't as hard, because you were only switching around store hours, not hours of opening and closing the entire store.