Pros
Macy's Central was a very exciting place to work. Being that we acquired the May Company in 2005, lots of buyers, planners, and support managers came from all over the country. Within a division, there was always an expert on a particular market or a particular way of analyzing the business. Obviously, the main goal was always driving sales and profitablity, but there was work life balance with half day Fridays in the summer, divisional parties during the holidays, etc. Top management weren't too visible to the the buyers and planners, but their direction always trickled down through the VPs and divisionals. On the fly strategies were always supported if it would result in sales and profitably, management were accessable if you reached out, and the people at Macy's Centrl know how to run a business! We did some incredible things, turning around businesses and regions that were low performers until they were merged into our organization.
Cons
The transition from regionalized buying into MyMacy's. We spent an enormous amount of time with mymacys, systems updates and classes, meetings and analysis that related to mymacys and not driving near term sales. It can be pretty tough to really focus on the business because of distractions. Also, the systems support and planning support teams were subpar in comparison to other companies. Our systems were dated and often we would waste time pulling and gathering information from so many places. The best companies have fantastic systems and make data easily accessible.