Macy’s department store seeks new miracle north of the 49th parallel

The trend of U.S. retailers moving into Canada has continued to pick up steam with the 142-year-old department store best-recognized from the movie "Miracle on 34th Street" seeking business north of the border, even if it's just by long-distance orders for now.

Macy's announced last week it will offer shipping to Canada through third-party management service FiftyOne, although its online catalogue has been configured to fluctuate with the exchange rate. For now, that could result in cheaper items than usual.

The delivery costs, however, reportedly offset any particular bargain. A comment left at the shopping site Smart Canucks noted a $35 dress came with delivery charges of $42 along with $12 duty.

"I guess that's why their name is FiftyOne," joked another commenter whose desired item had a price tag under $10, "it is an average price of shipping to Canada."

The discovery was met with particular frustration because other U.S. retailers like L.L. Bean have courted the Canadian market without a shipping charge.

Regardless, the tactic seems a relatively low-cost way for the companies to establish a connection to the country before rolling the dice on opening retail locations.

Stores that remain a frequent destination for cross-border shoppers have been rumoured or confirmed as coming to Canada with unprecedented frequency over the past year. The continued economic slump in the U.S. is considered one of the motivating factors.

Target's purchase of the leases for 220 Zellers stores made it the most prominent of a wave that has also included the recent or imminent arrivals of Dollar Tree, Express, J. Crew, Marshalls and Victoria's Secret.

Kohl's, an American department store with more than 1,000 locations, has admitted to scouting out Canada, but rival JCPenney won't say either way.

Meanwhile, a reporter from The Wall Street Journal placed a call to Macy's, whose spokesman said last week international stores are in the long-term interest of the company, yet there were no current plans to open new ones.

Those plans might have already changed. Globe and Mail business reporter Steve Ladurantaye tweeted that law firm WeirFoulds confirmed Macy's was looking for Canadian spaces.

Some could even come from the Zellers locations that Target decides not to keep for itself.

(Reuters Photo)