Macy’s Inc. announced plans Thursday to build a distribution and online order fulfillment center in central North Carolina that ultimately will employ about 2,800 people.
The department store and online retail giant said in a news release that it will invest $584 million in the project in China Grove, located in Rowan County, 35 miles (56 kilometers) northeast of Charlotte.
The logistics center and warehouse operations, which will open in 2024, will provide automated services for orders to be shipped directly to consumers, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s office said. The center will handle 30% of Macy’s digital supply chain capacity when fully operational, the company said. New York-based Macy’s had narrowed potential center sites to North Carolina and South Carolina, according to a document provided by the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
“This state-of-the-art facility ... will support growth of our business as a leading omnichannel retailer,” Macy’s chief supply chain officer Dennis Mullahy said in a news release.
Most of the jobs created would pay below Rowan County’s average salary of $48,360, according to information presented to a state panel that approved an agreement earlier Thursday on some taxpayer-funded incentives for Macy's. That means 230 jobs that Macy’s intends to generate by 2026 could qualify for the state’s Job Development Investment Grants.
Under the agreement, subsidiary Macy’s Corporate Services LLC could receive $2.3 million in these grants over 12 years if it meets job-creation and investment goals. But the company is also expected to get other state and local incentives valued at $58 million, the Commerce Department document says.
The announcement came two days after state leaders and VinFast announced the Vietnamese automaker would build an electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Chatham County, with promises to create 7,500 jobs. It would be the state’s first car factory after a series of near-misses at recruiting one.
“When you combine our robust transportation network with our skilled workforce and great quality of life, economic development wins like these will continue to be celebrated statewide,” Cooper said Thursday with Macy’s announcement.
