Macy’s Inc., under scrutiny as department stores struggle to adapt to changes in the way consumers shop, rose in early trading after Chief Executive Officer Jeff Gennette said the retailer’s performance is improving.

In a separate statement, Macy’s also said it will close 28 namesake stores and one Bloomingdale’s in the coming weeks, while reducing some headcount at Bloomingdale’s.

While same-store sales, a key metric of retailers’ success, fell 0.7 per cent in November and December at company-owned stores from a year earlier, Gennette said the holiday sales “reflected a strong trend improvement from the third quarter.”

Macy’s surged as much as 7.9 per cent in premarket trading. The shares fell 43 per cent last year. The rise suggests investors were already expecting lower comparable sales and were reassured by Gennette’s comments.

The company said it will hold a meeting with investors on Feb. 5 in New York, where it will release a three-year strategy.

Macy’s, which had the second-worst performing stock in the S&P 500 last year, has been closing underperforming stores amid working to reduce superfluous inventory for several years.

--With assistance from Cécile Daurat.