Macy’s CEO: We have ‘a record crowd’ today

>> chief executive officer of macy 's and joins us from their most famous location, 34th street , herald square here in new york. terry, good morning and happy black friday.

>> good morning. you should be here. all the crowds seem to be here. you should be her with you.

>> you know me so well. i'll be there later. 11,000 people were at macy 's when the doors opened at that very location last night.

>> yeah, i was here, letting them in, opening the door, and it was a record crowd, no question about it. i stood at the front door at the broadway entrance between -- between 34th and 35th street. i swear i was standing there for 18 to 20 minutes , and the lines of incoming traffic never stopped. it never ceased so people are definitely shopping and kicking off the shopping on black friday.

>> we often think of these people who are browsers who walk in and get caught in the frenzy. you're seeing people walk out with bags, meaning they have purchased something on this lead up to christmas. what are the hot items or things that encourage you this year?

>> first of all, i don't know anybody who would be browsing at midnight on thanksgiving. if they are not here on a mission, i don't know who is. anyway, so we've had -- it's funny because i was like standing at the doors. they are asking me directions, tell me where the shoe department is located. tell me where the blenders are sold and i'm directing people back and forth, and those are two very hot categories, the small electrics category blowing out this morning. women's shoes, the largest shoe floor up here at macy 's in herald square , that place is a bit of a mob scene. we have this boot that's selling like hot cakes up there and then in home furnishings great luggage items and the great textiles items. throughout the store you're seeing lots of value. that was the key effort for today, value.

>> we're in tough economic times , recover is slow and ongoing and there are signs of hope. this is the earliest thanksgiving has fallen on category since 2007 . as we count it there's 32 shopping days. how do you equate that many shopping days with the reality people face in their homes with their own pocketbooks?

>> first of all, it is a challenging time for america, and i think in spite of that we know for the last 11 quarters now macy 's has had record performance, both in sales and earnings, and we understand the challenge, and, therefore, we focus on giving great value for the best brands in the world and that's the combination that i think makes the macy 's brand work so well. we'll continue that into the holiday season . continue to make sure we offer great value, recognizing that people are on on a tight pocketbook and that's why, you know, we've got to be really clear about the value. it's got to be obvious. it can't be, you know, guesswork on the part of the consumer. i think that's what is working for us so far and will throughout the holiday season . to your point, this is the longest stretch of time between thanksgiving and christmas, and iredict november will be a little bit softer. december will be much strong, but it will be particularly strong towards the end of the december period.

>> all right. well, best of luck to you and all the retailer. thank you very much. terry lundgren , here's willie.