Backstage launches Friday inside Macy’s Herald Square in 15,000 sq ft (1,400m²) of space on the eight floor, bringing the thrill of the treasure hunt for bargains across a wide spectrum of merchandise categories and brands, furthering the footprint of Macy’s burgeoning off-price format. Like a store within a store, with its own entranceway; distinct blue and white signage and myriad T-stands on wheels for flexibility with the merchandising and display. From April through June this year, Macy’s is bringing Backstage off-price departments to 37 of its full-line department stores, so by the end of June, Backstage will be inside 300 Macy’s stores across the country.

Backstage departments range in size anywhere from 11,000 to 18,000 sq ft (1,020m²-1,670m²), though the biggest Backstage department occupies 20,000 sq ft (1,860m²) inside Macy’s Essex Green store in West Orange, N.J. Part of the discount strategy is to encourage consumers to eventually graduate from shopping Macy’s Backstage to shopping Macy’s full-price, just like Saks Off 5th sees its shoppers over time graduating to Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom Rack sees customers migrating to Nordstrom full-line stores. Backstage is part of Macy’s efforts to diversify its brick-and-mortar portfolio, from being mall-based with large department stores to also having a significant off-mall presence.