Investors are getting increasingly antsy about the turnaround plans at Macy's (NYSE: M), with the shares down 35% over the past year. Now, S&P Global Ratings has weighed in by lowering the company's debt rating to BB+ from BBB-. The reason for the downgrade was "excess stores" amid a rapidly changing retail environment, as S&P Global explained in a statement. Image source: Macy's. Investors are losing confidence In 2018, investors were hopeful that Macy's could complete a successful turnaround. Through the second quarter of 2019, it had posted seven consecutive quarters of positive comparable-store sales, but that streak came to an end when the company reported a 3.9% decline in comp sales for the third quarter. In early February, Macy's announced its three-year Polaris strategy to right the ship, which calls for building four $1 billion private brands, closing about 125 stores in lower-tier malls, cutting $1.5 billion in costs, and launching the next phase of the Star Rewards loyalty program. S&P wasn't impressed, explaining that the Polaris strategy "will be a challenge to implement successfully amid increasing competition from retailers that are ahead in many of these areas." Profitability now in question Overall, S&P said the company's plan to improve profitability is "weaker" than previously expected. The sales decline during the third quarter caused adjusted earnings to fall 74% year over year. In January, Macy's reported sales results for November and December, which showed an improving trend, but comp sales were still down 0.7% over the year-ago period. That doesn't look good when retail spending overall was up 3.4% during the holidays. 10 stocks we like better than Macy'sWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Macy's wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of December 1, 2019 John Ballard has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source