The retails in the US seem to be turning the tide from totalpessimism to somewhat of a balanced growth, at least for a larger number ofretailers reflecting a sign of grin. Though in January, the general outlook wasdiscouraging, if not depressing, with only some very few retailers reportinganything between marginal to reasonable growth; their numbers have increasedduring February 2009. Let us have a quick look at the retail performance in theUS during February, 2009.
First, those who defied downturn and registered positivegrowth. Music-influencedapparel retailer Hot Topic has posted a 13.7% rise in February sales to $57.3mat its Hot Topic and Torrid concepts. Sales climbed 13.8% to $44.1m at HotTopic, and increased 13.4% to $13.2m at Torrid. Same-store sales were up 10.8%,the company said. Zumiez, which sells action sports related apparel andfootwear from 345 stores, reported a 0.2% increase in its sales for the fourweeks to 18 February, to $23.1 m. Same-store sales, however, fell 13.4%.Fashion retailer, The Buckle bucked trends with a 27.5% hike in netsales for the four weeks to 28 February, to $63.3m from $49.6m a year earlier.Same-store sales increased 21.0%. Bakers Footwear Group also posted arise in revenues, with net sales up 10.6% to $13.9m from $12.6m. The firm,which sells women's fashion footwear through 239 Bakers and Wild Pair stores,said February same-store sales rose 12.8%.
Youth apparel retailer American Eagle Outfittersposted a 1 % rise in total sales for February, $177.2m from $175.1m last year.Comparable store sales were down 7% for the month. The company operates 953American Eagle Outfitters stores, 116 Aerie by American Eagle stores, 28 Martin+ Osa stores, and 77kids By American Eagle. Aeropostale, the mall-basedspecialty re of casual and active apparel, reported a 23% jump in total netsales in February. Sales rose to $109.9m from $89.7m. Same store salesincreased 11% for the month. American Apparel lnc, the manufacturer andretailer of branded fashion basics, said its total retail sales increased 17%for the month of February to $24.3m, up from $20.8m last year. Same-store salesfell 9%. Warm weather boosted sales at value-priced women's wear retailer TheCato Corporation. For the month of February its sales were up 11% to $74.7mfrom $67.2m, and comparable store sales rose 8% over the prior year.
Ross Stores delivered "better-than-expected sales in February,"with revenues up 7% to $476m from $444m. Comparable store sales grew 1%.Dresses and shoes were the best performing merchandise categories, the companysaid. Total sales at Kohl's Corporation rose 3.6% percent to $1.006bn inFebruary, up from $971.6m a year earlier. On a compara
There were, however, quite a good number of losers.Important among were:
Apparel and footwear retailer Stage Stores its totalsales drop 4.7% to $100.9m in February, down from $105.9m in the same monthlast year. Comparable store sales fell 8.6%, which the company said was due toless clearance inventory. Dresses, intimate apparel, men's and petitescategories all performed better than the company average. February sales at DestinationMaternity were down 6.6% to $42.7m from $45.7m last year. Comparable storesales dropped 3.5%. The maternity wear retailer, which operates 1,090 retaillocations, said it managed to lower inventory levels and markdowns and improvedgross margins. The Wet Seal, which sells fashions for young women,reported a 5.8% drop in February sales to $39.8m. Comparable store sales weredown 6.6%, with a 5.6% fall at Wet Seal stores, and an 11.5% drop at Arden B.Lower price points at Arden B improved regular price sell-through in February,the company said.
Limited Brands, operator of the Victoria's Secret, La Senza and HenriBendel stores, posted a 10.8% drop in sales for the four weeks to 28 February,down to $547 .8m from $614.4m a year ago. Same-store sales dropped 7% for theperiod. February sales at The Children's Place Retail Stores were down1% to $110.4m from $111.4m in the same month last year. Consolidated comparableretail sales were flat, with a 3% decline in US same-store sales and a 2% risein Canada. E-commerce sales were up 50%. Off-price retailer Stein Martsaid its February sales fell 12.5% in February to $84.1m from $96.1m in thesame period last year. Same-store sales dropped 12.2%. The best performingbusinesses were ladies' casual sportswear and dresses, while the most difficultwere ladies' career sportswear and gifts.
Gap Inc, the largest US specialty clothing retailer, said its February sales fell 12% to $795m from $907m. The company's same-store sales were also down 12%, with declines in all divisions. Gap North America fell 12%, Banana Republic North America was down 16%, Old Navy North America dropped 13%, and International same-store sales were down 6%. For the four weeks to 28 February, net sales at Abercrombie & Fitch tumbled 24% to $174.5m, down from $228.9m a year earlier. Comparable store sales slumped 30%. Total company direct-to-consumer net sales were down 17% to $14.1 m. By chain, same-store sales at Abercrombie & Fitch fell 27%, decreased 34% at Abercrombie, dropped 33% at Hollister Co, and were also down 33% at Ruehl.
Specialty fashion retailer Nordstrom saw its sales fall 10.9% to $471m from $529m in February. Same-store sales were down 15.4%. The company operates 196 Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack, and Jeffrey stores. For The Bon-Ton Stores, sales fell 7.8% to $200.2m in February, down from $217 .Om in the same month last year. Same-store sales dropped 8.5%. The results were "in line with our expectations" at the company which operates the Bon-Ton, Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's, Younkers and Parisian nameplates.
Department store retailer Macy's reported total sales of $1.576bn for the four week period, down 9.3% from last year's $1.737bn. On a same-store basis, sales were down 8.5% in February. Online sales were up by 16.2%. Dillard's said its merchandise sales fell 14% in February to $497.7m from $581.6m a year earlier. Sales in comparable stores dropped 13% for the four-week period. Demand for juniors' and children's apparel was "significantly below trend," the company said. For off-price retailer The TJX Companies, sales were down 2% to $1.22bn from $1.25bn last February- and included the anticipated negative impact of foreign currency exchange rates. Same-store sales were flat with last year.
Saks Incorporated, operator of the Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks Off 5th stores, blamed weakness across all merchandise categories, particularly in women's apparel, for a 26.8% drop in owned sales. These dropped to $166.7m from $227 .6m, while comparable store sales were down 26.0% for the month.
For the four weeks to 28 February, sales at JCPenney Company dropped 7.2% to $1.17bn from $1.27bn in the prior year. Comparable store sales were down 8.8%. Women's apparel performed well according to the operator of 1,101 department stores. For discounter Target Corporation, net retail sales in February were $4.37bn, which is flat with last year. Comparable-store sales declined 4.1%. Target operates 1,699 stores.
Originally published in The Stitch Times: April 2009
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