Department Store Players Largely Strong In July

Helped by hot weather and clearance sales, many retailers reported solid results in July, a month that can be slow leading up to the back to school shopping season.  Some of the strongest showings in the month were in the department store category, as all those reporting showed July gains.  

Macy's led the pack with a 4.1% same-store rise in sales.  Total sales increased 5.1% to $1.7 billion over the four-week period.  "Despite some challenges from a sluggish macroeconomic environment and a temporary disruption of sales from the remodeling project at our Herald Square flagship store in New York City, the spring season met our expectations," said Macy's president and CEO Terry Lundgren.

Kohl's reported a lesser 1.7% gain in same-store sales, with total sales up 3.4%.  "We are pleased with the improvement in July's comparable store sales," said Kevin Mansell, president and CEO.

Other department store July results include: Nordstrom same-store sales edged up 0.9%; Saks increased 3.5%; Bon-Ton Stores rose a slight 0.1%; and Stage Stores gained 5.3%, beating the 2.2% rise expected by Wall Street.

Source: retailingtoday.com

Macy’s and Kohl’s post disappointing results in June

Analysts expected 18 top retail chains to report modest gains in June, as high unemployment and falling consumer confidence have taken a toll on spending.

Among the department store retailers reporting June same-store results so far, the results were largely mixed. Macy’s was among the retailers reporting sales that fell short of estimates. Same-store sales rose 1.2% in June, missing Wall Street’s projected 1.9% gain.

“June sales were below expectations,” said Terry Lundgren, chairman, president and CEO. “In part, this was a function of a macroeconomic environment that is stagnant at best, and lower spending by tourists in cities such as New York. Additionally, the unprecedented renovation at Macy’s Herald Square in New York City, the world’s largest store, is well under way but created more short-term business disruption than anticipated in the June sales period.”

Macy's and Bloomingdale's generated total revenue in June of $2.41 billion, representing a slight 0.8% gain.

Kohl’s Corp. was also challenged in June, reporting a same-store sales decline of 4.2%, after Wall Street had forecasted just a 3.2% drop. Total sales for the month decreased 2.6%.

“Though June sales were again lower than expectations, we are encouraged by improved sales in the latter weeks of the month as we continued to build inventory levels,” said Kevin Mansell, president and CEO.

Among other department store retailers reporting so far, Nordstrom same-store sales rose 8.1% in June, solidly beating Wall Street’s expected 4.7% gain, Saks rose 6%, surpassing the forecasted 4.7% rise and Bon-Ton Stores same-store sales dipped .8% in June.

Source: retailingtoday.com

Kohl's earnings slip, comps up in Q1

Despite dropping from the previous year, Kohl's said its net income for the first quarter ended April 28 was in line with its expectations. The company reported net income of $154 million (63 cents per diluted share) compared with $201 million ($0.69 per diluted share) a year ago. Net sales were $4.2 billion, an increase of 1.9% for the quarter. Comparable-store sales for the quarter increased 0.2 percent.

Kevin Mansell, Kohl’s chairman, president and CEO, said, “Our first quarter results reflect the implementation of our strategy to initiate lower pricing in order to provide greater value to our customers. This planned action led to significantly lower gross margins for the quarter. Strong management of expenses allowed us to achieve our earnings goal for the quarter. We have accelerated new receipts into second quarter to ensure we are well-positioned from an inventory perspective for the back-to-school season. The combination of these two actions should allow us to greatly improve our sales for the fall season.”

Kohl's ended the quarter with 1,134 stores in 49 states, compared with 1,097 stores at the same time last year. The company opened nine new stores, including one relocated store, and closed one store during the quarter.  Plans are to open approximately 10 more stores in the fall season and to remodel approximately 50 stores in 2012.

For the second quarter, Kohl's expects earnings to range from 96 cents to $1.02 per diluted share. The guidance is based on total sales growth of 2% to 3% and comparable-store sales growth of flat to 1% and includes expected second quarter share repurchases of $250 million. The company maintains its previously announced fiscal 2012 guidance of $4.75 per diluted share.

Source: retailingtoday.com

Warm weather gives apparel retailers and department stores a boost in March

The warmest March in North America in more than 50 years resulted in many apparel retailers and department stores registering solid gains in March, as an early spring brought out shoppers looking for seasonal merchandise earlier than they typically would. 

Macy’s, Kohl’s Corp., Limited Brands and Gap Inc. were among the retailers who topped analyst estimates.

Macy's said that its same-store sales climbed 7.3%, outpacing the 4.8% increase predicted by the Street. The company also raised its forecast for the key revenue metric for the combined March and April period, citing its strong March results.

Macy's, which includes online sales in its calculation of the key monthly revenue figure, said that it benefited from an earlier Easter and moving a cosmetics event to March from April last year. Total revenue for the five weeks ended March 31 increased 6.9% to $2.36 billion.

Limited, parent of Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works, said its same-store sales in March rose 8%, topping Wall Street expectations.

Gap Inc. reported a 10% increase in same-store sales in March, benefitting from customer response to its new merchandise. By brand, Gap North America’s sales rose 9%,  Banana Republic North America’s sales were up 5% and Old Navy North America saw its sales climb 11%. International sales were up 2%.

“We delivered solid sales performance in March and are pleased with customer response to product across all brands,” said Glenn Murphy, chairman and CEO of Gap.

Kohl’s credited warmer weather and an earlier Easter with helping to boost its same-store sales in March by 3.6%. Analysts had expected an increase of 2.1%.

Saks Inc. said its same-store sales rose 6.3% in March on strong demand for contemporary apparel, accessories and other items. The results matched average Wall Street predictions.

At The Buckle, same-store sales in March rose 6.4%, less than Wall Street had expected.

In other apparel same-store sales results for March,  Zumiez same-store sales rose 14.1%; The Wet Seal reported a 7.8% decline; and Cato Corp.’s sales increased 7%.

Source: retailingtoday.com

Kohl's EDI 852 Reporting

If you are a vendor supplying to Kohl's, you are eligible to receive product sales activity and inventory data via EDI 852. Preparing to setup and receive the EDI 852 files can be confusing, and creating usable reports for your team can be very time consuming. Fortunately, Accelerated Analytics® provides a simple, outsourced service for all your Kohl's EDI 852 reporting needs.

Using Accelerated Analytics® makes all your reporting headaches go away. With Accelerated Analytics®, we handle all the data conversion, database hosting and reporting. We even provide training and the end user reporting tools. 

Accelerated Analytics® benefits:

• Eliminate manual data entry and manipulation
• Consolidate all Kohl's store data on all your SKU's into one reporting database
• Pre-built exception reports with color coded dashboards
• No software or hardware to purchase
• Sophisticated charts and graphs

Available reports:

• This weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Last weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• This months sales and inventory by store and SKU
• 6 week rolling sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Sell-thru
• Inventory turns
• Days supply on hand 

Accelerated Analytics® will give you the ability to anticipate changes in sales and inventory, so you can make adjustments before a costly mistake occurs. Our EDI 852 reporting is the best on the market.