Department store chain Macy's, Inc. (M) Thursday reported a 10.8% increase in same-store sales for the month of March, helped by better-than-expected performance of online segment, as well as an earlier Easter that shifted some business into March. Another player in the same segment, Kohl's Corp. (KSS) reported a 22.5% growth in comparable store sales for the month, on strong customer Traffic. Further, Kohl's raised its first-quarter guidance, that came above Street view; however, it sees a low double-digit percent decrease in April Comps, due to the timing of Easter and its grand opening events.
Cincinnati, Ohio-based Macy's total sales for the month grew 11% to $2.143 billion from $1.931 billion in the prior-year month. Online sales, which includes macys.com and bloomingdales.com, were up 40.4%.
For the first nine weeks, Macy's same-store sales were up 7.6%. For the year-to-date period, total sales increased 7.9% to $3.78 billion from $3.51 billion in the same period a year ago, while online sales for the period grew 39.3%.
In February, the company reported a 3.7% improvement in same-store sales, boosted by strong growth in online sales. Total sales for the month increased 4% to $1.64 billion.
Looking ahead, Macy's expects same-store sales in April to be about flat to last year, which would generate same-store sales increase of about 5% for the first quarter.
Commenting on the results, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Macy's Terry Lundgren said, "Both Macy's and Bloomingdale's had a very strong month and performed above our expectations across the stores and online channels. Sales also benefited from an earlier Easter that shifted some business into March and will hurt April comparisons."
The mid-to-high range department store said customers are responding favorably to its spring fashion offerings, to the value it is delivering, as well as to more tailored assortments made possible by its evolving culture of My Macy's localization.
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based Kohl's March comparable store sales grew 22.5%. Region-wise, the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and West regions led the company, and segment-wise, Footwear, Home and Children's reported the strongest comparable store sales increases.
Total sales for the month increased 26.4% to $1.81 billion from $1.43 billion last year. For the year-to-date period, total sales were up 18.7% year-over-year to $2.90 billion. For the nine-week period, the company's comparable store sales grew 14.7%.
In February, Kohl's' comparable store sales was up 3.7%. Total sales for the month rose 7.8% to $1.08 billion from $1.01 billion generated in the same month last year.
Kohl's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Mansell said, "Our March sales results reflect continued consistency as all lines of business and all regions achieved strong positive double-digit comparable store sales increases. Increasing customer traffic remains the driver of our sales performance as we continue to focus on gaining market share."
For March, the company operates 1,067 stores in 49 states, compared to 1,022 in the same period last year.
Further, Kohl's raised its first quarter earnings guidance to be in a range of $0.55 per share to $0.57 per share from its previous range of $0.48 per share to $0.52 per share. On average, twenty analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $0.54 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
M is currently trading at $22.58, up $ 0.12 or 0.53% on a volume of 5.76 million shares, on the NYSE. In the past 52-week period, share had been trading in the range of $9.75 to $22.95 on a three-month average volume of 11.29 million shares.
KSS is currently trading at $ 56.80, down $0.34 or 0.60% on a volume of 4.96 million shares, on the NYSE. In the past 52-week range, share had been trading in a range of $40.64 to $60.89 on a three-month average volume of 3.93 million shares.
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